Shares of Chart Industries (GTLS -1.39%) skyrocketed this morning and were trading 14% higher as of 10 a.m. ET. The stock hit a high of 19.6% within minutes of the market's opening Wednesday.

Chart Industries stock has been under a bit of pressure so far in 2024. However, today's announcement has given investors a fresh reason to bet on the growth stock that has generated nearly 160% returns in just the past four years as of this writing.

Chart Industries' sales and margins are zooming

Chart Industries is firing on all cylinders -- that's the key takeaway from the fourth-quarter and full-year 2023 numbers the company announced this morning. Chart Industries designs and manufactures equipment such as cryogenic tanks and heat transfer systems for the energy sector, which includes oil and gas, hydrogen, biogas, and carbon capture markets. And it is getting record orders for its equipment and services.

The fourth quarter was a record quarter in every way for Chart Industries, with nearly every metric right -- from orders, backlog, sales, gross profit margin, and operating income to adjusted free cash flow hitting record highs. Here's what that means in terms of numbers (all changes year over year unless otherwise mentioned):

  • Orders up 28% to $1.21 billion
  • Backlog up 3% sequentially to nearly $4.3 billion
  • Sales up 12.5% to $1 billion
  • Gross margin up 5.4 percentage points to 32.9%

Chart Industries acquired Howden in March 2023 for roughly $4.4 billion in cash, and management credited a successful integration of Howden into Chart Industries as one of the key growth drivers for Q4.

Why Chart Industries stock could continue to soar

Chart Industries expects to generate sales worth $4.7 to $5 billion in 2024, which would mean 28% to 37% growth over 2023. That also means the company is setting itself up for record sales in 2024.

Even better, Chart Industries also reiterated its financial goals for 2026. It expects organic revenue to grow by a mid-teens compound annual growth rate over the next three years and a gross margin in the mid-30s for 2026.

With that kind of steady sales and margin growth, this stock looks like the kind that should only head higher.