LMT stock has seen extremely strong gains of 60% from levels of $355 in early January 2021 to around $575 in late October 2024, vs. an increase of about 51% for the S&P 500 over this roughly four-year period.
However, the increase in LMT stock has been far from consistent. Returns for the stock were 0% in 2021, 37% in 2022, and -7% in 2023. In comparison, returns for the S&P 500 have been 27% in 2021, -19% in 2022, and 24% in 2023 - indicating that LMT underperformed the S&P in 2021 and 2023.
Lockheed Martin's Revenue grew 1% y-o-y to $17.1 billion in Q3 (versus $16.7 billion in the prior-year quarter), with its Missiles and Fire Control segment seeing an 8% sales growth. Rotary & Mission Systems sales were up 6%, the Space segment saw a 1% revenue decline and Aeronautics was down 3.4%.
The company's EPS of $6.84 was up from the $6.77 figure seen in the prior-year quarter. The company expects the 2024 revenue to be $71.25 billion and adjusted earnings to be around $26.65 per share.
Below are the key drivers of Lockheed Martin's value that present opportunities for upside or downside to the Trefis price estimate:
Lockheed Martin is a global security and aerospace company principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products, and services. It also provides a broad range of management, engineering, technical, scientific, logistics, system integration, and cybersecurity services.
With the growing threat of attack from airborne missiles, missile defense systems are in demand from governments of many countries, including the U.S.
Lockheed possesses multiple, highly capable and efficient missile defense systems which include the Aegis, Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3), and Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD). Sales of these systems will likely bring significant contracts and revenues to the company in the coming years.
The F-35 is a multirole combat aircraft being developed by Lockheed Martin. The aircraft is part of the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) program, intended to replace a wide range of existing combat aircraft in the U.S., the U.K., Canada, and other countries. Over the coming years, the program is expected to occupy an even larger share of the company's top line, driven by its planned production ramp-up.
Looking ahead, as the production of the F-35 rises in the coming years, this program will drive a significant portion of Lockheed's value.
About 73% of Lockheed's revenue comes from the U.S. government through its agencies such as the Department of Defense, Homeland Security, and NASA. As a result of this high reliance on government spending, Lockheed is highly vulnerable to spending cuts from the U.S. government. A lower government defense spending will result in reduced overall contract volume for Lockheed.
With increasing sophistication and growth in cyberattacks in recent years, IT security challenges are mounting for the U.S. government, which include cyber threats from foreign nations and terrorist organizations as well as virus/malware intrusions. We expect this trend to drive increased strengthening of the Federal IT infrastructure. This will likely maintain the demand for information systems services. Lockheed is one of the key providers of cybersecurity solutions.
