F-35 maker Lockheed Martin (LMT) mixed first-quarter results early Tuesday. The Russian invasion of Ukraine unleashed German and NATO defense spending, including new orders for F-35 fighter jets. LMT stock fell, backing away from near a buy point.
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More aerospace and defense stocks report next week. General Electric (GE) and Raytheon (RTX) report April 26. Boeing (BA) and General Dynamics (GD) April 27, and Northrop Grumman (NOC) April 28.
Lockheed Martin Earnings
Estimates: Lockheed Martin earnings were seen falling 7% to $6.11 per share on a 4% revenue drop to $15.579 billion, according to FactSet.
Results: Lockheed earnings came in at $6.44 a share, with revenue at $14.96 billion.
Outlook: The defense giant still sees full-year EPS of $26.70 a share and sales of $66 billion. That’s roughly in line with consensus, which hasn’t been updated for the Q1 EPS beat.
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LMT Stock
Shares of Lockheed Martin fell 2% to below 459 before the open on the stock market today. LMT stock is near a 480.09 flat-base buy point with a rising relative strength line just below the March 7 peak. The flat base formed after LMT stock and other defense names soared in late February as Russia’s Ukraine invasion began.
Lockheed Martin stock has an RS Rating of 94 out of a best-possible 99, while its EPS Rating is 88.
General Dynamics stock and Raytheon Technologies were little changed, both near buy points. Boeing stock edged higher, while GE stock was flat.
F-35 Joint Strike Fighter
Investors will look for updates on the critical F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program, Lockheed Martin’s biggest. It made up more than a quarter of LMT’s 2021 sales but continued to be impacted by Covid-19.
In mid-March, Bloomberg reported that the U.S. government will buy fewer F-35 jet fighters in fiscal 2023. Lockheed Martin stock tanked on the news before rallying again.
But following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Germany said it would buy 35 F-35 fighter jets while Canada will purchase 88.
Defense Stocks Jumped On Russia-Ukraine War
Defense stocks surged following Russia’s Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine, while stocks at large fell.
Surprising defense experts, Moscow hit more resistance than expected in the battle against its neighbor.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine was a wake-up call for Germany and its NATO allies, which are sending European and U.S.-built weapons to Kyiv, including Lockheed Martin’s Javelin anti-tank missiles and Raytheon’s Stinger anti-aircraft missiles. The Biden Administration approved $350 million in military aid.
On Feb. 13, Lockheed Martin ended its proposed acquisition of Aerojet Rocketdyne (AJRD) after FTC opposition.
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