Lockheed Martin's business has been booming. Someone should tell investors.
The defense contractor on Thursday reported third-quarter earnings per share of $7.97, up about 15% year over year, from sales of $20.7 billion. Wall Street was looking for earnings per share of $7.52 from sales of $20.5 billion.
Backlog rose to a record $292 billion, up from $230 billion at the end of the second quarter.
Numbers looked solid. Guidance was raised. Lockheed now sees 2026 earnings per share of about $30.55. The midpoint of prior guidance was $30.30.
The updated number implies fourth-quarter earnings per share of about $8.20. Wall Street currently projects $8.56. That might be a small disappointment, but still implies roughly 10% earnings growth from the fourth quarter of 2025 after adjusting for last year's one-time charges.
Lockheed stock was up 1% in premarket trading at $557.02, while S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were down 1.1% and 0.7%, respectively.
Stock futures were down partly because of rising oil prices amid escalating tensions in the Middle East. Earnings from Tesla and Meta Platforms also failed to give stocks a boost. Both tech stocks were down in premarket trading.
Lockheed's earnings were a relief. Coming into Thursday, Lockheed stock has declined about 16% since the start of the Iran War in late February.
Investors have grown increasingly concerned about defense stocks amid rising interest rates, higher inflation, an unpopular war, potential contracting reform, and a looming midterm U.S. election. Those headwinds are overcoming the tailwind of higher earnings.
Declines have left Lockheed stock trading at about 17 times earnings expected over the coming 12 months, down from 22 times in March.
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