Lockheed Martin raises its 2026 outlook as third-quarter sales rise 11 percent and backlog reaches $292bn
A single contract accounts for $52.5bn of Lockheed Martin's record $292.0bn backlog: the multi-year award to produce PAC-3 MSE interceptors. The figure is in third-quarter results the Bethesda, Maryland, company filed with the SEC on Thursday. Backlog has grown 27 percent since the end of the second quarter.
Sales rose 11 percent to $20.7bn. Every segment grew. Missiles and Fire Control led, up 24 percent to $4.5bn, which the company attributes mainly to production ramps on its integrated air and missile defense programs during the quarter. Net earnings were $1.8bn, or $7.97 a diluted share, against $1.6bn and $6.95 a year earlier. Free cash flow slipped to $3.0bn from $3.3bn, which the company attributes to higher customer receipts in the 2025 quarter.
For the second quarter running, guidance went up. Lockheed now expects 2026 sales of about $80.0bn to $82.0bn, against $79.75bn to $81.75bn in July, diluted earnings of about $30.35 to $30.75 a share, and free cash flow of about $7.8bn to $8.0bn, up from $7.0bn to $7.2bn.
One caution sits in the same release. Contracts for F-35 production lots 20 and higher are still being negotiated, and during the quarter Lockheed's costs on the Lot 20 advance acquisition contract began to exceed the authorization and funding it holds. Without more from the government, the company says, future results will suffer.
