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The GPS III Space Vehicle 05
Courtesy of Lockheed Martin
Lockheed Martin‘s quarterly sales fell short of estimates, overshadowing an earnings beat, and a strong full-year outlook that remained unchanged.
The aerospace-and-defense giant reported first-quarter earnings of $6.44 per share while Wall Street analysts were looking for $6.11 per share, according to FactSet data. But sales of $14.96 billion in the March-ended quarter were lower than the $15.58 billion analysts expected.
What’s more important here is the outlook, which remained unchanged this time around. The group still expects earnings per share of roughly $26.70 for the full year of 2022 on sales of about $66 billion. Analysts were looking for $26.42 per share on sales of $66.12 billion. Late last year
Lockheed Martin
had downgraded its outlook.
“We remain confident in our guidance for the remainder of the year and our growth outlook beyond,” said Lockheed Chairman, President, and CEO James Taiclet in a statement.
Taiclet also said: “Global events this quarter marked a dramatic change in the geopolitical environment and demonstrated the tremendous importance of an effective deterrent to aggression by major nation-states, and mutual defense among the United States and its allies.”
Lockheed stock in early trading Tuesday dropped by 2% to $458.57. Coming into Tuesday trading, shares were down 0.1% this week.
Defense stocks are up given the war in Ukraine. Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman (NOC) are up 31.5% and 20.3% year to date, respectively through Monday’s close. These stocks had taken a beating earlier this month when the Biden administration proposed a tight defense budget.
Raytheon Technologies, (RTX) reports first-quarter earnings early next week.
Write to Karishma Vanjani at karishma.vanjani@dowjones.com
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