Lockheed Martin Q1 sales miss estimates, hurt by aeronautics pressure

Lockheed Martin

23/04/2026 11:42

Overview

US defense contractor's Q1 sales were flat year-over-year, missing analyst expectations

Q1 net earnings and EPS both declined from the prior year

Company reaffirmed 2026 full-year outlook amid ongoing strong demand for defense systems

Outlook

Lockheed Martin expects 2026 sales between $77.5 bln and $80 bln

Company anticipates 2026 diluted EPS of $29.35 to $30.25

Lockheed Martin expects 2026 free cash flow between $6.5 bln and $6.8 bln

Result Drivers

AERONAUTICS PROFIT PRESSURE - Lower profit booking rate adjustments and unfavorable profit adjustments on F-16 and C-130 programs weighed on Aeronautics segment profit

MISSILES AND SPACE SALES GROWTH - Higher volumes in Missiles and Fire Control and Space segments partially offset declines elsewhere

CASH FLOW DECLINE - Cash from operations fell due to higher working capital, mainly from timing of billing activities

Company press release: ID:nPn4qHDzba

Key Details

Metric
Beat/Miss
Actual
Consensus Estimate
Q1 Sales
Miss
$18 bln
$18.24 bln (18 Analysts)
Q1 EPS
$6.44
Q1 Net Income
$1.50 bln
Q1 Free Cash Flow
-$291 mln


Analyst Coverage

The current average analyst rating on the shares is "hold" and the breakdown of recommendations is 8 "strong buy" or "buy", 16 "hold" and 1 "sell" or "strong sell"

The average consensus recommendation for the aerospace & defense peer group is "buy."

Wall Street's median 12-month price target for Lockheed Martin Corp is $665.00, about 19.7% above its April 22 closing price of $555.43

The stock recently traded at 18 times the next 12-month earnings vs. a P/E of 17 three months ago

For questions concerning the data in this report, contact Estimates.Support@lseg.com. For any other questions or feedback, contact reuters.support@thomsonreuters.com.

(This story was created using Reuters automation and AI based on LSEG and company data. It was checked and edited by a Reuters journalist prior to publication.)