Lockheed Martin Raises Full-Year Outlook Following Third-Quarter Beat; Shares Jump

01:42 PM EDT, 10/22/2026 (MT Newswires) -- Lockheed Martin (LMT) increased its full-year guidance after reporting fiscal third-quarter results above Wall Street's expectations amid growth in its four business segments, sending the company's shares higher Thursday. The defense contractor now expects earnings of $30.35 to $30.75 a share for 2026, up from its previous guidance range of $29.95 to $30.65. Sales are now pegged between $80 billion and $82 billion, compared with its prior outlook range of $79.75 billion to $81.75 billion. The consensus on FactSet is for EPS of $30.43 and sales of $80.97 billion. "The sustained financial momentum across our portfolio gives us confidence to increase our outlook for sales, earnings per share and free cash flow, the second consecutive quarter we have raised our financial guidance," Chief Executive Jim Taiclet said in a statement. Lockheed Martin shares were up 5.8% in afternoon trade, taking its year-to-date gains to nearly 21%. For the three months through Sept. 27, EPS advanced to $7.97 from $6.95 a year earlier, topping the Street's view for $7.52. Sales grew 11% to $20.71 billion, also exceeding market views for $20.48 billion. The missiles and fire control segment saw sales jump 24% to $4.50 billion, while aeronautics rose 13% to $8.21 billion. The rotary and mission systems business logged revenue growth of 3% to $4.51 billion, while space sales rose to $3.49 billion from $3.36 billion. Lockheed's backlog stood at a "new record" of $292 billion, up 27% since the second quarter, it said. Separately, the company and the US Department of Defense on Thursday announced a framework agreement for multiyear F-35 Lightning II production and support. The agreement includes 850 US aircraft over 10 years along with spare parts, 10 years of modification kits and sustainment and international customer orders, at a continued annual production rate of 156 jets. Earlier in the week, Northrop Grumman (NOC) and RTX (RTX) raised their full-year adjusted earnings outlooks amid record order backlogs as the defense contractors' third-quarter results grew year over year. Last week, Morgan Stanley said US aerospace and defense companies' upcoming financial results are likely to reflect continued demand amid underlying fundamentals that are stronger than investor sentiment indicates. Price: 584.61, Change: +33.10, Percent Change: +6.00