Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) Trading Up 2.5% on Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Posted by Francis Steltz on Jul 24th, 2026

Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE:LMT – Get Free Report)’s share price rose 2.5% on Friday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock traded as high as $588.41 and last traded at $582.73. 1,735,454 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 10% from the average daily volume of 1,573,588 shares. The stock had previously closed at $568.59.

The aerospace company reported $7.94 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.22 by $0.72. Lockheed Martin had a return on equity of 101.64% and a net margin of 6.38%.The firm had revenue of $20.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.34 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.46 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 10.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Lockheed Martin has set its FY 2026 guidance at 29.950-30.650 EPS.

Lockheed Martin Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be given a dividend of $3.45 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 1st. This represents a $13.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. Lockheed Martin’s dividend payout ratio is presently 50.87%.

Key Headlines Impacting Lockheed Martin

Here are the key news stories impacting Lockheed Martin this week:

Positive Sentiment: Lockheed Martin beat Q2 expectations, reporting EPS of $7.94 versus $7.22 expected and revenue of $20.06 billion versus $19.34 billion expected, showing broad-based operational improvement.
Positive Sentiment: The company raised 2026 guidance for sales and earnings, with management pointing to continued munitions production expansion and stronger demand across its defense businesses.
Positive Sentiment: Lockheed ended the quarter with a record $230 billion backlog, including a major THAAD interceptor contract, signaling years of revenue visibility and supporting the bullish investor reaction. Article: Lockheed Martin Says Record Backlog Will Fuel Sales Growth ‘for Years to Come’
Positive Sentiment: Several reports highlighted that defense spending and geopolitical tensions are boosting the entire sector, helping defense names like LMT outperform the broader market.
Neutral Sentiment: Analyst commentary says execution remains important, so investors will be watching whether Lockheed can sustain this improved performance in coming quarters.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on LMT shares. Robert W. Baird set a $700.00 target price on Lockheed Martin in a report on Friday. Citigroup upgraded Lockheed Martin from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $571.00 to $582.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Lockheed Martin from $575.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $581.00 price objective on shares of Lockheed Martin in a research note on Friday. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Lockheed Martin from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Lockheed Martin currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $624.94.

Read Our Latest Analysis on LMT

Institutional Trading of Lockheed Martin

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. IAG Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Lockheed Martin by 4,800.0% during the first quarter. IAG Wealth Partners LLC now owns 49 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. United Financial Planning Group LLC purchased a new stake in Lockheed Martin in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Basso Capital Management L.P. purchased a new stake in Lockheed Martin in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Clarity Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Lockheed Martin in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Finally, TD Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Lockheed Martin by 450.0% during the 4th quarter. TD Capital Management LLC now owns 55 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. 74.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Lockheed Martin Stock Up 2.5%

The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $134.36 billion, a PE ratio of 28.22, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.11. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $522.45 and its 200-day simple moving average is $573.14.

About Lockheed Martin

(Get Free Report)

Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE: LMT) is a global aerospace and defense company that designs, develops and manufactures advanced technology systems for government and commercial customers. Formed through the 1995 merger of Lockheed Corporation and Martin Marietta, the company is headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, and focuses on providing integrated solutions across air, space, land and sea domains. Its primary customers include the U.S. Department of Defense, NASA and allied governments around the world.

Lockheed Martin’s product and service portfolio spans military aircraft, missile and fire-control systems, missile defense, space systems and satellite technologies, sensors and precision weapons.