Lockheed Martin (LMT) Q3 Shock: Earnings Plummet 36% Despite $36B Sales Surge
Defense giant stumbles as profits nosedive—but revenue soars. What’s really going on?
Earnings Freefall
Lockheed’s Q3 earnings cratered by 36%, a brutal drop that’ll have shareholders reaching for the ejector seat button. Yet somehow, sales hit a staggering $36 billion. Cue Wall Street’s collective eyebrow raise.
The Disconnect
When top-line growth and bottom-line carnage collide, someone’s cooking the books—or just burning cash like a Pentagon cost-plus contract. Either way, the math ain’t mathing.
Cynical Finance Jab
Nothing says ‘healthy business’ like slashing earnings while revenue balloons. Maybe they’re prepping for a blockchain pivot? (We kid. Defense contractors move slower than Congress approving a budget.)
LMT stock price chart showing decline to $410.74 – Source: TradingView
Jim Taiclet, who serves as Lockheed Martin Chairman, President and CEO, said:
Lockheed Martin Q3 Earnings Miss Sparks Stock Forecast Debate
The Lockheed Martin 10-Q filing actually revealed earnings per share of $6.80 compared to $6.73 in the prior year, though the absolute earnings were down quite a bit. This earnings miss is impacting defense stock performance, and now analysts are finding the LMT share price forecast more uncertain as they try to figure out what comes next.
Revenue Growth Gets Offset by Some Margin Pressures
Even with the Lockheed Martin Q3 earnings challenges that they’re facing right now, total sales actually increased 1% year-over-year to $17.1 billion. The Lockheed Martin 10-Q filing showed mixed results across segments, with Aeronautics managing to achieve $6.5 billion and Missiles and Fire Control reporting over $3 billion in quarterly sales.
Jesus Malave Jr., who is the Chief Financial Officer, had this to say on the topic:
The company’s defense stock performance continues to face some headwinds from supply chain disruptions and also program-specific losses. However, management remains pretty optimistic about Lockheed Martin revenue 2025 prospects, citing record backlog levels along with strong demand across all their business segments.
Strong Cash Flow Generation Even With Earnings Volatility
Even the lockheed Martin Q3 earnings pressures that they are facing, the free cash FLOW went up to 2.1 billion dollars in the quarter, which shows that the company is able to create cash even with what they are going through. Analysts are currently splitting quite a bit on LMT stock price projections, with some analysts pushing for prices up to $600 (based on projected future defense spending) while others are calling for share prices to drop down to $406 (based on the company’s quarter-to-quarter performance).
