By Mike Stone and Aatreyee Dasgupta
Oct 22 (Reuters) – Lockheed Martin raised its annual sales and profit forecasts on Thursday after posting a rise in quarterly earnings, as ongoing geopolitical conflicts drove demand for its missile defense systems and fighter jets.
Shares of the company rose nearly 2% in premarket trading.
The company, a key supplier of missile-defense systems such as PAC-3 and THAAD interceptors, joined RTX and Northrop Grumman in raising forecasts this week on strong demand for munitions, air-defense systems and military aircraft.
Lockheed now expects 2026 sales of about $80 billion to $82 billion, up from its prior forecast of $79.75 billion to $81.75 billion.
The US defense contractor also lifted its annual earnings-per-share forecast to range between $30.35 and $30.75 from its previous view of $29.95 to $30.65.
The company’s backlog rose 27% sequentially to a record $292 billion, boosted by a $52.5 billion multi-year award for PAC-3 Missile Segment Enhancement interceptors, stockpiles of which were heavily used by US and allied forces in the Iran war.
Lockheed also raised its 2026 free cash flow forecast to about $7.8 billion to $8 billion, from $7 billion to $7.2 billion earlier.
However, the company warned it remains in negotiations with the US government over production contracts for F-35 Lots 20 and higher, and said future operations and cash flow could be affected if additional contractual authorization and funding are not received.
Separately on Thursday, Lockheed and the Department of War said they had finalized a 10-year framework agreement guaranteeing a minimum of 850 US F-35 aircraft and securing at least $7 billion of company-funded investments in the program’s industrial base.
Sales for the quarter ended on September 27 rose 11% to $20.71 billion, driven by 24% growth in its missiles unit on higher PAC-3 and THAAD production and a 13% increase in aeronautics revenue from F-35 and C-130 programs.
In an interview with Reuters, CFO Evan Scott said a fourth-quarter increase in capital spending would be driven primarily by investments to expand munitions production capacity as the company ramps output across multiple missile programs.
Third-quarter profit increased 14% to $1.85 billion, or $7.97 per share.
(Reporting by Aatreyee Dasgupta and Mike Stone; Editing by Leroy Leo)
