Lockheed Martin stock drops as Q4 sales, profit guidance fall short

Investing.com -- Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) saw its shares slide more than 3% in premarket trading Tuesday after the defense contractor’s Q4 sales missed analyst expectations. The company’s annual profit forecast also fell short.

Lockheed reported Q4 earnings per share (EPS) of $7.67, exceeding analyst expectations of $6.58. However, quarterly revenue of $18.6 billion came in slightly below the consensus estimate of $18.84 billion.

Net earnings for the three-month period totaled $527 million, or $2.22 per share, reflecting a significant loss of $1.7 billion related to classified programs. This marks a decline compared to net earnings of $1.9 billion, or $7.58 per share, in Q4 2023.

Cash flow from operations fell 57% year-over-year to $1.02 billion, missing the estimated $1.79 billion.

The company reported a backlog of $176.04 billion, representing a 9.6% increase year-over-year.

"2024 was another successful and productive year for Lockheed Martin. Our 5% sales growth and record year-end backlog of $176 billion demonstrate the enduring global demand for our advanced defense technology and systems," said Jim Taiclet, Lockheed Martin's Chairman, President and CEO.

“Our strong and consistent performance also enabled us to again return greater than 100% of free cash flow to our shareholders in 2024," he added.

For fiscal year 2025, Lockheed Martin forecasts EPS of $27.00-$27.30, below the consensus estimate of $27.82.

Revenue guidance is set at $73.75-$74.75 billion, compared to the consensus forecast of $74 billion.

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