Lockheed Martin Outruns Estimates Again

Seth Jayson, The Motley Fool
Updated

Lockheed Martin (NYS: LMT) reported earnings on Oct. 24. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
 For the quarter ended Sep. 30 (Q3), Lockheed Martin beat expectations on revenues and crushed expectations on earnings per share.

Compared to the prior-year quarter, revenue contracted slightly and GAAP earnings per share expanded.


Gross margins dropped, operating margins contracted, net margins grew.

Revenue details
 Lockheed Martin chalked up revenue of $11.87 billion. The 18 analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ expected a top line of $11.18 billion on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 2.1% lower than the prior-year quarter's $12.12 billion.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Dollar amounts in millions. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

EPS details
 EPS came in at $2.26. The 22 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ anticipated $1.85 per share. GAAP EPS of $2.21 for Q3 were 5.7% higher than the prior-year quarter's $2.09 per share. (The prior-year quarter included $0.10 per share in earnings from discontinued operations.)

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

Margin details
 For the quarter, gross margin was 8.3%, 250 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 8.3%, 60 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 6.1%, 30 basis points better than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
 Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $11.27 billion. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $1.85.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $45.75 billion. The average EPS estimate is $8.12.

Investor sentiment
 The stock has a four-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 1,761 members out of 1,877 rating the stock outperform, and 116 members rating it underperform. Among 481 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 464 give Lockheed Martin a green thumbs-up, and 17 give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Lockheed Martin is hold, with an average price target of $87.07.

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The article Lockheed Martin Outruns Estimates Again originally appeared on Fool.com.

Seth Jayson had no position in any company mentioned here at the time of publication. You can view his stock holdings here. He is co-advisor ofMotley Fool Hidden Gems, which provides new small-cap ideas every month, backed by a real-money portfolio. The Motley Fool owns shares of Lockheed Martin. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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