-- Lockheed Martin's (LMT) first-quarter earnings decreased more than expected, while its sales fell short of market estimates, sending the defense contractor's shares lower Thursday.
Earnings dropped to $6.44 a share for the March quarter from $7.28 a year earlier, below the FactSet-polled consensus of $6.73. Sales rose to $18.02 billion from $17.96 billion, but missed Wall Street's views for $18.22 billion.
The bottom line decline was due to lower profit and marked market losses, while sales were impacted by a shortened fiscal period versus the prior year, Chief Financial Officer Evan Scott said during an earnings call Thursday, according to a FactSet transcript.
"First-quarter 2026 results also reflect unfavorable performance adjustments at aeronautics associated with F-16 and C-130," Scott said. "Design and development delays temporarily impacted F-16."
Lockheed Martin shares were down 5.4% in afternoon trade, bringing its year-to-date to gains to 8.7%.
First-quarter revenue in the rotary and mission systems business fell to about $3.99 billion from $4.33 billion sequentially, while the aeronautics division saw a 1% drop. Sales in the missiles and fire control business grew 8%, while the space segment posted a 7% gain.
The company continues to expect 2026 EPS between $29.35 and $30.25 and sales to be in a range of $77.50 billion to $80 billion. The Street is looking for EPS of $29.92 and sales of $79.22 billion.
"We expect sales to grow in the second quarter and throughout the remainder of the year, supporting our full-year growth outlook," Scott told the analysts.
Lockheed Martin recently signed a $1.5 billion contract with the Peruvian Air Force for 12 Block 70 F-16 fighter aircraft, with an opportunity for "a second squadron" of 12 additional jets, Chief Executive Jim Taiclet said on the call.
Earlier in the week, aerospace and defense companies RTX (RTX) and Northrop Grumman (NOC) recorded stronger-than-expected results for the first quarter.
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