Lockheed MartinLMT

About Lockheed Martin

Lockheed Martin is the largest defense contractor in the world by revenue, organized around four reporting segments: Aeronautics, Missiles and Fire Control, Rotary and Mission Systems, and Space. Aeronautics is anchored by the F-35 Lightning II program, the F-16, the C-130J, and classified aircraft work at Skunk Works, and it is typically the largest contributor to consolidated sales. Missiles and Fire Control produces the PAC-3, THAAD, HIMARS, Javelin, and long-range strike weapons, and it usually generates the highest segment margins. Rotary and Mission Systems houses Sikorsky helicopters along with naval combat and radar systems, while Space builds strategic missiles, satellites, and human spaceflight hardware. Sustainment work on installed platforms provides a substantial recurring revenue stream.

Investors watch the concentration of sales with a single customer — the U.S. government, primarily the Department of Defense — which shapes both revenue visibility and political risk around annual appropriations and continuing resolutions. The F-35 program's cost, schedule, and Pentagon procurement quantities are a persistent focus, as are foreign military sales approvals that gate international growth. Structural questions include free cash flow conversion, pension accounting swings, working capital tied to long-cycle programs, and the pace of buybacks and dividends relative to R&D and capital expenditure. Governance features include a classified-work profile that limits disclosure, exposure to export controls and ITAR, and inclusion in major U.S. large-cap and aerospace-defense indices that anchors passive ownership.

The company in its current form was created by the March 1995 merger of Lockheed Corporation, founded by the Loughead brothers in 1912 and later reorganized under Robert Gross, with Martin Marietta, itself the 1961 combination of the Glenn L. Martin Company and American-Marietta. The combined entity absorbed Loral's defense electronics business in 1996 and spun off its materials operations as Martin Marietta Materials. In 2015 Lockheed Martin acquired Sikorsky Aircraft from United Technologies, consolidating military rotorcraft under the Rotary and Mission Systems segment. The company is headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, and has restructured its segment reporting several times to reflect internal reorganizations, most notably folding the former Information Systems and Global Solutions business into Leidos in 2016.

Revenue comes overwhelmingly from long-duration government contracts, split between cost-reimbursable arrangements, in which allowable costs plus a fee are paid, and fixed-price contracts, under which the contractor bears cost overruns in exchange for higher potential margins. The U.S. federal government accounts for the majority of sales, with international customers — concentrated in NATO members, Israel, Japan, South Korea, Australia, and Gulf states — providing the balance, either through direct commercial sales or the Foreign Military Sales channel administered by the Pentagon. Competitive position rests on incumbency on flagship programs, classified capabilities, and a supplier base built around specific weapons systems. Principal rivals are RTX, Northrop Grumman, Boeing Defense, and General Dynamics, with overlap varying by segment.

Company profile by LineVest editorial. Journalism, not investment advice.