The Quarter in Brief
Lockheed Martin reported its third quarter of 2026, the 13 weeks ended September 27, before the market opened on October 22. Sales were $20.71 billion, up 11.3% from $18.61 billion a year earlier. Earnings per share were $7.97, up 14.7% from $6.95. Lockheed reports only one earnings figure, under the accounting rules (GAAP); it does not publish an "adjusted" earnings per share, so the two are the same here.
Both figures were ahead of expectations: analysts had expected about $20.4 billion of sales and $7.49 a share, according to the Zacks Investment Research consensus. What made this quarter different was the order book. Backlog, the value of contracted work not yet delivered, rose 27% in three months to a record $292.0 billion, including $52.5 billion for a multi-year contract to produce PAC-3 interceptors, the missiles fired by the Patriot air defense system.