What Happened?
Shares of security and Aerospace company Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) fell 5.1% in the afternoon session after the U.S. Air Force significantly cut its request for F-35 fighter jets. The Air Force, Lockheed's largest customer, reduced its forecasted order from 48 planes to 24. This unexpected cut raises concerns about future revenue growth from the F-35 line, and may prompt investors to reassess their expectations.
The stock market overreacts to news, and big price drops can present good opportunities to buy high-quality stocks. Is now the time to buy Lockheed Martin? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
What The Market Is Telling Us
Lockheed Martin’s shares are not very volatile and have only had 4 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today’s move indicates the market considers this news meaningful, although it might not be something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business.
The biggest move we wrote about over the last year was 4 months ago when the stock dropped 8.9% on the news that the company reported underwhelming fourth quarter 2024 results, with revenue and earnings both falling below Wall Street's expectations. Its full-year EPS guidance also missed significantly. Notably, the quarter's EPS fell short of Wall Street's estimates because the company recorded a $1.3 billion loss in its Missiles and Fire Control (MFC) business segment. Overall, these results could have been better.
Lockheed Martin is down 5.8% since the beginning of the year, and at $454.54 per share, it is trading 26% below its 52-week high of $614.61 from October 2024. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of Lockheed Martin’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $1,184.
Do you want to know what moves the business you care about? Add them to your StockStory watchlist and every time a stock significantly moves, we provide you with a timely explanation straight to your inbox. It’s free and will only take you a second.
