Lockheed Martin outperforms in the recent quarter amidst the rising geopolitical tensions in the Middle East

The American global aerospace and advanced technology company, Lockheed Martin, announced on Tuesday that the company has beaten the analysts’ estimate for quarterly profit in the recent quarter. Following the quarterly earnings report, Lockheed Martin released its forecast for fiscal 2020 that came out to be higher than the analysts’ expectations. With a reputation of the number 1 supplier of weapons to the Pentagon, the recent geopolitical tensions in the Middle East were cited as the major reason for upbeat quarterly performance.

Lockheed Martin Delivered 134 F-35 Fighter Jets In 2019

In premarket trading, Lockheed was seen trading 2.5% higher following the earnings report. The company claimed to have delivered 134 F-35 fighter jets in 2019 not only to the U.S but also to multiple of its allies. As compared to 2018, the fighter jets deliveries marked a 47% increase last year. According to Lockheed, the company is now expecting $62.75 billion to $64.25 billion in revenue in fiscal 2020. Analysts, on the other hand, have their estimate capped at $62.61 billion in revenue for Lockheed this year. In terms of earnings per share (EPS), Lockheed forecasts $23.65 to $23.95 per share (full-year). As per Refinitiv, however, analysts are expecting a higher $24.30 of earnings per share for the aerospace and advanced technology company in 2020. Net earnings in the fourth quarter were recorded at $1.5 billion. In the same quarter last year, the figure was capped at a much lower $1.25 billion. Lockheed made $5.29 of earnings per share in Q4 as compared to the last year’s $4.39 per share in the same quarter. On average, experts were expecting Lockheed to note around $5.03 of earnings per share in the fourth quarter.

Lockheed Sees Rising Demand Amidst The Recently Flared U.S – Iran Tension

At $15.88 billion, net sales marked a 10.2% increase in the recent quarter and beat the analysts’ estimate of $15.29 billion by a significant margin. The recently flared U.S – Iran tension has helped Lockheed and a range of other weapons manufacturer in the United States see rising demand. The analysts are already expecting companies like Lockheed, General Dynamics, Northrop Grumman, etc. to outperform in fiscal 2020. Such companies are also known to remain upbeat in the years in which presidential elections are scheduled, like in 2020. Lockheed Martin is performing well in 2020 so far. The stock started the year at around $400 in January. With a gain of a little less than 10%, Lockheed Martin is currently exchanging hands at $435 per share.