Earnings Preview: Lockheed Martin

Lockheed Martin Corp. (LMT) is expected to report Q3 earnings on Tuesday, October 20 before the market open with a conference call scheduled for 11 am ET.

Guidance

Analysts are looking for EPS of $1.83 on revenue of $11.4B. The consensus range is $1.76-$1.92 for EPS, and $11.27B-$11.64B for revenue, according to First Call. Lockheed Martin reiterated its FY09 EPS guidance when it reported Q2 earnings, expecting EPS of $7.15-$7.35 vs. consensus $7.37. The company also sees FY09 revenue of $44.7B-$45.7B versus consensus $45.28B.

Analyst Views

In mid September, shares of Raytheon (RTN) and Lockheed Martin were given a boost after Defense Secretary Robert Gates said that the U.S. would utilize weapons made by the two companies as part of a new strategy to react to missile threats from Iran and others. President Obama's announced that the U.S. was canceling plans made by the Bush Administration to deploy an anti-missile defense system in Eastern Europe, also help the company's shares climb over 4%.

Despite the rally into mid-September, the company's shares have fallen steadily to early October, when it was downgraded to Neutral from Outperform at Cowen. The firm stated that it sees limited upside to shares given eroding Aerospace prospects and higher FAS/CAS.