Lockheed Martin reported Q1 net income increased 17% to $690 million, or $1.60 per share, exceeding analysts' average estimate of $1.37. Excluding one-off gains it earned $1.39/share. It raised full-year EPS guidance to $6.20 - $6.35 (from $5.80 - $6.00) on sales of $40.35b - $41.35b (up $100m), against Street estimates of $6.06/share on sales of $41.11b. 
Note Q1 revenues grew only 1% to $9.28b, short of analysts' estimates of $9.52b (Bloomberg) - $9.57b (Thomson). Lockheed said its revised sales forecast is a result of its acquisitions of Management Systems Designers [MSD] and RLM Systems. The higher EPS guidance is credited to operational improvements expected across all segments (for $0.14 - $0.19 per share), as well as the $0.21/share gain in Q1 from unusual items. It repurchased 7.6 million shares valued at $739m in Q1. Shares of Lockheed rose 1.75% to $97.07 in normal trading yesterday and gained another 1.27% to $90.30 in the after-hours on thin volume of 21,000 shares.
Sources: Press release, Bloomberg, MarketWatch
Commentary: DoD's FY-08 Budget: The Largest in US History • Lockheed, Northrop Face Probe Over Coast Guard Program Cost Overruns • Jim Cramer's Take on Lockheed
Stocks/ETFs to watch: Lockheed Martin Corporation (LMT). Competitors: The Boeing Company (BA), Northrop Grumman Corporation (NOC), Raytheon Company (RTN). ETFs: iShares Dow Jones US Aerospace & Defense (ITA), PowerShares Aerospace & Defense (PPA), Industrial Select Sector SPDR (XLI)
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