Lockheed Martin reported flat first-quarter 2026 sales, with stronger missile-defense and space activity offsetting softer results in aeronautics and rotary-wing programs. The company reaffirmed its full-year guidance.
Sales flat, cash generation slides
The US defense giant posted first-quarter sales of $18.0 billion on April 23, 2026, broadly unchanged from a year earlier. Net earnings fell to $1.49 billion, or $6.44 per share, from $1.71 billion, or $7.28 per share, in the first quarter of 2025. Cash from operations dropped to $220 million, down from $1.4 billion a year earlier, while free cash flow was negative $291 million. Lockheed Martin said the decline in cash generation was primarily due to working capital timing and billing activity.
Missiles and space lead growth
At business-segment level, Missiles and Fire Control was the main growth driver, with sales rising 8% to $3.65 billion as production ramped up on PAC-3 and other tactical and strike missile programs, including JASSM, LRASM and PrSM. Space sales also rose 7% to $3.43 billion, helped by higher volume on strategic and missile-defense programs including the Next Generation Interceptor.
Aeronautics and rotary drag on results
By contrast, Aeronautics sales slipped 1% to $6.95 billion. Lockheed Martin said lower classified-program volume and F-16 headwinds were only partly offset by higher F-35 sustainment activity. Aeronautics’ operating profit fell 14%, with the company citing unfavorable F-16 adjustments tied to production performance and development delays, as well as continued delivery delays on the C-130 program.
The quarter also closed before Peru’s interim government postponed the scheduled signing of its selected $3.5 billion F-16 Block 70 order on April 18, 2026, adding near-term uncertainty to the line’s order book. Rotary and Mission Systems sales fell 8% to $3.99 billion, reflecting weaker radar-program volume and lower sales on Sikorsky helicopter programs, including the CH-53K, Seahawk, and Black Hawk.
Framework deals to lift Patriot and strike missile output
Lockheed Martin also said it signed several framework agreements with the US Pentagon to accelerate production of advanced Patriot missiles, THAAD, and PrSM, with chief executive Jim Taiclet saying the arrangements could support a threefold to fourfold increase in production rates over time. The company maintained its 2026 outlook, guiding for $77.5 billion to $80.0 billion in sales and $6.5 billion to $6.8 billion in free cash flow.
Backlog shrinks as F-35 deliveries slow
The company’s total backlog stood at $186.4 billion at the end of the quarter, down from $193.6 billion at the end of 2025. Lockheed Martin delivered 32 F-35s in the quarter, compared with 47 a year earlier, and no F-16s, versus four in the prior-year period.
