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Bethesda, Maryland-based Lockheed Martin Corporation (LMT) is a security, aerospace, and advanced technology company with a market cap of $122.3 billion. It specializes in the end-to-end design, manufacturing, integration, and sustainment of highly complex military and civil systems and primarily operates as the chief defense contractor for the U.S. Department of Defense, federal agencies like NASA, and numerous allied international governments.
Companies worth $10 billion or more are typically classified as “large-cap stocks,” and LMT fits the label perfectly, with its market cap exceeding this threshold, underscoring its size, influence, and dominance within the aerospace & defense industry. The company plays a foundational role in the human and national security space exploration, constructing critical deep-space satellites, weather-monitoring networks, and NASA's Orion spacecraft.
Despite its notable strength, this aerospace & defense company has dipped 25.4% from its 52-week high of $692, reached on Mar. 2. Moreover, shares of LMT have fallen 21.5% over the past three months, considerably underperforming the Dow Jones Industrial Average’s ($DOWI) 4.3% return during the same time frame.
In the longer term, LMT has gained 7.1% over the past 52 weeks, lagging DOWI's 20.8% uptick over the same time period. However, on a YTD basis, shares of LMT are up 6.8%, outpacing DOWI’s 6.3% rise.
To confirm its bearish trend, LMT has been trading below its 200-day moving average since late April, with slight fluctuations, and has remained below its 50-day moving average since mid-March.
Shares of LMT declined 4.6% on Apr. 23 after the company posted Q1 2026 results that fell short of expectations, reporting revenue of $18.02 billion and EPS of $6.44. Investor sentiment was also weighed down by weaker profitability and cash generation, with net income declining to $1.49 billion and free cash flow turning negative at $291 million.
The disappointing performance was primarily driven by weakness across several major business segments. Aeronautics revenue slipped to $6.95 billion due to lower classified program activity and reduced F-16 sales, while rotary and mission systems revenue fell 8% year over year to $3.99 billion.
LMT has underperformed its rival, Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. (HII), which soared 32.9% over the past 52 weeks. However, it has outperformed HII’s 12.8% YTD drop.
Despite LMT’s recent underperformance, analysts remain moderately optimistic about its prospects. The stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy” from the 24 analysts covering it, and the mean price target of $632.82 suggests a 22.5% premium to its current price levels.
