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The Pentagon stepped up efforts to replenish weapons inventories, and the two major U.S. military industry giants raised their performance guidance, sending their stock prices soar

2026-07-25·newswire-us-stock-183705

The Pentagon stepped up efforts to replenish weapons inventories, and the two major U.S. military industry giants raised their performance guidance, sending their stock prices soaring during the session.

Lockheed Martin and Raytheon Technologies (RTX), the world's two largest military industry giants, said on Thursday local time that as a series of global geopolitical events from conflicts in the Middle East to conflicts between Russia and Ukraine continue to consume the U.S.

Pentagon's weapons inventory, the demand for restocking will be very strong in the future, and the companies expect future profitability to remain strong. Boosted by this news, investors rushed to buy related stocks. Lockheed Martin's stock price rose by more than 10% during the session, and RTX rose by more than 8%.

Military industry stocks such as GE Aerospace, Northrop Grumman, and General Dynamics also rose. U.S. President Trump has been urging defense contractors to speed up the expansion of production capacity. As U.S. and Israeli military operations against Iran and the years-long Russia-Ukraine conflict continue to deplete U.S.

military inventories, demand for U.S. weapons replenishments continues to rise. At the same time, the Trump administration also proposed a record-breaking defense budget of $1.5 trillion for fiscal year 2027. This week, the U.S.

House of Representatives passed a massive defense policy bill authorizing the military to receive a record $1.15 trillion in defense spending. The market expects that demand for weapons will remain strong in the future. According to data from the U.S.

Department of Defense, since the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict in 2022 and since the United States began military operations against Iran on February 28 this year, the U.S. military has used more than 50,000 rockets, missiles and rocket-propelled munitions.

Lockheed Martin's missile and fire control business revenue increased nearly 20% year-on-year to $4.1 billion in the quarter, mainly driven by increased production of PAC-3 missiles and precision strike missiles. Both missiles have been used in military operations against Iran in recent months.

In addition, the company's increased production of THAAD anti-missile interceptor missiles also promoted the growth of this business. Previously, the company signed a $35 billion contract with the US government in June this year to quadruple its THAAD missile production capacity.

Lockheed Martin CEO Jim Taiclet said on the earnings call: "The government has given us far more flexibility than we have in the past, which allows us to advance production at a faster pace." He added: "Every time I meet with Deputy Secretary of Defense Steve Feinberg, the thing I hear most is: faster, faster, faster." Lockheed Martin claimed that the company's total backlog has increased to US$230.4 billion, an increase of 38.3% from US$166.5 billion in the same period last year.

Evan Scott, the company's chief financial officer, said: "We are actively exploring more potential cooperation opportunities.

Especially in Europe, we see very real opportunities to expand production capacity faster by establishing more partnerships." Lockheed Martin now expects 2026 revenue to be between $79.75 billion and $81.75 billion, up from its previous forecast of $77.5 billion to $80 billion and above analysts' average estimate of $79.14 billion.

At the same time, RTX said the company's backlog of orders increased 22% year-on-year to US$289 billion, including US$170 billion in commercial aviation business and US$119 billion in defense business.

Demand in the aviation repair, maintenance and overhaul market remains strong as supply chain bottlenecks and aircraft delivery delays force airlines to continue operating older and more expensive aircraft.

Sales of RTX's weapons business increased 18% year-on-year to US$8.27 billion in the quarter, mainly benefiting from strong demand for Patriot, standard missiles and AMRAAM systems.

RTX Chief Financial Officer Neil Mitchill said: "In the first half of this year, approximately half of Raytheon's new business orders, or US$10 billion, came from international customers.

Among them, US$7 billion came from European customers." RTX currently expects adjusted sales to reach $95 billion to $96 billion in 2026, higher than the previous forecast of $92.5 billion to $93.5 billion and higher than analysts' expectations of $94.08 billion.

The company also raised its 2026 adjusted earnings per share forecast to $7.10 to $7.25 from the previous range of $6.70 to $6.90. RTX CEO Chris Calio said during the earnings conference call that given the current development of the situation in the Middle East, the company sees more business opportunities from the Middle East.

He pointed out that RTX has long-term and solid customer relationships in both the Middle East and European markets.

Earlier this month, Raytheon signed an agreement with an alliance of several NATO member states to expand the AMRAAM missile project, which means that some components of advanced medium-range air-to-air missiles will be produced locally in Europe for the first time in the future.

AMRAAM missiles were widely used in the Russia-Ukraine conflict and the recent military conflicts between the United States, Israel and Iran. They are one of the important air defense weapons to deal with drone swarm attacks.

#Stocks #Earnings #GE

Full text

The Pentagon stepped up efforts to replenish weapons inventories, and the two major U.S. military industry giants raised their performance guidance, sending their stock prices soaring during the session

Lockheed Martin and Raytheon Technologies (RTX), the world's two largest military industry giants, said on Thursday local time that as a series of global geopolitical events from conflicts in the Middle East to conflicts between Russia and Ukraine continue to consume the U.S. Pentagon's weapons inventory, the demand for restocking will be very strong in the future, and the companies expect future profitability to remain strong. Boosted by this news, investors rushed to buy related stocks. Lockheed Martin's stock price rose by more than 10% during the session, and RTX rose by more than 8%. Military industry stocks such as GE Aerospace, Northrop Grumman, and General Dynamics also rose. U.S. President Trump has been urging defense contractors to speed up the expansion of production capacity. As U.S. and Israeli military operations against Iran and the years-long Russia-Ukraine conflict continue to deplete U.S. military inventories, demand for U.S. weapons replenishments continues to rise. At the same time, the Trump administration also proposed a record-breaking defense budget of $1.5 trillion for fiscal year 2027. This week, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a massive defense policy bill authorizing the military to receive a record $1.15 trillion in defense spending. The market expects that demand for weapons will remain strong in the future. According to data from the U.S. Department of Defense, since the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict in 2022 and since the United States began military operations against Iran on February 28 this year, the U.S. military has used more than 50,000 rockets, missiles and rocket-propelled munitions. Lockheed Martin's missile and fire control business revenue increased nearly 20% year-on-year to $4.1 billion in the quarter, mainly driven by increased production of PAC-3 missiles and precision strike missiles. Both missiles have been used in military operations against Iran in recent months. In addition, the company's increased production of THAAD anti-missile interceptor missiles also promoted the growth of this business. Previously, the company signed a $35 billion contract with the US government in June this year to quadruple its THAAD missile production capacity. Lockheed Martin CEO Jim Taiclet said on the earnings call: "The government has given us far more flexibility than we have in the past, which allows us to advance production at a faster pace." He added: "Every time I meet with Deputy Secretary of Defense Steve Feinberg, the thing I hear most is: faster, faster, faster." Lockheed Martin claimed that the company's total backlog has increased to US$230.4 billion, an increase of 38.3% from US$166.5 billion in the same period last year. Evan Scott, the company's chief financial officer, said: "We are actively exploring more potential cooperation opportunities. Especially in Europe, we see very real opportunities to expand production capacity faster by establishing more partnerships." Lockheed Martin now expects 2026 revenue to be between $79.75 billion and $81.75 billion, up from its previous forecast of $77.5 billion to $80 billion and above analysts' average estimate of $79.14 billion. At the same time, RTX said the company's backlog of orders increased 22% year-on-year to US$289 billion, including US$170 billion in commercial aviation business and US$119 billion in defense business. Demand in the aviation repair, maintenance and overhaul market remains strong as supply chain bottlenecks and aircraft delivery delays force airlines to continue operating older and more expensive aircraft. Sales of RTX's weapons business increased 18% year-on-year to US$8.27 billion in the quarter, mainly benefiting from strong demand for Patriot, standard missiles and AMRAAM systems. RTX Chief Financial Officer Neil Mitchill said: "In the first half of this year, approximately half of Raytheon's new business orders, or US$10 billion, came from international customers. Among them, US$7 billion came from European customers." RTX currently expects adjusted sales to reach $95 billion to $96 billion in 2026, higher than the previous forecast of $92.5 billion to $93.5 billion and higher than analysts' expectations of $94.08 billion. The company also raised its 2026 adjusted earnings per share forecast to $7.10 to $7.25 from the previous range of $6.70 to $6.90.

RTX CEO Chris Calio said during the earnings conference call that given the current development of the situation in the Middle East, the company sees more business opportunities from the Middle East. He pointed out that RTX has long-term and solid customer relationships in both the Middle East and European markets. Earlier this month, Raytheon signed an agreement with an alliance of several NATO member states to expand the AMRAAM missile project, which means that some components of advanced medium-range air-to-air missiles will be produced locally in Europe for the first time in the future. AMRAAM missiles were widely used in the Russia-Ukraine conflict and the recent military conflicts between the United States, Israel and Iran. They are one of the important air defense weapons to deal with drone swarm attacks.

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