Lockheed Martin Beats Quarterly Expectations And Raises Outlook

Shares of Lockheed Martin Corp. rose nearly 2% in premarket trade Tuesday after the government contractor reported stronger-than-expected sales and earnings for the second quarter. The company, which makes fighter jets and guided weapons systems, reported net income of $1.02 billion, or $3.32 a share, compared with $929 million, or $2.94 a share, in the year-earlier period. Revenue for the period rose to $12.9 billion from $11.6 billion a year ago. Both metrics beat Wall Street consensus expectations. Analysts surveyed by FactSet were calling for earnings of $2.94 a share on sales of $12.6 billion. The company also slightly raised the lower-end of its full-year sales guidance, to a range of $50 billion to $51.5 billion, versus $49.6 billion to $51.1 billion previously, and raised its earnings per share estimate to a range of $12.15 to $12.45 a share from $11.50 to $11.80 previously.