Lockheed Martin's Stock Falls After Downbeat Outlook Offsets Profit And Sales Beat

Lockheed Martin Corp.'s stock shed 1.4% in premarket trade, after the aerospace and defense contractor beat fourth-quarter profit and sales expectations but provided a downbeat profit outlook. Earnings rose to $988 million, or $3.35 a share, from $933 million, or $3.01 a share, in the same period a year ago. Excluding non-recurring items, adjusted earnings per share came to $3.25, above the FactSet consensus of $3.05. Revenue grew to $13.75 billion from $11.52 billion, beating the FactSet consensus of $13.03 billion, as better-than-expected aeronautics and space systems sales helped offset a slight miss in missiles and fire control sales. For 2017, Lockheed expects EPS of $12.25 to $12.55, below the FactSet consensus of $12.88. Revenue is projected to be in the range of $49.4 billion to $50.6 billion, compared with the FactSet consensus of $49.5 billion. Separately, the company said it expects to report a material weakness in internal control over financial reporting at its Sikorsky Aircraft Corp., which was acquired in November 2015. The stock has rallied 21% over the past 12 months through Monday, while the S&P 500 has gained 19%.