Lockheed Martin's sales grew 11.3% from a year earlier in the third quarter of 2026. Operating margin slipped a little at the same time. The stock rose in the same window as the release.
Sales hit a new high, and growth sped up
Lockheed Martin builds fighter jets, missiles and satellites, and it sells most of them to governments. In the third quarter A three-month slice of a company's financial year. Listed American companies report results for each one. of 2026 it sold more than in any quarter on the chart below. Sales in 2026Q3 were 11.3% higher than in the same quarter a year before. Against the quarter just before, sales grew 3.2%. That year on year A comparison with the same period twelve months earlier. It strips out the seasonal pattern that makes some quarters busier than others. comparison tells you more than the move from one quarter to the next, because defence deliveries are lumpy.
Glossary
- year on year
- A comparison with the same period twelve months earlier. It strips out the seasonal pattern that makes some quarters busier than others.
- quarter
- A three-month slice of a company's financial year. Listed American companies report results for each one.
Data table
| period | revenue | yoy |
|---|---|---|
| 2023Q4 | $18.9bn | -0.6% |
| 2024Q1 | $17.2bn | 13.7% |
| 2024Q2 | $18.1bn | 8.6% |
| 2024Q3 | $17.1bn | 1.3% |
| 2024Q4 | $18.6bn | -1.3% |
| 2025Q1 | $18.0bn | 4.5% |
| 2025Q2 | $18.2bn | 0.2% |
| 2025Q3 | $18.6bn | 8.8% |
| 2025Q4 | $20.3bn | 9.1% |
| 2026Q1 | $18.0bn | 0.3% |
| 2026Q2 | $20.1bn | 10.5% |
| 2026Q3 | $20.7bn | 11.3% |
A quarter earlier the same growth number was 10.5%, so the pace nudged up. Stretch the view three years and the average yearly growth is 7.1%. In plain words, this is a slow grower that is currently growing faster than its own habit. The company's own KPI table is not available in our data, so everything here comes from the results release and the filings.
Record sales, slightly thinner margins
Here is the bit a headline misses. Selling more does not always mean keeping more. Operating margin was 11.8% of sales in 2026Q3. Against 2026Q2 that is a change of -0.6 pp Short for percentage point, the plain gap between two percentages. Using it avoids confusion with a percentage change.. Gross margin moved -0.4 pp over the same two quarters.
Glossary
- operating margin
- The share of each dollar of sales left after the costs of running the business. Higher means more of every sale stays with the company.
- pp
- Short for percentage point, the plain gap between two percentages. Using it avoids confusion with a percentage change.
So sales set a high while the slice kept as profit got a little thinner. My reading of those two figures: a lower margin on a slightly bigger sales base leaves operating profit in dollars below the previous quarter, not above it. My reading is also that a heavier load of big, lower-margin aircraft work plus higher other costs sits behind the move; the release does not break that out for us. Our data holds no segment-by-segment or per-share comparison between periods, only a trailing figure: earnings per share for the four quarters to 2026Q3 were $28.27.
Quick quiz
When a company reports record sales, what happens to its margin?
Why：Operating margin was 11.8% of sales in 2026Q3, below the quarter before, even as sales set a high.
Show answer
The margin can still slip Operating margin was 11.8% of sales in 2026Q3, below the quarter before, even as sales set a high.
The stock jumped in the same window as the release
The stock's return on results day ran 5.0% above the peer basket. Counting from results day, that gap adds to 8.3%. The comparison basket holds 3 peers: RTX, Northrop Grumman and General Dynamics. A chart like this shows a stock and its peers moving together or apart; it does not prove the news moved the price.
Data table
| day | series | value | series_role |
|---|---|---|---|
| -5 | Lockheed Martin | 2.0% | target |
| -4 | Lockheed Martin | 5.7% | target |
| -3 | Lockheed Martin | 5.0% | target |
| -2 | Lockheed Martin | 5.1% | target |
| -1 | Lockheed Martin | 5.6% | target |
| 0 | Lockheed Martin | 13.0% | target |
| 1 | Lockheed Martin | 15.7% | target |
| -5 | Peer basket | 0.6% | peer |
| -4 | Peer basket | 3.9% | peer |
| -3 | Peer basket | 2.7% | peer |
| -2 | Peer basket | 4.8% | peer |
| -1 | Peer basket | 4.8% | peer |
| 0 | Peer basket | 6.9% | peer |
| 1 | Peer basket | 6.0% | peer |
| -5 | Cumulative abnormal return | 1.4% | neutral |
| -4 | Cumulative abnormal return | 1.8% | neutral |
| -3 | Cumulative abnormal return | 2.2% | neutral |
| -2 | Cumulative abnormal return | 0.3% | neutral |
| -1 | Cumulative abnormal return | 0.7% | neutral |
| 0 | Cumulative abnormal return | 5.8% | neutral |
| 1 | Cumulative abnormal return | 9.0% | neutral |
Two cautions before you read much into it. Fewer trading days have passed since the release than the full window needs, so the after-the-news figure covers only the days available. Counting results day, 2 trading days of prices exist so far. A number built on so few days can look dramatic and still be plain noise.
Guess how much a year in Lockheed Martin stock returned, up to 23 October 2026.
Actual27.0%
A year in the stock to 23 October 2026 returned 27.0%. The market returned 14.4% over the same year. The surprise is the ride: the stock's line sagged below its starting level in late 2025 before climbing back.
Show answer
27.0% A year in the stock to 23 October 2026 returned 27.0%. The market returned 14.4% over the same year. The surprise is the ride: the stock's line sagged below its starting level in late 2025 before climbing back.
Risks
- One-off items such as impairments or pension adjustments can flatter or depress any single quarter's profit.
- The company's updated full-year range is a plan, not a promise; past ranges have been revised.
- The peer basket is small and the members differ in business mix, so the comparison is thin.
Sources
- SEC EDGAR XBRL companyfacts, LOCKHEED MARTIN CORPORATION — data as of 2026-09-27; fetched 2026-10-25 16:13 UTC
- FinMind USStockPrice GD — data as of 2026-10-23; fetched 2026-10-25 17:20 UTC; License note: FinMind open data; original source TWSE/TPEx or US exchanges
- FinMind USStockPrice LMT — data as of 2026-10-23; fetched 2026-10-25 17:20 UTC; License note: FinMind open data; original source TWSE/TPEx or US exchanges
- FinMind USStockPrice NOC — data as of 2026-10-23; fetched 2026-10-25 17:20 UTC; License note: FinMind open data; original source TWSE/TPEx or US exchanges
- FinMind USStockPrice RTX — data as of 2026-10-23; fetched 2026-10-25 17:20 UTC; License note: FinMind open data; original source TWSE/TPEx or US exchanges