Lockheed Martin Earnings Beat Diluted by Soft Guidance

Cash flow from operations totaled $1.52 billion in the quarter, up from $990 million in the third quarter of 2014. For the year to date, cash flow from operations has dropped from a three-quarter total of $4.07 billion last year to $3.74 billion.

The company revised some aspects of its full-year outlook, raising net sales guidance from a range of $43.5 billion to $45 billion to a fixed amount of approximately $45 billion. Segment operating profit guidance has also been raised from a range of $5.23 billion to $5.38 billion to approximately $5.4 billion. Lockheed also firmed up its EPS estimate, from a range of $11.00 to $11.30 to a specified total of approximately $11.30. Full-year cash flow from operations continues to be forecast at greater than or equal to $5 billion.

Analysts have forecast fourth-quarter EPS at $3.00 and revenues at $11.96 billion. For the full year, analysts are looking for EPS of $11.38 on revenues of $44.82 billion.

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In the third quarter Lockheed repurchased 4.1 million shares of stock for $823 million and paid cash dividends of $462 million. The stock buyback program was increased by $3 billion in late September and now totals $4.7 billion. The company expects to repurchase at least $2 billion in shares during 2016 with a goal of reducing the outstanding share count to less than 300 million by the end of 2017.

Lockheed Martin CEO Marillyn Hewson said:

Our strong operating results this quarter are a reflection of our corporate-wide focus on program execution and delivery of value to customers and shareholders. As we look ahead to 2016, we will remain focused on performing with excellence and providing affordable and innovative solutions for our customers, while strategically positioning our business portfolio on the best path to long-term growth and value for the corporation.

The company expects its 2016 net sales to be comparable with 2015 amounts and that total business segment operating margin will be in the 11% to 11.5% range. Lockheed also expects its 2016 cash flow from operations to be comparable with 2015 totals. The preliminary outlook for 2016 does not reflect any effects from the ongoing strategic review or Lockheed’s pending acquisition of Sikorsky.

Lockheed’s preliminary outlook assumes that the U.S. government continues to support and fund key programs, consistent with the continuing resolution funding measure. The outlook also assumes that Congress approves budget legislation for government fiscal year 2016 soon.

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Lockheed Martin’s shares traded up about 0.6% in premarket trading Tuesday to $211.00, in a 52-week range of $166.28 to $216.27. The consensus target price for the shares was $225.53 before the report.