LMT Stock Up 38% in 2026 and the Rally Has Real Earnings Behind It

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By David Beren Published

Quick Read

  • Lockheed Martin (LMT) gained 39% year-to-date as of March 2, 2026 amid U.S. military action in Iran.

  • Lockheed posted a record $194B backlog in Q4 2025 with 525% free cash flow growth.

  • Lockheed is investing $3.5B in capacity expansion to ramp production.

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LMT Stock Up 38% in 2026 and the Rally Has Real Earnings Behind It

© Stephen Brashear / Getty Images

A giant in the aerospace world, shares of Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT | LMT Price Prediction) are up 1% over the past week and 38% year-to-date as of March 2, 2026, a great way to start the month amid market concerns tied to U.S. military action in Iran. Reddit sentiment has climbed from a quarterly average of 61.33 to 66.9 this week, a meaningful shift driven by two separate forces: geopolitical headlines and genuine operational results that are finally starting to look like a real inflection.

An infographic titled 'Investment Snapshot: Lockheed Martin (LMT)' details investment performance and social sentiment drivers. Section one, 'THE INVESTMENT', shows a fighter jet and globe icon with text 'Lockheed Martin (LMT) - Global Aerospace & Defense' and '+39% YTD (as of March 2, 2026)'. Section two, 'SOCIAL SENTIMENT SCORE', features a large number '66.9' labeled 'Bullish (Week Avg)' and an upward trend arrow with text 'Trending UP from 61.33 (Quarter)'. Section three, 'WHAT IS DRIVING THAT SCORE TODAY', presents three reasons: 'Geopolitical Tension & Defense Tailwinds' with a rocket over a USA map icon, 'Q4 Beat: Record $194B Backlog, +525% FCF Growth' with a dollar and upward arrow icon, and 'Production Ramp-Up & $3.5B Capacity Investment' with gears and bar graphs icon.
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Lockheed Martin (LMT) shows strong year-to-date performance and bullish social sentiment, fueled by geopolitical tensions, strong Q4 results, and increased production investments as of March 2, 2026.

The question worth asking is whether Lockheed’s stock is riding a geopolitical wave or whether the underlying business has actually earned this move. The answer, based on Q4 2025 results and the company’s production trajectory, leans toward the latter.

 

Lockheed’s Reddit Moment: Geopolitical Spike or Something Stickier?

The dominant post driving recent Reddit activity is blunt. On r/stocks, a user wrote:

Lockheed Martin up 15%!!! In extended hours. Insanity?
by u/[r/stocks poster] in r/stocks

 

The post body captured the raw reaction from retail investors: “Lockheed Martin up 15%!!! In extended hours. Insanity?” The post drew 603 upvotes and 101 comments, with sentiment evolving from skeptical to bullish within hours. That arc matters: retail investors initially questioned the move, then accepted it.

US Strike on Iran Imminent CVU LMT NOC KTOS
by u/[poster] in stocks

 

A separate post from February 27 captured the geopolitical dimension driving the behavioral pattern, with the poster writing directly in the post body:

“Us strike on iran imminent $cvu $lmt $noc $ktos”

The post received 50 upvotes and 40 comments, reflecting the speculative energy around defense names in the days before the broader rally.

Photo of David Beren
About the Author David Beren →

David Beren has been a Flywheel Publishing contributor since 2022. Writing for 24/7 Wall St. since 2023, David loves to write about topics of all shapes and sizes. As a technology expert, David focuses heavily on consumer electronics brands, automobiles, and general technology. He has previously written for LifeWire, formerly About.com. As a part-time freelance writer, David’s “day job” has been working on and leading social media for multiple Fortune 100 brands. David loves the flexibility of this field and its ability to reach customers exactly where they like to spend their time. Additionally, David previously published his own blog, TmoNews.com, which reached 3 million readers in its first year. In addition to freelance and social media work, David loves to spend time with his family and children and relive the glory days of video game consoles by playing any retro game console he can get his hands on.

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