Lockheed Martin (LMT), Northrop Grumman (NOC), and RTX (RTX) posted record backlogs and raised guidance, driven by near-term missile defense demand and long-term military modernization programs.
Northrop Grumman raised its 2026 sales and earnings outlook after reporting stronger second-quarter bookings and revenue growth across all four of its business segments.
CEO Kathy Warden said the company is seeing increased demand tied to U.S. defense priorities, international modernization efforts, and production-ready systems.
Warden highlighted growth in missiles, missile defense, autonomous aircraft, and national security space as key drivers of that accelerating demand.
Northrop completed qualification activities to become a supplier on PAC-3 and reached a $2 billion framework agreement with the Department of Defense and Lockheed Martin.
Aeronautics Systems delivered the strongest segment performance in the quarter, with sales up 13% on higher volumes for B-21, TACAMO, and mature production programs.
Operating margin in the Aeronautics segment increased to 10.3%, and the company raised its full-year Aeronautics sales estimate to approximately $14 billion.
Lockheed Martin ended 2025 with a record $194 billion backlog representing more than 2.5 years of sales, with management reaffirming FY2026 guidance of $77.5 to $80.0 billion in sales.
The Department of War signed multi-year framework agreements to scale Patriot, THAAD, and PrSM production by three to four times current rates, strengthening Lockheed’s long-term revenue pipeline.
Lockheed also secured a $4.8 billion PAC-3 missile production contract, underlining the scale of investment flowing into missile defense systems.
RTX ended the first quarter with a $271 billion backlog split between $162 billion in commercial work and $109 billion in defense programs.
RTX bolstered its defense portfolio with recent wins including a $1.1 billion U.S. Navy AIM-9X contract and a $515 million SPY-6 radar contract.
Across all three companies, the combination of elevated backlogs, raised guidance, and large new contract awards reflects sustained and growing government investment in defense modernization heading into the rest of 2026.
