Lockheed Martin Corporation Just Recorded A 15% EPS Beat: Here's What Analysts Are Forecasting Next

Shareholders might have noticed that Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE:LMT) filed its quarterly result this time last week. The early response was not positive, with shares down 2.8% to US$464 in the past week. Revenues were US$18b, approximately in line with expectations, although statutory earnings per share (EPS) performed substantially better. EPS of US$7.28 were also better than expected, beating analyst predictions by 15%. Following the result, the analysts have updated their earnings model, and it would be good to know whether they think there's been a strong change in the company's prospects, or if it's business as usual. We thought readers would find it interesting to see the analysts latest (statutory) post-earnings forecasts for next year.

Our free stock report includes 2 warning signs investors should be aware of before investing in Lockheed Martin. Read for free now.

Following the latest results, Lockheed Martin's 20 analysts are now forecasting revenues of US$74.4b in 2025. This would be a reasonable 3.6% improvement in revenue compared to the last 12 months. Statutory earnings per share are predicted to expand 16% to US$27.34. In the lead-up to this report, the analysts had been modelling revenues of US$74.3b and earnings per share (EPS) of US$27.22 in 2025. So it's pretty clear that, although the analysts have updated their estimates, there's been no major change in expectations for the business following the latest results.

View our latest analysis for Lockheed Martin

There were no changes to revenue or earnings estimates or the price target of US$523, suggesting that the company has met expectations in its recent result. It could also be instructive to look at the range of analyst estimates, to evaluate how different the outlier opinions are from the mean. There are some variant perceptions on Lockheed Martin, with the most bullish analyst valuing it at US$670 and the most bearish at US$424 per share. This shows there is still a bit of diversity in estimates, but analysts don't appear to be totally split on the stock as though it might be a success or failure situation.

Taking a look at the bigger picture now, one of the ways we can understand these forecasts is to see how they compare to both past performance and industry growth estimates. It's clear from the latest estimates that Lockheed Martin's rate of growth is expected to accelerate meaningfully, with the forecast 4.8% annualised revenue growth to the end of 2025 noticeably faster than its historical growth of 2.4% p.a. over the past five years. By contrast, our data suggests that other companies (with analyst coverage) in a similar industry are forecast to grow their revenue at 7.0% per year. So it's clear that despite the acceleration in growth, Lockheed Martin is expected to grow meaningfully slower than the industry average.

The Bottom Line

The most obvious conclusion is that there's been no major change in the business' prospects in recent times, with the analysts holding their earnings forecasts steady, in line with previous estimates. Fortunately, the analysts also reconfirmed their revenue estimates, suggesting that it's tracking in line with expectations. Although our data does suggest that Lockheed Martin's revenue is expected to perform worse than the wider industry. There was no real change to the consensus price target, suggesting that the intrinsic value of the business has not undergone any major changes with the latest estimates.

Following on from that line of thought, we think that the long-term prospects of the business are much more relevant than next year's earnings. We have estimates - from multiple Lockheed Martin analysts - going out to 2027, and you can see them free on our platform here.

That said, it's still necessary to consider the ever-present spectre of investment risk. We've identified 2 warning signs with Lockheed Martin , and understanding these should be part of your investment process.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.