Skip to main content
LMTLockheed Martin CorporationBuy Wait4.5·$511.10+0.46%
LMT · Why this verdict

Why Lockheed Martin (LMT) is rated BUY WAIT

Updated

Model-generated analysis — not investment advice. Not a registered investment advisor. Past performance does not guarantee future results.

Show full disclosure ▾

About TrendMatrix. TrendMatrix is a publisher of general securities research and market commentary. We publish on a regular schedule. All content is the same for every subscriber in a tier — we do not provide personalized investment advice and we do not take into account any individual subscriber's financial situation, investment objectives, risk tolerance, tax situation, or holdings.

Not investment advice. TrendMatrix is not a registered investment adviser. Our content is for informational and educational purposes only. Consult your own licensed investment adviser, broker, or tax professional before making any investment decision.

Conflicts and positions. The TrendMatrix editorial team frequently holds personal long-term positions in securities discussed. We disclose positions held at the time of publication on each piece. We maintain a trading-window policy: we do not initiate or close positions in the same direction as a TrendMatrix publication within 24 hours before or 72 hours after publication.

No paid promotion. TrendMatrix does not accept payment from any issuer, broker, or third party in exchange for coverage of any security. Our sole compensation is subscription revenue.

No fiduciary duty. No fiduciary, advisory, or agency relationship is created between you and TrendMatrix by reading our content or subscribing to our service.

Performance. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Performance figures reflect the published model only and do not reflect any individual subscriber's actual results.

Methodology · Editorial policy & full disclaimer

VerdictBUY WAIT
Overall score4.5/10
ConfidenceHIGH
MacroNEUTRAL
TrendMatrix Research · core thesis

Engine thesis — one sentence

Three earnings misses in the last four quarters — including a severe miss in mid-2025 that dragged the average surprise to approximately negative 19% — alongside 72% revenue concentration with a single government customer and only 6.1% headroom to the analyst price target suggest a cautious posture; the stock is below its 200-day moving average but that average is still rising at roughly 2.8% over the past month, indicating a pullback within a longer uptrend that has not yet confirmed a reversal.

Falsifiable statement — pillar-level invalidators below. Engine-derived; not personalized advice.

Thesis pillars

With approximately 6.1% headroom remaining to the analyst consensus price target and a reward-to-risk ratio of about 1.4-to-1, the current setup does not clear the minimum asymmetry threshold, leaving little margin for error at the current entry level.

TrippedStable
Price targets
Expectation
A share price correction of 10% or more would create at least 17% upside to the $562 consensus target and improve the risk/reward to a level that justifies re-engagement.

CounterA reward-to-risk ratio above 1.0 is technically favorable in absolute terms; with positive news sentiment scoring above 0.6 and low short interest, a patient hold at the current level can still generate a positive return even without a price correction.

Three of the last four reported quarters have missed earnings estimates, with the average surprise running at approximately negative 19%; the two most recent quarters each missed, following a solid beat, and an outlier miss of nearly 77% in mid-2025 distorted the full-year average, together signaling uneven execution and raising questions about near-term guidance reliability.

Stable
Earnings
Expectation
At least two consecutive positive EPS surprises of 3% or more over the next four quarters signal a return to reliable delivery.

CounterThe severe miss in mid-2025 appears to be an outlier that disproportionately weighted the average; if the two most recent small misses of roughly 3% and 4% reflect tightened guidance discipline rather than fundamental deterioration, the delivery pattern may normalize without a structural problem.

A single government customer accounts for 72% of revenue, a concentration level flagged at HIGH severity in the company's filings; this reliance concentrates funding dependency in one relationship and limits revenue diversification.

Deteriorating
Bear case
Expectation
Revenue from non-government customers grows to represent more than 35% of total revenue over the next 12 months, beginning to dilute the concentration.

CounterThe concentration is already sized and factored into risk guidance as a HIGH-severity item; if no contract reductions materialize over the next four reporting periods, the concern remains latent rather than active, and the risk premium the market applies for it may diminish.

The stock trades below its 200-day moving average with volume distribution (falling on-balance volume) pointing to near-term selling pressure; however, the 200-day moving average itself continues to rise at approximately 2.8% over the past 30 days, and the data characterizes this as a pullback within a longer uptrend rather than a confirmed breakdown.

Deteriorating
Momentum breakdown
Expectation
Price reclaims the 200-day moving average within 90 days and on-balance volume returns to accumulation, confirming the pullback was temporary.

CounterContinued distribution alongside a sub-200-day moving average close can precede deeper corrections; if the moving average begins to flatten or decline over the next several weeks, what is currently a pullback in an uptrend may transition into a confirmed downtrend.

Per-dimension breakdown

Value

6.2/10data confidence 100%
ComponentSub-score
P/E5.1
P/S9.3
EV/EBITDA1.8
Fwd P/E7.7
PEG6.7
Analyst target6.0
  • Forward P/E: 15.9x
  • PEG: 1.08

Quality

4.7/10data confidence 100%
ComponentSub-score
ROE10.0
ROA4.8
Gross margin0.0
Op margin4.4
Net margin3.2
Current ratio4.4
FCF quality6.2
Moat4.9
Piotroski F4.4
  • Excellent ROE: 68%
  • No competitive moat

Growth

1.3/10data confidence 67%
ComponentSub-score
Rev growth2.6
EPS growth0.0

Momentum

2.0/10data confidence 100%
ComponentSub-score
RSI4.5
MACD0.0
OBV1.0
MA position2.2
Volume2.4
  • Volume distribution (falling OBV)
  • Below 200-MA but MA still rising (+1.8%/30d) — pullback in uptrend, not confirmed weakness

Sentiment

6.0/10data confidence 100%
ComponentSub-score
LLM sentiment5.8
Analyst rating5.0
Price target7.6

Insider

6.3/10data confidence 75%
ComponentSub-score
materiality5.0
holder change9.0
notable moves5.0
  • No net insider activity — $0 (0.000% of mkt cap)
  • Institutions accumulating

Peer rank

4.3/10data confidence 80%
ComponentSub-score
value rank8.6
quality rank7.7
growth rank0.5
  • Attractive P/E vs peers
  • Superior ROE vs peers

Technical

5.8/10data confidence 100%
ComponentSub-score
bollinger6.0
support resistance6.6
52w position4.8

Risk (lower is worse)

5.9/10data confidence 100%
ComponentSub-score
short interest9.1
days to cover8.3
volatility6.3
put call1.0
implied vol4.4
beta10.0
debt equity2.2
  • Elevated put/call: 1.85
  • Concentration risks: 1 HIGH, 1 MED (10-K Item 1A — sized via position_sizing, validated via buy_confidence)

Catalyst

4.4/10data confidence 100%
ComponentSub-score
erm5.0
earnings history3.3
earnings timing5.0
surprise avg0.0
dividend safety5.0
news activity8.0
  • Earnings concerns: 2B/2M
  • Earnings in 3 days

How the verdict was assembled

Engine trigger

Earnings in 3 days. Wait until post-earnings.

Engine technical detail
verdict_path: L3:NEWS_BLOCK|ENTRY_STICKY:WITHIN_BAND
Passed (5)
  • ASYMMETRY:1.5>=1.5
  • INSIDER:OK
  • 8K:CLEAN
  • SEMI_CYCLE_PEAK:CLEAR
  • MATERIALS_CYCLE_PEAK:CLEAR
Failed (2)
  • MOMENTUM:2.0<4.5
  • EARNINGS_PROXIMITY:3d<=7d
Warning (0)

none

Reward-to-Risk
1.49
Upside
+7.5%
Downside
5.0%
Sizing output
STARTER

SetupRange Bound RSI 54 mid-range, Bollinger mid-band

EdgeNo clear edge No clear edge identified

SuitabilityModerate Balanced profile

Investment implication

A recent news event triggered an L3 news-block on the verdict path. Trigger: Earnings in 3 days. Wait until post-earnings. The 10-dimension scores remain Insider at 6.3 (strongest), but MOMENTUM:2.0<4.5 also fails — the news block is the proximate trigger, not the sole driver.

The strongest dimensions are Insider at 6.3, Value at 6.2, and Sentiment at 6.0; the weakest are Growth at 1.3, Momentum at 2.0, and Peer rank at 4.3. The V9 engine flagged 2 failed gates, producing an asymmetric reward-to-risk of 1.49 and an engine sizing output of STARTER.

What would invalidate the thesis

Falsifying conditions — when triggered, the corresponding pillar's thesis is invalidated.

  • P1Earnings Delivery Deteriorating

    Trip ifEPS surprise exceeds 3% for 2 consecutive quarters, signaling a return to reliable delivery and falsifying the deteriorating-execution thesis.

  • P2Government Customer Concentration

    Trip ifGovernment customer revenue concentration falls below 50% of total revenue for 2 consecutive reporting periods, indicating meaningful diversification.

  • P3Thin Upside Asymmetry Not ClearedTripped

    Trip ifShare price falls to $480 or below, expanding upside to the $562 price target above 17% and improving the reward-to-risk profile to above 2.0-to-1.

  • P4Momentum Pullback Not Yet Confirmed

    Trip ifThe 200-day moving-average slope falls below 0% for 4 consecutive weeks, confirming the pullback has become a structural downtrend rather than a temporary correction.

Engine reasoning is mechanically derived from pipeline gate outputs. See decision view.

Home Stocks LMT Why this verdict