Lockheed Martin vs. L3Harris: Which Defense Giant Belongs in Your Portfolio?
247Wallst·2026-03-12 11:19

Core Insights - Lockheed Martin and L3Harris Technologies are both benefiting from increased U.S. government defense spending, but they have different business models and financial performances [1] Financial Performance - Lockheed Martin reported a Q4 2025 operating profit of $535 million in its Missiles & Fire Control segment, recovering from an $804 million loss in Q4 2024, with F-35 deliveries increasing by 74% to 191 units [1] - L3Harris achieved record Q4 orders of $27.5 billion with a 1.3x book-to-bill ratio and organic revenue growth of 5% across all segments, including a 10% growth in its Aerojet Rocketdyne segment [1] - Lockheed Martin's FY2025 revenue was $75.05 billion, while L3Harris reported $21.87 billion [1] - Lockheed's free cash flow for FY2025 was $6.91 billion compared to L3Harris's $2.74 billion [1] Growth Projections - Lockheed Martin is guiding for FY2026 revenue between $77.5 billion and $80.0 billion, while L3Harris expects revenue between $23.0 billion and $23.5 billion [1] - Lockheed's segment operating profit is projected to grow by approximately 25% in 2026 [1] Business Strategies - Lockheed Martin is focusing on scale and long-term government contracts, having invested over $3.5 billion in production capacity and next-generation technologies in 2025 [1] - L3Harris is reorganizing its structure into three segments for 2026 and is divesting a majority stake in its Space Technology disposal group, aiming for a leaner and more focused operation [1] Valuation Analysis - Lockheed Martin is trading at a forward P/E of 22x, while L3Harris is at 31x, indicating that Lockheed is the cheaper stock based on earnings power [1] - Over the past year, L3Harris has seen a stock price increase of approximately 74%, compared to Lockheed's 42% [1]