Lockheed Martin beats Wall Street expectations with strong earnings, revenue

  • Lockheed Martin reports strong first-quarter earnings.
  • The defense contractor's largest division got a boost largely due to $185 million in sales for F-35 fighter jets.

Lockheed Martin reported first-quarter earnings Friday that beat Wall Street's anticipated result.

Expectations vs. results

  • EPS: $4.02 per share vs. $3.40 per share forecast by Thomson Reuters
  • Revenue: $11.64 billion vs. $11.24 billion forecast by Thomson Reuters

The defense contractor's Aeronautics division got a 7 percent boost compared to the same period last year, largely due to $185 million in sales related to F-35 fighter jets. Lockheed Martin is at the negotiating table with the Pentagon over the next batch of F-35 contracts, honing in on the cost for 130 new aircraft. CEO Marillyn Hewson told CNBC that this "is a complex negotiation" due to the number of aircraft and expects the negotiations to continue for some time.

Shares of Lockheed Martin rose about 1 percent following the report.

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