Two of America’s top war stocks – Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) and RTX Corporation (NYSE: RTX) – enjoyed a particularly strong market open on Thursday, July 23.
Specifically, LMT shares soared more than 9% as the regular session started to their press-time price of $567.76, while RTX saw a slightly smaller, 7% rally to $208.33.
The moves offered a reprieve to the defense companies following a sharp drop they suffered earlier in 2026 after a ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran was announced and came as a result of the firm’s latest earnings.
Lockheed Martin now expects up to $81.75 billion in sales on strong missile growth
To begin with, Lockheed Martin announced its revenue soared 11% compared to the same period in the previous year and hit $20.1 billion, while earnings per share (EPS) proved even more impressive at $7.94.
For comparison, in the second quarter (Q2) of 2025, the figure stood at $1.46.
Guidance – which was, much like the Q2 results – was partially bolstered by strong growth in missile-related orders and was lifted to between $79.75 billion and $81.75 billion for sales, and to an EPS between $29.95 and $30.65 for the whole year.
Previously, the ranges stood at $77.5 billion to $80 billion and $29.35 to $30.25, respectively.
RTX calls for $96 billion in sales after YoY rise of 14.5%
Elsewhere, RTX’s results were just as impressive. The corporation’s revenue soared 14.5% year-over-year (YoY) to $24.7 billion, and EPS rose 21.2% to $1.89, signalling the firm managed a double beat.
Indeed, analysts were forecasting that the defense giant would hit $22.9 billion in sales and an EPS of $1.66.
RTX also gladdened shareholders with full-year outlook upgrades. Specifically, the company now expects its revenue to come in the range between $95 billion and $96 billion, and EPS between $7.10 and $7.25.
Previously, RTX called for $92.5 billion to $93.5 billion in sales, and an EPS somewhere between $6.70 and $6.90.
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