Defense Giant Lockheed Martin Bolsters Position with Strategic Moves and Record Backlog

Lockheed Martin is strategically deploying capital to strengthen its technological edge and secure future revenue streams. The defense contractor's recent activities—a significant investment in unmanned maritime systems, a key artificial intelligence partnership, and the securing of multi-billion dollar contracts—paint a picture of a corporation solidifying its market dominance, backed by a record $179 billion order backlog.

In a move to advance autonomous naval capabilities, Lockheed Martin announced a $50 million strategic investment in Saildrone, the global leader in maritime autonomous surface vehicles. The collaboration is squarely focused on co-developing unmanned surface vessels equipped with advanced military applications for the U.S. Navy.

This partnership is designed to accelerate the integration of cutting-edge defense technology into Saildrone's existing fleet, promising a significant enhancement of autonomous operational capacities for naval missions.

Forging a Path in AI for Government Defense

Concurrently, Lockheed Martin revealed a strategic collaboration with Google Public Sector. The alliance aims to embed sophisticated artificial intelligence and generative AI capabilities directly into secure government cloud infrastructures. This initiative has the potential to fundamentally transform defense contractors' approaches to data analysis and decision-making processes, tapping into a future market valued in the billions.

Should investors sell immediately? Or is it worth buying Lockheed?

Financial Performance Underpins Strategic Direction

The company's third-quarter 2025 financial results robustly support its growth trajectory and strategic investments. The key performance indicators include:

• Revenue: $18.6 Billion
• Net Earnings: $1.6 Billion ($6.95 Per Share)
• Record Backlog: $179 Billion
• Operating Cash Flow: $3.7 Billion
• Free Cash Flow: $3.3 Billion

This unprecedented backlog provides clear revenue visibility for well over the next two and a half years, underscoring strong and sustained customer demand for the company's products.

Major Contracts Ensure Long-Term Stability

A series of recent high-value contract awards demonstrates the persistent demand for Lockheed Martin's diverse portfolio. A landmark $9.8 billion contract for PAC-3 MSE missiles stands as the largest award in the history of its Missiles and Fire Control business unit. This is complemented by a $233 million agreement for IRST Block II systems, alongside further multi-billion dollar commitments for CH-53K heavy-lift helicopters.

These substantial awards guarantee long-term revenue stability and affirm the corporation's leading competitive stance within critical defense programs. This financial strength is further demonstrated by management's commitment to shareholders, evidenced by 23 consecutive years of dividend increases.