Lockheed Martin shares rise after defense contractor beats Wall Street estimates, raises forecast

• Lockheed Martin raises its 2018 earnings forecast to a range of $16.75 to $17.05 per share and raises its revenue estimate by over $1.2 billion.
• The defense contractor also beat analyst estimates on both the top and bottom lines for its second-quarter earnings.

Lockheed Martin Corp.'s F-35 jet in Fort Worth, Texas.

Mike Fuentes | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Lockheed Martin raised its 2018 forecast on Tuesday as it reported second-quarter earnings, which beat Wall Street expectations.

Lockheed Martin reported earnings of $4.05 per share, ahead of $3.92 per share forecast by analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters, and revenue of $13.4 billion, over half a billion dollars more than forecast. The company bumped up its 2018 forecast to a range of $16.75 to $17.05 earnings per share and an expected full year revenue of $51.6 billion to $53.1 billion — a rise of more than $1.2 billion on the low end of the range.

Its stock price rose more than 1.3 percent in Tuesday. The company’s stock has risen 11 percent in the past year, as of Tuesday's close at $322.57, but has slid more than 4 percent over the last three months.

Lockheed Martin also raised its expected annual cash flow for the year to an estimated $3.3 billion, from its previous expectation of $3 billion.