By Wesley Brown, Arkansas Delta Informer
July 23, 2026 — Stocks of Lockheed Martin and RTX Corp. jumped substantially today as the two defense giants and tenants at the Highland Industrial Park in East Camden easily beat Wall Street second-quarter expectations
The improved sales and profits led Lockheed and RTX to raise their full-year sales and profit outlook for the remainder of 2026, which means that production at the companies’ respective facilities in Calhoun County will continue to ramp up production and delivery of key Department of War weapons and missiles.
According to military and defense industry analysts, recent U.S. military operations — particularly Operation Epic Fury in the Iran conflict and Patriot missile shipments to Ukraine — have significantly strained U.S. weapons stockpiles, raising concerns about readiness for future conflicts.
Today, Bethesda, Md.-based Lockheed Martin Corp., which manufactures the Patriot or PAC-3 missile in Camden, reported second-quarter 2026 sales of $20.1 billion, compared with $18.2 billion in the second quarter of 2025.
Earnings for the quarter rose to $1.8 billion, or $7.94 per share, up a whopping xxx% from $342 million, or $1.46 per share, year over year, which included nearly $1.8 billion of program losses and other write-offs. In early trading, Lockheed was rallying at $542.34, up by nearly 7% or $35.25 from yesterday’s close on the New York Stock Exchange.
“We delivered strong second‑quarter performance, with over $20 billion in sales – a year‑over‑year increase of 11% – free cash flow of $2.9 billion, and $65 billion of new orders, which takes our backlog to a record $230 billion,” Lockheed Martin CEO Jim Taiclet said in a statement.
“We are delivering on our strategy, achieving a higher trajectory for our business and giving us confidence to raise our full year financial guidance,” he added.
The shares are rallying significantly following an upbeat Q2 2026 earnings report, in which the company comfortably beat Wall Street estimates on both revenue and earnings while raising its full-year guidance and reporting a record $230 billion backlog.
The stock is surging following a substantial Q2 2026 earnings beat and raised full-year guidance fueled by strong demand across its aerospace and defense segments.
Taiclet further stated that the nation’s largest defense contractor’s latest results reflect steady execution on its commitments and targeted investments aimed at future mission needs. He highlighted a major milestone in modernizing munitions production, noting that Lockheed put earlier framework agreements into practice by securing a $35 billion multi‑year THAAD contract with the Missile Defense Agency.
Taiclet added that the company is accelerating innovation to match the pace of customer requirements — pointing to the Sanctum counter‑drone system, which moved from concept to successful live‑fire testing in just 45 days by integrating a battle manager, radar, launcher and proven missile into a single engagement chain.
He also emphasized strategic investments to expand global defense manufacturing capacity, including work with General Motors Defense in the U.S. and a new partnership with Rheinmetall to co‑produce ATACMS in Europe.
Pentagon Payoffs
As reported earlier this month by the Arkansas Delta Informer, the THAAD contract is a seven-year undefinitized contract action worth up to $35 billion to quadruple production of the mobile interceptors. The award finalizes a framework agreement first announced in January and is expected to support production work at the defense contractor’s Munitions Acceleration Center in East Camden, Ark.
The award is one of the first major multiyear procurement contracts executed under the Department of War’s (DoW) Acquisition Transformation Strategy, moving the earlier framework agreement into contract execution. That framework agreement calls for Lockheed Martin to increase THAAD production from 96 to 400 interceptors per year.
The deal was also a key talking point by the White House in submitting the Pentagon’s $1.5 trillion defense budget to Congress for fiscal 2027.
In addition, Lockheed has announced several major deals in the past few weeks regarding the Patriot missile program, otherwise known as the PAC-3. Currently, the PAC-3 MSE, a critical component of America’s defense architecture, is produced at Lockheed Martin’s Missiles Fire and Control (MFS) facility at the Highland Industrial Park in East Camden and Calhoun County.
Earlier this week during the annual Farnborough Air Show attended by Gov. Sarah Sanders in Ireland, Lockheed announced the introduction of the PAC-3 Adapted Capability Effector (PAC-3 ACE), stating that the new lower-priced version would be built for less than half the cost of a PAC-3 MSE per unit. Initially, Lockheed said the U.S. would grant Ukraine a production license to manufacture a low-cost version of the PAC
During the NATO Summit Defense Industry Forum on July in Ankara, Turkey, which was attended by President Trump, Lockheed and the German defense conglomerate Rheinmetall announced they had signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to co-produce ATACMS missiles for the first time on European soil.
Lockheed and Rheinmetall, both of which have substantial operations at the Highland Industrial Park in East Camden, Ark., stated that the trans-Atlantic deal addresses the immediate demand for locally produced munitions in Europe. The deal also comes as the U.S. Army phases out the use of ATACMS in favor of newer, state-of-the-art Precision Strike Missiles (PrSMs), both produced by Lockheed in Camden.
As the Trump administration seeks congressional approval for its $1.5 billion defense budget, Lockheed raised its full-year revenue and profit forecast. In fiscal 2026, Lockheed now expects to see full-year revenues of $79.75 billion to $81.75 billion, up from the previous forecast of $77.5. billion to $80 billion.
Full-year earnings for the Maryland defense contractor rose to a range of $29.95 – $30.65 per share, up from the previous forecast of $29.85. Lockheed, one of the nation’s Big Five defense contractors with RTX, General Dynamics, Northrop Grumman and Boeing, manufactures a wide range of products for the defense industry, from the Blackhawk and Apache helicopters, F-35 Lightning fighter jets and military aircraft to battlefield weapons like ATACMs, THAAD and Patriot missiles.
RTX Rallies on Robust Revenue Forecast
RTX, formerly known as Raytheon, also saw similar strong second-quarter results to Lockheed’s, causing the company’s stock to jump to $205.47 in early trading today, representing an increase of $11.80, or 6.09% from its previous close.
For the period ended June 30, the Arlington, Va.-based defense giant reported sales of $24.7 billion, up 14% year over year and 16% organically. Adjusted earnings rose 21% from a year ago to $1.89 per share, easily beating year-ago results of $1.59 per share and Wall Street estimates by more than 20 cents.
The parent company of Collins Aerospace, Pratt & Whitney, and Raytheon subsidiaries also said it saw robust demand for its products as the company’s backlog rose 22% from a year ago to $289 billion, including $170 billion of commercial and $119 billion of defense.
“We delivered another strong quarter of performance and financial results across RTX, driven by our continued focus on execution,” RTX Chief Executive Christopher Calio said during the company’s 2Q earnings call. “Across RTX, we continue to see exceptional demand for our products and services.”
Like Lockheed, RTX has also signed framework agreements with the Department of War to speed up delivery and expand production of key precision missiles. The move reflects mounting demand driven by sustained operations, allied resupply, and the need to restore U.S. and partner stockpiles at scale.
Raytheon announced on Feb. 4 that it has entered into five framework agreements with the Pentagon designed to speed deliveries and boost manufacturing capacity for some of its most heavily requested precision munitions. According to the company, the agreements cover the Tomahawk cruise missile, AIM-120 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile, Standard Missile-3 Block IB, Standard Missile-3 Block IIA, and Standard Missile-6, with contract structures allowing orders to be placed over a period of up to seven years.
Lockheed, RTX and General Dynamics, all tenants with substantial operations at the Highland Industrial Park in East Camden, are three of the so-called “big five” defense contractors that receive the largest share of the forecasted Pentagon’s $1.5 trillion annual budget.
Other large defense contractors at the 18,780-acre defense-focused industrial park with 5,408,686 square feet of industrial and warehousing facilities include American Rheinmetall Defense, L3 Harris, Esterline Defense Group, and Raytheon-Rafael Area Production System, a $1.25 billion joint venture dedicated to producing and integrating Israel’s Iron Dome air defense systems in the U.S.
Calio said significant awards in the quarter from the Pentagon “reinforced the global needs for our proven capabilities. Domestically, we’re encouraged to see bipartisan support for a significant increase in 2027 defense spending.”
He said the Trump administration’s base budget request of $1.1 trillion represents roughly a 25% increase year over year, along with meaningful funding increases for RTX priority programs such as Tomahawk, LTAMs, and Standard Missile.
“And of course, we continue to work closely with the Department of Defense to advance the framework agreements we signed earlier this year into contracts to increase critical munitions output for our customers,” said Calio.
In December, RTX announced a joint venture with Hafia, Israel-based Rafael Protection Systems (R2S) after securing a major $1.25 billion contract to produce interceptor missiles in south Arkansas for the Iron Dome Weapon System
R2S, a manufacturing company formed by defense giant RTX (formerly Raytheon) and Rafael, will use the company’s new East Camden facility to build the Iron Dome’s Tamir interceptor and its U.S. variant, the SkyHunter Interceptor. Rafael is the original developer of the Iron Dome, a system that has fundamentally transformed air defense worldwide and protected Israel from aerial and other short-range missile attacks.
The new Camden facility represents a total investment of approximately $63 million and is expected to create up to 60 new jobs in the region.
“This is the first production contract for the R2S joint venture and a major milestone for both Raytheon and Rafael,” R2S CEO Jonathan Casey said in a statement. “The new Camden site is the first all-up-round production facility in the U.S. to manufacture Tamir and SkyHunter missiles.”
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