Can Lockheed Martin's Space Business Become Its Next Growth Driver?

Lockheed Martin LMT is strengthening its position in the rapidly evolving space-defense market, with its Space business benefiting from increased demand for strategic systems and missile-defense technologies. During the second quarter of 2026, Space sales increased 6% year over year to $3.5 billion, with the majority of the increase coming from higher volumes on Fleet Ballistic Missile (“FBM”) and Next Generation Interceptor (“NGI”) programs.

The NGI program represents one of the most important opportunities within Lockheed Martin’s space-defense portfolio. NGI is being developed for the U.S. Missile Defense Agency as part of the country’s layered homeland missile-defense architecture. Lockheed Martin recently opened an 88,000-square-foot purpose-built facility in Alabama dedicated to NGI production, expanding the company’s manufacturing capacity for the program.

The investment is significant because increasing demand for advanced missile-defense systems will require not only sophisticated technology but also greater production capacity. Lockheed Martin has been investing heavily across its manufacturing network, with nearly $8-$9 billion of planned investment through 2030. 

In May 2026, the company was selected by the U.S. Space Force’s Space Systems Command to develop capabilities supporting the Space-Based Interceptor program. The effort is designed to create an early engagement layer within a broader integrated missile-defense architecture, leveraging Lockheed Martin’s experience with NGI, THAAD, PAC-3 and missile-warning technologies.

The combination of FBM and NGI also illustrates the broader opportunity for Lockheed Martin. As governments place greater emphasis on homeland defense and the ability to counter increasingly sophisticated missile threats, demand for these capabilities could remain strong over the long term.

Companies Gain From Growing Space & Missile-Defense Demand

The growing emphasis on space-based defense, strategic systems and missile interception could benefit other defense companies with exposure to these markets. 

Northrop Grumman’s NOC portfolio includes systems supporting national security, missile warning and space-based missions, giving the company exposure to rising government investment in next-generation defense capabilities. 

RTX Corporation RTX could also benefit from sustained demand for missile-defense systems, advanced sensors and precision weapons. Its Raytheon business provides a broad portfolio of air and missile-defense solutions, while increasing investment in layered defense architectures could support demand for interceptors, radars and other mission-critical technologies.

LMT Stock’s Earnings Estimates

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2026 and 2027 earnings per share indicates a year-over-year improvement of 31.31% and 8.35%, respectively.

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LMT Stock Trades at a Discount

In terms of valuation, LMT’s forward 12-month price-to-sales (P/S) is 1.69X, a discount to the industry’s average of 2.66X.

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LMT Stock’s Price Performance

In the past three months, the company’s shares have risen 16.7% compared with the industry’s 11.2% growth.

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LMT’s Zacks Rank

The company currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

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