Lockheed Martin reveals immense profits from Ukraine conflict.
Defense Behemoth Lockheed Martin Announces Just How Lucrative War in Ukraine Has Been
Defense contractor Lockheed Martin has reported higher-than-expected sales and profits in the second quarter of 2023, thanks to the ongoing war in Ukraine and the country’s persistent demands for more Western military aid.
In its latest news release, the company revealed quarterly net sales of $16.8 billion and quarterly earnings of $1.7 billion ($6.63 per share).
The 8 percent increase in quarterly sales was driven by significant orders for F-35 multirole stealth fighter aircraft, as well as two missile systems, according to The Wall Street Journal.
These missile systems, known as GMLRS and HIMARS, are being used by Ukrainian soldiers against Russian positions in the ongoing war.
“Lockheed Martin delivered strong financial results in the second quarter,”
Jim Taiclet, the company’s chairman, president, and CEO, said in a statement.
“Given the strength of our year-to-date results and ongoing demand for our signature programs and advanced technologies, we are raising our full-year sales and earnings per share outlooks for 2023,”
he added.
Taiclet expressed optimism about Lockheed Martin’s future growth and its ability to reward shareholders with reliable free cash flow per share expansion and cash deployment.
The company’s full-year sales for 2023 are projected to reach as high as $66.75 billion, according to The Journal.
During morning trading, Lockheed Martin shares rose by 1.5 percent, indicating the market’s positive response to the company’s performance.
Among all defense contractors, Lockheed Martin, based in Bethesda, Maryland, has benefited the most from the war in Ukraine. The increased demand for F-35s, Patriot air defense missile systems, rockets, and launchers has contributed to the company’s success, as reported by The Journal.
Lockheed Martin also announced a record backlog of $158 billion, highlighting the strong demand for its products and services.
In the last quarter, the company’s order backlog for its missiles and fire-control unit saw a significant increase of 24 percent.
The Journal noted that defense companies’ stock performance is closely tied to defense budgets. As a result, Lockheed Martin and other defense contractors have already begun to experience the positive effects of the Pentagon’s increased spending plan for 2023.
According to a June report from Quincy Institute Research Fellow Ben Freeman, defense contractors’ efforts to boost sales are aided by the policy advocacy of researchers and fellows working for think tanks funded by these contractors. These think tanks often call for more weapons and aid to be provided to Ukraine.
“The vast majority of media mentions of think tanks in articles about U.S. arms and the Ukraine war are from think tanks whose funders profit from U.S. military spending, arms sales and, in many cases, directly from U.S. involvement in the Ukraine war,”
Freeman wrote.
“Think tanks with financial ties to the arms industry often support policies that would benefit the arms industry,”
he added.
The Quincy Institute, which aims to promote diplomacy and international peace, identified the Atlantic Council, the Hudson Institute, the American Enterprise Institute, and the Wilson Center as think tanks with financial ties to the arms industry in its report.
For more information, read the full article on The Western Journal.
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