Even as Lockheed Martin chairman Robert Stevens warns of mass layoffs if sequestration hits, his company has been doing remarkably well this year, with revenue up 6 percent this quarter and earnings up 26 percent, according to an analysis by Motley Fool’s Rich Smith.
Boeing has done even better, with 58 percent earnings growth, thanks largely to its commercial aircraft sales. Raytheon basically stayed even on revenue but gained 17 percent on earnings, while General Dynamics and Northrop Grumman declined on both measures. Smith called Northrop’s problems puzzling, given its strong position in unmanned aerial vehicles (although its Block 30 Global Hawk faces cancellation) and its undervalued price-to-earnings ratio.
While sequestration may already be having a chilling effect on investment and on small business, the axe has yet to fall for the biggest defense companies. At least the mainstream press is beginning to pay attention to the story.
Enterprise-wide training: the Army’s $3.5B program for multi-service combat readiness
The competition for Warfighter Training and Readiness Solutions will bring together training networks, combat training centers and live ranges across the DoD enterprise.
Multi-ship amphib buy could net $900M in savings, say Navy, Marine Corps officials
Lawmakers gave the Navy authorities to ink a multi-ship amphib deal years ago, but the service has not utilized that power yet.
