美国军工企业因导弹补库存和伊朗战争需求积压订单，但核心标的已在财报发布后大幅重定价

US weapons makers’ sales soar as Iran war creates order backlog
American weapons manufacturers are reporting surging sales as the US expands spending to replenish its missile stockpiles and shift its defence industrial base to “war footing”.
Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and Raytheon’s parent company RTX have raised profit forecasts as they reported record order backlogs.
Lockheed reported second-quarter revenues for its missile business rose 20 per cent on the year before to $4.1bn, as it steps up production of its Patriot and Precision Strike missiles, which the US has used this year in its Iran war.
A $35bn order from the US Missile Defense Agency to quadruple production of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense anti-ballistic missile system helped power the Maryland-based contractor’s backlog to $230bn.
The Center for Strategic and International Studies think-tank in Washington in May noted the US had expended between 1,000-1,400 Patriot missiles in Iran, which, combined with aid to Ukraine, had created “deep order bottlenecks” that would take until mid-2029 to clear.
Raytheon’s second-quarter sales also rose 18 per cent. It produces the Tomahawk missile, which has featured prominently in the US military campaign against Iran. Having procured an average of 86 Tomahawk missiles a year over the past 10 years, the Pentagon has requested 785 Tomahawks for the 2027 budget alone.
Scott Mikus, analyst at Melius Research, said “hostilities between Iran and the US will further deplete inventories of missiles and interceptors that RTX sells”.
He also noted international demand remains strong, with 48 per cent of Raytheon’s order backlog coming from overseas customers. Much of the backlog came from demand for Patriot, Aim-120 Amraam and Gem-T missiles.
Lockheed’s shares rose more than 11 per cent on Thursday morning. Shares in RTX, which also reported sales surges at its commercial aerospace divisions, rose 9 per cent.
Meanwhile, Northrop Grumman on Tuesday reported its backlog was at an all-time high of $105bn, having been awarded contracts in the second quarter amounting to $20bn, including $7.6bn for its Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missile that is part of the land-based component of the US’s “nuclear triad” deterrence strategy.
The Pentagon is pushing primary contractors to increase production rates to rebuild stockpiles depleted by the Iran conflict, and previously through supplies to Ukraine, boosting spending and awarding longer seven-year “framework agreements” for munitions purchases in order to give them and their suppliers more concrete demand.
Lockheed broke ground in May on a new facility in Alabama, while Northrop, Raytheon and fellow “prime” contractor L3Harris are also investing billions of dollars in expanding their manufacturing footprints.
RTX chief executive Christopher Calio on Thursday said: “We’re pleased to see the US base [defence] budget request crossing the $1tn mark — that’s significant.”
“This, plus the multiyear requests that are in there, show the continued demand, I think, for years to come,” he added.
Lockheed’s chief executive Jim Taiclet on Thursday told investors the new framework agreements “can’t be changed at the whim of the government”, adding: “We are investing in the manufacturing and design capabilities before the orders come in.”