America’s three largest defense contractors delivered standout second-quarter 2026 earnings, each reporting record backlogs and raising full-year guidance amid surging demand for missile defense and military modernization programs.
Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) reported a record backlog of $230 billion after adding $65 billion of orders during the quarter, with CFO Evan Scott noting the company’s Q2 book-to-bill ratio reached an exceptional 3.2:1.
Management raised full-year 2026 sales guidance to a range of $79.75 billion to $81.75 billion, alongside a free cash flow forecast of $7 billion to $7.2 billion, reflecting strong demand visibility across all four business segments.
CEO James Taiclet described a shift toward a defense technology model focused on anticipating customer needs rather than waiting for formal program requests, with investments made ahead of contracted demand.
A highlight of Lockheed Martin’s quarter was the $35 billion THAAD interceptor contract, which management characterized as a major step in converting framework agreements into active production programs.
Management also pointed to the Sanctum counter-drone system, which moved from concept to live-fire testing in just 45 days by integrating existing Lockheed Martin technologies alongside partner capabilities.
RTX (NYSE: RTX) surpassed Wall Street expectations across every major metric, with second-quarter adjusted EPS of $1.89 beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.66 by 13.9%, while revenues rose 14.5% year over year to $24.71 billion.
RTX’s backlog surged to a record $289 billion, up 22% year on year, comprising $170 billion in commercial orders and $119 billion in defense contracts, with $43 billion in new bookings added during the quarter.
CEO Christopher Calio stated during the Q2 earnings call: “Raytheon booked nearly $20 billion of awards, resulting in a book-to-bill in Q2 of 2.4. These bookings included over $5 billion of GEM-T Patriot effectors driven by international customers and our first domestic GEM-T production order in over 30 years. Raytheon’s bookings also included over $4 billion of classified and confidential awards as well as $1.8 billion for AMRAAM.”
RTX raised its full-year 2026 revenue forecast to a range of $95 billion to $96 billion, up from a prior estimate of $92.5 billion to $93.5 billion, signaling growing confidence in its commercial and defense pipeline.
Northrop Grumman (NYSE: NOC) also raised its 2026 sales and earnings outlook after reporting stronger second-quarter bookings, a record backlog, and revenue growth across all four of its business segments.
Chair, CEO and President Kathy Warden said the company is seeing increased demand tied to U.S. defense priorities, international modernization efforts, and production-ready systems in missiles, missile defense, autonomous aircraft, and national security space.
Northrop Grumman increased its full-year sales guidance to a range of $43.75 billion to $44.25 billion and raised adjusted EPS guidance to between $28.60 and $29.10, reflecting broad-based operational momentum.
Across all three companies, the Q2 results underscore a sustained and accelerating cycle of defense investment, driven by both near-term readiness requirements and longer-term modernization commitments from the U.S. and allied governments.
