Shares of Lockheed Martin climbed 4.3% in the most recent session, trading 2.2 million shares compared with its 30-day average of 1.5 million. This marks the stock’s largest one-day percentage gain since early November and propelled its total market capitalization above $115 billion. The increase was led by a late-day rally, with institutional investors accounting for approximately 60% of volume, according to exchange data.

Despite the strong rally, analysts have trimmed their 2026 earnings forecasts for Lockheed Martin over the past week. Eight sell-side firms lowered full-year EPS estimates by an average of 2.4%, citing production delays on the F-35 program and budgetary uncertainty around international sales. Consensus revenue projections for 2026 have been revised down by $300 million to $65.8 billion, indicating potential pressure on margins if top‐line growth underperforms.

Investor confidence received an additional lift after former President Trump called for a $1.5 trillion U.S. defense budget for 2027, a 50% increase over current plans. Lockheed Martin’s order backlog, which stood at $147 billion at the end of Q3, could benefit from the extra funding earmarked for missile defense and next-generation fighter programs. Several major defense contractors saw peer shares rise by 5–8%, underscoring sector-wide optimism that additional appropriations will translate into higher contract awards in the 2027 fiscal year.