In the past five trading sessions, some key defense players reported results, displaying a mixed quarterly performance. So, the overall impact of quarterly results on the bourses was not very impressive.

Consequently, the S&P 500 Aerospace & Defense (Industry) index rose a mere 0.4%, while the Dow Jones U.S. Aerospace & Defense index went down 1.3% in the trailing five trading sessions.

In the past week, Lockheed Martin (LMT Quick QuoteLMT - Free Report) , Raytheon Technologies (RTX Quick QuoteRTX - Free Report) , The Boeing Company (BA Quick QuoteBA - Free Report) , General Dynamics (GD Quick QuoteGD - Free Report) , Northrop Grumman (NOC Quick QuoteNOC - Free Report) , Textron (TXT Quick QuoteTXT - Free Report) and L3Harris Technologies (LHX Quick QuoteLHX - Free Report) reported their Q3 results.

Recap of Past Week’s Important Stories

1.    Lockheed Martin’s third-quarter 2021 adjusted earnings of $6.66 per share surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by a whopping 239.8%. Its net sales amounted to $16,028 million, which lagged the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 6.6% and decreased 2.8% from the year-ago quarter.

Lockheed Martin ended the third quarter (on Sep 26, 2021) with $134.8 billion in backlog compared with $147.1 billion at the end of 2020.

The company’s cash and cash equivalents totaled $2.73 billion as of Sep 26, 2021, compared with $3.16 billion at the end of 2020. For 2021, Lockheed now expects to generate earnings per share worth $27.17, compared with $26.70-$27.00 projected earlier (read more: Lockheed Martin Q3 Earnings Top Estimates, Sales Down Y/Y).

2.    Raytheon Technologies’ third-quarter adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $1.26 outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 17.8% and improved 125% from the year-ago quarter’s figure. Its third-quarter sales of $16,213 million missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 1.7% but improved 9.9% from the year-ago quarter.

It had cash and cash equivalents of $7,476 million as of Sep 30, 2021, compared with $8,802 million as of Dec 31, 2020.

The company currently projects to generate adjusted EPS in the range of $4.10-$4.20, compared with the earlier guidance of $3.85-$4.00 in 2021 (read more: Raytheon Technologies Q3 Earnings Top, EPS View Up).

3.    Boeing reported an adjusted loss of 60 cents per share for third-quarter 2021, much wider than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of 17 cents. The bottom line however improved significantly from the year-ago quarter’s loss of $1.39. Its revenues missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 6.6% but increased 8% from the year-ago quarter’s figure.

Backlog at the end of third-quarter 2021 was $367.1 billion, up from $363.5 billion at the end of second-quarter 2021.

Boeing’s operating cash outflow at the end of third-quarter 2021 was $4.13 billion compared with $14.40 billion at the end of third-quarter 2020 (read more: Boeing's Q3 Earnings Miss Estimates, Revenues Rise Y/Y).

4.    General Dynamics’ third-quarter 2021 earnings from continuing operations of $3.07 per share beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 3.4% and improved 5.9% from the year-ago quarter. Its third-quarter revenues of $9,568 million missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 2.6% but grew 1.5% year over year.

The company recorded a total backlog of $88.1 billion, up 8.1% year over year.

At the end of third-quarter 2021, the company generated cash from operating activities of $2,589 million compared with $1,296 million generated in the year-ago period (read more: General Dynamics Q3 Earnings Top, Revenues Lag Estimates).

5.    Northrop Grumman’s third-quarter 2021 earnings of $6.63 per share surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 11.8% and increased 13% from the year-ago quarter. Its total sales of $8,720 million missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 1.7% and decreased 4% from the year-ago quarter’s number.

Its backlog stood at $74.83 billion at the end of third-quarter 2021 compared with $81 billion at 2020-end.

Northrop’s 2021 earnings are currently projected to be in the range of $25.20-$25.60 per share, up from its prior guided range of $24.40-$24.80 (read more: Northrop Grumman Beats on Q3 Earnings, Ups 2021 EPS View).

6.    Textron’s third-quarter 2021 adjusted earnings of 85 cents per share exceeded the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 13.3% and improved 60.4% from the year-ago quarter. Its total revenues came in at $2,990 million, which missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 3.7%. The reported figure, however, increased a solid 9.3% from the year-ago quarter’s number.

As of Oct 2, 2021, the company’s cash and cash equivalents totaled $1,969 million compared with $2,146 million as of Jan 2, 2021.

Textron currently expects to generate adjusted earnings per share from continuing operations in the range of $3.20 to $3.30, reflecting an increase from the prior guidance range of $3.00-$3.20 (read more: Textron Beats on Q3 Earnings, Raises 2021 EPS View).

7.    L3Harris Technologies’ third-quarter 2021 adjusted earnings came in at $3.21 per share, which surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 1.6% and increased 13% from the year-ago quarter’s reported figure. Its revenues came in at $4,229 million, lagging the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 6.2% and dropping 5% on a year-over-year basis.

As of Oct 1, 2021, L3Harris had $1,126 million in cash and cash equivalents compared with $1,276 million as of Jan 1, 2021.

The company’s 2021 adjusted earnings are now projected to be in the range of $12.85-$13.00 per share, narrower than the earlier guidance range of $12.80-$13.00 (read more: L3Harris Technologies Q3 Earnings Top, Revenues Drop Y/Y).

Performance

Over the past five trading sessions, the defense biggies put up a dismal show, except Boeing and Textron, both of which saw a slight uptick in their share price. Northrop witnessed the largest drop in share price, followed by L3Harris.

In the last six months, the industry's performance was impressive, except for Lockheed and Boeing. Textron gained the most with its shares up 15%, followed by General Dynamics, which gained 6.6%.

The following table shows the price movement of the major defense players over the past five trading days and during the last six months.