By Tomi Kilgore and Claudia Assis
Defense contractor beats quarterly earnings expectations and lifts outlook, as new orders boost backlog to a record $230 billion
Lockheed Martin's stock jumps as a ramp-up in missile production helped lead to an earnings beat and raise.
Shares of Lockheed Martin are having their best day in 25 years after the defense contractor on Thursday reported a big jump in second-quarter profit and raised its full-year outlook, saying that increased customer demand was just part of the reason for the strong results.
The company's (LMT) push to ramp up production of missiles and defense systems came at the right time, amid increasing hostilities in the Middle East, and as European countries boosted military spending with Russia's war on neighboring Ukraine at a potentially pivotal stage.
