- U.S. defense executives expect the Pentagon to further increase spending, potentially ending months of uncertainty about the government’s plans, WSJ reports.
- Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT), Harris Corp. (NYSE:HRS) and other contractors said today that the White House budget request for FY 2020 likely would be in line or above previous spending that had generated record orders for combat jets, missile defense systems and space hardware.
- The White House is expected to outline its budget plans as early as next week, and execs believe the plans will favor an increase in military spending - “The body language is that there’s going to be growth in the budget,” said HRS CEO Bill Brown.
- LMT CEO Marillyn Hewson said during today's earnings conference call that the Pentagon’s plans to buy a revamped version of Boeing (NYSE:BA)'s F-15 combat jet would not affect sales of the F-35, with annual production rising above 150 from the 91 delivered last year.
- LMT boosted its backlog to a record $130B at the end of 2018 from $105B a year earlier, helped by major orders for the F-35 and sales of munitions and missile defense systems.
- Defense names finished broadly higher in today's trade: LMT +1.6%, HRS +8.8%, LLL +8.5%, NOC +2.1%, RTN +1.5%, GD +2.2%.
- Now read: Boeing: Undervalued Or Overvalued?
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