Lockheed Martin Corp. Overview

Lockheed Martin Corp.

The Lockheed Martin Corporation is a major diversified company based in the United States that focuses primarily on aerospace products, such as aircraft, space launchers, satellites, and defense systems, in addition to other advanced technology systems and services. The U.S. Department of Defense accounts for approximately half of the company’s annual sales. Additionally, Lockheed Martin is a major contractor for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the United States Department of Energy. Lockheed Corporation and Martin Marietta Corporation, the second and third largest American defense contractors at the time, merged in 1995 to form it. The acquisition of Loral Corporation’s defense electronics and systems, which included nine distinct aerospace and defense units of major American corporations like IBM, Xerox, and Ford, in 1996 provided the new company with additional growth opportunities. Bethesda, Maryland, serves as headquarters. It supplies the space shuttle’s external propellant tank and manages and operates the shuttle fleet for NASA through a joint venture with Boeing known as United Space Alliance. Alternate aircraft are also upgraded, modified, and refurbished by the company. Fire-control systems, radars, and other components of the Aegis Combat System, which automatically tracks hostile targets and directs missile defense, are also manufactured by the company.

Glenn Martin set his sights on Catalina Island, 30 miles from the mainland, in 1912 to break the distance record for flying across open water. On May 10, he led his team as they mounted a pontoon beneath a Martin Model 12 aircraft and took off from Newport Bay for Catalina despite the dark clouds. Martin quickly waved to his parents and coworkers on the dock before ascending to about 4,000 feet. He broke through the cloud cover to find Catalina’s Avalon Bay directly in front of him as he approached 30 minutes in flight, his compass work flawless. The Glenn L. Martin Company was officially incorporated on August 16, 1912, to much acclaim from around the world. Allan and Malcolm Lockheed were hard at work building a seaplane in the same year. It was intended that the Model G would transport pilots and passengers and generate revenue. The Alco-Hydro Aeroplane Company was founded by the brothers on December 19, 1912, with investors in place. The seaplane was launched by Allan and Malcolm into San Francisco Bay on June 15, 1913, from a boat ramp. The plane took off shortly after Allan pressed the throttle. The first flight of the Model G by Lockheed was a success. To the delight of onlookers, Malcolm joined Allan for the second flight, a complete cruise over the bay that took them to an altitude of 300,000 feet above Sausalito Bay, Alcatraz Island, and the Golden Gate. However, the challenges persisted. Six months later, their plane was damaged when it hit a dock in the rough bay waters, forcing the Lockheeds to buy it from their investors. The brothers completed the repair, which took more than a year, just in time for the 1915 Panama-Pacific Exposition. The international gathering proved to be a significant source of revenue.

Throughout the decades that followed, the founders and the businesses they led faced many of the same challenges, despite their initial financial successes and flights, pursuing government contracts, expanding at an exponential rate during World War II, and shifting focus to cyberspace and then space. By forming the “merger of equals” that is now known as Lockheed Martin Corporation in 1995, these two businesses formalized their shared experience history. The acquisition of Loral Corporation’s defense electronics and systems, which included nine distinct aerospace and defense units of major American corporations like IBM, Xerox, and Ford, in 1996 provided the new company with additional growth opportunities. In 2008 alone, Lockheed Martin was awarded $36 billion in government contracts; more than any other business ever. It is utilized by more than two dozen government departments, including the Department of Agriculture, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Defense, and the Department of Energy. In October 2013, Lockheed stated that it anticipated completing a $2.2 billion contract with the United States Air Force for two cutting-edge satellites for military communications. With solar photovoltaic-powered microgrids, Lockheed Martin has already begun assisting the military in the transition to renewable energy sources, and the military intends to achieve 25% renewable energy by 2025 in order to enhance national security.

The CEO, CFO, and Executive Vice Presidents (EVPs) of four business areas make up senior management. The EVPs are in charge of overseeing major programs. Lockheed made the announcement on March 16, 2020, that CEO Marillyn Hewson would step down and become executive chair. On June 15, 2020, James Taiclet would take over as CEO; Taiclet is currently in charge of American Tower. He was previously vice president at United Technologies and president of Honeywell Aerospace. Additionally, Lockheed announced that Frank A. St John, the company’s current EVP, would be promoted to the position of chief operating officer. The company’s chief financial officer is Jesus Malave. Brian P. Colan has been the company’s controller; Director of Accounting; Secretary of State, since 2014.

The U.S. Justice Department announced on March 3, 2012, that Lockheed Martin had agreed to settle allegations that the defense contractor had sold perishable tools used on numerous contracts at an excessively high price. According to the Department of Justice, the allegations were specifically based on the cost inflation experienced by Lockheed Martin’s subsidiary Tools & Metals Inc. between 1998 and 2005, which Lockheed Martin then passed on to the United States government as part of its contracts.

Lockheed Martin Corporation complied with the U.S. District Court in New York on February 20, 2013, by agreeing to pay a $19.5 million lawsuit to settle a securities fraud class-action lawsuit that had accused the company of misleading shareholders regarding expectations for the company’s information technology division.

In an agreement reached on December 20, 2014, Lockheed Martin Integrated Systems paid $27.5 million to settle a False Claims Act lawsuit alleging that the company had knowingly overbilled taxpayers for work performed by employees who lacked the necessary qualifications for the contract.

• In 2021, Lockheed Martin generated $67.044 billion in revenue, a 2.52% increase from 2020. As of September 30, 2022, Lockheed Martin had revenue of $64.722 billion, a 2.45% decrease from the previous year.
• Operating income for Lockheed Martin in 2021 was $9.123 billion, a 5.54 percent increase from 2020. For the twelve months ending September 30, 2022, Lockheed Martin’s operating income was $8.510 billion, a decrease of 4.99% year-over-year.
• Net income for Lockheed Martin in 2021 was $6.315 billion, a 7.58 percent decrease from 2020. For the twelve months ending September 30, 2022, Lockheed Martin’s net income was $5.869 billion, a decrease of 3.12% year-over-year.
• Shareholder equity for Lockheed Martin in 2021 was $10.959 billion, an 81.5 percent increase from 2020. For the quarter that ended on September 30, 2022, Lockheed Martin’s shareholder equity was $11.966 billion, up 24.24 percent from the previous year.
• In 2021, Lockheed Martin’s total assets were $50.873 billion, a 0.32 percent increase from 2020. For the quarter that ended on September 30, 2022, Lockheed Martin’s total assets were $52.030 billion, an increase of 0.36 percent year-over-year.
• Lockheed Martin currently employs 115,000 people worldwide.