Mitrade Insights is dedicated to providing investors with rich, timely and most valuable financial information to help investors grasp the market situation and find timely trading opportunities.

2021

Best News & Analysis Provider

FxDailyInfo

2022

Best Forex Educational Resources Global

International Business Magazine

Insights

News

Here's Why Lockheed Martin Stock Flew Lower Today

Source The Motley Fool

Shares in defense contractor Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) declined by as much as 6% in early morning trading Thursday on the news that chief financial officer (CFO) Jay Malave was departing the company to pursue other opportunities.

An interesting departure

Malave has held the title of CFO at two businesses that were part of the former United Technologies (UTC Carrier and UTC Aerospace Systems), the defense company L3Harris Technologies, and, since 2022, Lockheed Martin. So it's hard to think of a more significant opportunity than Lockheed Martin, with a market cap around $110 billion.

Where to invest $1,000 right now? Our analyst team just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks to buy right now. Learn More »

Moreover, the timing of the departure, just a few days before the defense contractor releases its first-quarter earnings report on April 22, raises questions.

Where next for Lockheed Martin

On a positive note, the company has appointed a 26-year company veteran, Evan Scott, as CFO effective immediately. Management also moved to dispel fears over any consequence for earnings by saying that it "will reaffirm the company's previously issued 2025 guidance."

However, the company says, this guidance doesn't include the "evolving impacts of tariffs" as well as the recent announcement of the Next Generation Air Dominance project, which aims to replace the company's F-22 with a fighter jet that will allow the U.S. Air Force to maintain combat superiority.

It's only natural that investors will speculate over the reasons for the abrupt departure of a CFO who had been in his position for only three years (as yet, Malave remains on the board of GE Vernova), and that speculation has taken the stock down today.

Image source: Getty Images.

Still, with earnings about to be released on Tuesday, investors and analysts will have plenty of time to question CEO James Taiclet and others about the trajectory of Lockheed's business. The reasons for the departure may have nothing at all to do with operational or administrative matters at the company.

Should you invest $1,000 in Lockheed Martin right now?

Before you buy stock in Lockheed Martin, consider this:

The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Lockheed Martin wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.

Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $518,599!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $640,429!*

Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 794% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 153% for the S&P 500. Don’t miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor.

See the 10 stocks »

*Stock Advisor returns as of April 14, 2025

Lee Samaha has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends L3Harris Technologies. The Motley Fool recommends Lockheed Martin. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Disclaimer: For information purposes only. Past performance is not indicative of future results.

Recommended Articles

Gold ends three-week slide at the $4,400 line — eight straight days of ETF inflows vs a 5% 10-year and a 100 dollar Spot gold closed Friday at $4,378.39, up 0.84% on the day and about 0.8% for the week — its first weekly gain in four weeks — with the intraday high of $4,399.67 leaving it 33 cents shy of the $4,400 line. Gold ETFs have now logged eight straight sessions of inflows, but with the 10-year back above 5% and the dollar index near 100, here is what decides whether this is a reversal or a bounce.

Author Suzie

Sep 20, Sun

Spot gold closed Friday at $4,378.39, up 0.84% on the day and about 0.8% for the week — its first weekly gain in four weeks — with the intraday high of $4,399.67 leaving it 33 cents shy of the $4,400 line. Gold ETFs have now logged eight straight sessions of inflows, but with the 10-year back above 5% and the dollar index near 100, here is what decides whether this is a reversal or a bounce.

October hike odds climb toward 60% as Goldman and BofA both flip — what Warsh's "dose of accommodation" really changed Rate futures now price roughly 55% to 62% for a 25bp hike at the October 27-28 FOMC, up from about 30% before Chair Warsh's post-meeting framing that the Fed is merely "removing some accommodation." Goldman Sachs has added an October hike to its forecast and Bank of America now sees moves in both October and December. Here is the repricing, the language behind it, and the two data points that decide it.

Author Irene Q.

Yesterday 06: 22

Rate futures now price roughly 55% to 62% for a 25bp hike at the October 27-28 FOMC, up from about 30% before Chair Warsh's post-meeting framing that the Fed is merely "removing some accommodation." Goldman Sachs has added an October hike to its forecast and Bank of America now sees moves in both October and December. Here is the repricing, the language behind it, and the two data points that decide it.

Memory chips surge, Nasdaq notches a second straight record close — why the Dow fell 185 points anyway Micron gained 5%, SanDisk 6.8%, Seagate 4% and Western Digital 3% as the memory complex led the Nasdaq Composite to a second consecutive record close of 27,244.28. But the Dow fell 185 points as JPMorgan, Wells Fargo and Schwab slid more than 3% each — a split tape that says more about positioning than about the economy.

Author Irene Q.

Yesterday 06: 51

Micron gained 5%, SanDisk 6.8%, Seagate 4% and Western Digital 3% as the memory complex led the Nasdaq Composite to a second consecutive record close of 27,244.28. But the Dow fell 185 points as JPMorgan, Wells Fargo and Schwab slid more than 3% each — a split tape that says more about positioning than about the economy.

Gold Price Forecast: XAU/USD drifts toward $4.300 with bears gaining traction Gold (XAU/USD) retraces Tuesday’s gains on Wednesday and drifts lower, approaching the $4,300 area as the US Dollar Index (DXY) rallies further amid high US Treasury yields.

Author FXStreet

Yesterday 10: 02

Gold (XAU/USD) retraces Tuesday’s gains on Wednesday and drifts lower, approaching the $4,300 area as the US Dollar Index (DXY) rallies further amid high US Treasury yields.

US input costs rose at the fastest pace in four years — the September flash PMI beat is an inflation story, not a growth story US September flash PMIs came in far above expectations, with the composite at 58.4, a five-year high. But the detail that moved markets was input cost inflation at its fastest since October 2022, driven by fuel, transport and supply shortages. Brent is back above $100 and the 10-year Treasury yield has hit its highest since 2007.

Author Suzie

6 hours ago

US September flash PMIs came in far above expectations, with the composite at 58.4, a five-year high. But the detail that moved markets was input cost inflation at its fastest since October 2022, driven by fuel, transport and supply shortages. Brent is back above $100 and the 10-year Treasury yield has hit its highest since 2007.

Popular Symbols