US Q3 Results: Lockheed Backlog Hits Record 292 Billion Dollars as Honeywell Lifts Outlook
Lockheed Martin ended its third quarter with a record order backlog of 291.98 billion dollars, it reported on 22 October. Third-quarter sales rose 11 percent to 20.71 billion dollars. Honeywell raised its full-year outlook in its first quarter as a standalone company. Procter & Gamble, Blackstone and Comcast reported the same day. The Edge’s two earlier US roundups covered Meta, Texas Instruments, IBM, Lam Research and Tesla, and before them SpaceX, Netflix and Capital One.
Five US companies, latest quarterly results
| Company | Revenue ($bn) | Net profit ($bn) | Profit change (%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Comcast | 29.30 | 3.45 | 3.48 |
| Procter & Gamble | 23.28 | 4.73 | -0.40 |
| Lockheed Martin | 20.71 | 1.85 | 13.96 |
| Honeywell | 4.99 | 0.66 | -63.62 |
| Blackstone | 3.06 | 0.66 | 5.99 |
Ranked by revenue. Net profit is net income attributable to each company’s shareholders (net earnings as reported by Lockheed Martin). Profit change is our calculation against the same quarter of 2025. Procter & Gamble’s quarter is the first of its 2027 fiscal year. Honeywell’s figure includes discontinued operations.
Lockheed’s missile orders swell the backlog
Net earnings rose 14 percent to 1.85 billion dollars, or 7.97 dollars a share. All four business segments grew. Missiles and Fire Control grew fastest, with sales up 24 percent to 4.50 billion dollars, mainly on production ramps for the PAC-3 and THAAD interceptors. That segment supplied 41.72 percent of the company’s 2.10 billion dollar sales gain, on our calculation.
The backlog is the striking number. It grew 27 percent in the quarter. Since the end of 2025 it has grown 50.80 percent, on our calculation. Missiles and Fire Control alone now holds 142.52 billion dollars, or 48.81 percent of the total, on our calculation. The total includes 52.5 billion dollars from the multi-year award to produce PAC-3 MSE interceptors. The full backlog equals 3.60 years of sales at the midpoint of Lockheed’s estimated 2026 sales range, on our calculation.
Lockheed raised its outlook for the second quarter running. Lockheed now puts 2026 free cash flow at an estimated 7.8 billion to 8.0 billion dollars, against 7.0 billion to 7.2 billion dollars in July. Lockheed puts 2026 sales at an estimated 80 billion to 82 billion dollars. Third-quarter free cash flow fell to 3.00 billion dollars from 3.35 billion dollars, mainly because of higher customer receipts a year earlier, the company said. The release also flags the F-35. Costs on the Lot 20 advance acquisition contract began to exceed its authorization and funding during the quarter. Talks on the production contracts for lots 20 and higher continue.
Honeywell raises its outlook as P&G holds its earnings guidance
Honeywell’s sales rose 1 percent to 4.99 billion dollars, or 7 percent on an organic basis. Divestitures took 8 points off the reported figure and acquisitions added 2. Operating income rose 79 percent to 740 million dollars. The operating margin widened 640 basis points to 14.8 percent.
Net income attributable to the company, which includes discontinued operations, fell 63.62 percent to 664 million dollars, on our calculation. Two prior-year items more than account for the fall, on our reading. Discontinued operations earned 905 million dollars a year earlier but lost 103 million dollars this quarter. The 2025 quarter also carried an 802 million dollar gain from the Resideo termination agreement, which Honeywell names as the main reason its continuing earnings per share fell 20 percent to 2.40 dollars. Adjusted earnings per share rose 34 percent to 2.27 dollars.
The new guidance is 8.40 to 8.45 dollars of adjusted earnings per share, up from 8.05 to 8.35 dollars. Organic growth is now seen at 4 to 5 percent. Full-year sales are now guided at 20.0 billion to 20.1 billion dollars, up from 19.8 billion to 20.0 billion dollars. That implies 5.00 billion to 5.10 billion dollars in the fourth quarter, on our calculation.
Procter & Gamble grew net sales 4 percent to 23.28 billion dollars. Organic sales, which exclude currency effects, acquisitions and divestitures, also rose 4 percent. Volume added 2 points to organic growth and mix 1 point. Profit did not follow. Net earnings attributable to the company slipped 0.40 percent to 4.73 billion dollars, on our calculation. Cost of products sold rose 7 percent, faster than sales. Gross margin narrowed 160 basis points to 49.8 percent. On the core measure, which fell 150 basis points, higher commodity costs took 140 points and product reinvestments another 140. Diluted earnings per share still rose 1 percent to 1.97 dollars. The diluted share count fell 1.21 percent, more than the dip in profit, on our calculation.
P&G returned 3,853 million dollars through dividends and buybacks, or 87.55 percent of its 4,401 million dollars of free cash flow, on our calculation. It kept its organic growth range of 1 to 3 percent. All-in sales growth is now 2 to 4 percent, reflecting the Thorne acquisition from 1 October. The first quarter’s core earnings of 2.00 dollars a share are 28.57 percent of the 7.00 dollar full-year midpoint, on our calculation.
Blackstone grows its fees as Comcast holds steady pro forma
Blackstone’s GAAP net income attributable to shareholders rose 5.99 percent to 662 million dollars, on our calculation. Total revenues slipped 0.83 percent to 3.06 billion dollars, on our calculation. Performance allocations fell 73.81 percent to 204.6 million dollars, on our calculation. Management and advisory fees rose 5.93 percent to 2.18 billion dollars, on our calculation. They now make up 71.11 percent of revenue, against 66.57 percent a year ago, on our calculation.
Distributable earnings, a measure Blackstone reports separately from GAAP net income, fell 9 percent to 1.72 billion dollars, or 1.32 dollars a share. The 1.12 dollar dividend takes 84.85 percent of that, on our calculation. Assets under management grew 10 percent from a year earlier to 1,368.3 billion dollars. Inflows reached 63.3 billion dollars in the quarter. Credit and insurance brought in 56.54 percent of them, on our calculation. Stephen A. Schwarzman, the chairman and chief executive, said the flagship strategies outperformed comparable public market indices.
Comcast’s revenue was 29.30 billion dollars. That is 6.1 percent below the reported year-earlier figure. Against the pro forma 29.15 billion dollars, it is 0.5 percent higher. The pro forma base excludes Versant, separated on 2 January, and Sky’s German operations, sold on 31 May. Net income attributable to Comcast rose 3.5 percent to 3.45 billion dollars. Earnings per share rose faster, by 7.2 percent to 0.97 dollars, as the diluted share count fell 3.44 percent, on our calculation. Interest expense dropped 14.72 percent, on our calculation.
Adjusted EBITDA was 9.11 billion dollars, 0.8 percent above the pro forma prior year. Peacock earned 261 million dollars of adjusted EBITDA. A year earlier it lost 217 million dollars, and the company puts the improvement at 478 million dollars. Media EBITDA rose to 3.11 times its year-ago level, on our calculation. Theme Parks went the other way, down 17.1 percent. Comcast added 368,000 domestic wireless lines. It has paused buybacks and expects the pause to last through the planned separation of NBCUniversal and Sky, which it says “remains on track”.
Why it matters: Lockheed and Honeywell both raised their guidance. Lockheed’s backlog now covers more than 3 years of sales, on our calculation. P&G is still selling more volume, but commodity costs are cutting into its gross margin. Blackstone is leaning more on fees, and Peacock has become a profit line for Comcast.
Outlook: Lockheed still has to settle the F-35 lots 20 and higher contracts with the US government. Honeywell expects 5 to 6 percent organic growth in the fourth quarter. P&G expects to pay over 10 billion dollars in dividends in fiscal 2027. Blackstone pays its dividend on 9 November. Comcast expects its share buybacks to stay paused through the proposed separation of NBCUniversal and Sky.
Sources: Lockheed Martin, Honeywell, Procter & Gamble, Blackstone, Comcast, The Edge.
