Dark Skies Ahead For Lockheed Martin Despite Posting Better Than Expected Profits

Aircraft Manufacturer and defense contractor Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) beat expectations as they posted better than expected third quarter profits. However, Revenues missed the analysts’ forecasts, posting approximately $11.06 billion compared to the $11.37 billion estimated by analysts.

Furthermore, Lockheed believes that 2010 number may be worse as President Obama curbs spending on traditional weapon systems. Signs of this cut down in spending can be seen in cancellation of the VH-71 Presidential Helicopter and scaling back of some of the missile programs

As experts struggled find a positive to this story, the shares of Lockheed Martin dropped 5.6% to $72.64. Other defense companies also fell because of the cutbacks on defense spending. Northrop Grumman (NYSE: NOC) fell 2.3% to $50.04 and General Dynamics (NYSE: GD) dropped 2% to $67.32.