We recently compiled a list of the 8 Best Military Drone Stocks To Buy According to Analysts. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE:LMT) stands against the other military drone stocks. We also dive into unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) industry trends.
Demand for military drones has surged over the last few years amid deadly escalations breaking out in different parts of the world. These unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) were a prominent feature in the 2020 conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia in the Nagorno-Karabakh region. They have also been clouding the skies in Kyiv, Kharkiv, and Borodyanka as the Russia-Ukraine war approaches the 1000-day mark, with no immediate end in sight.
READ ALSO: 10 Countries with the Most Military Drones in the World and 7 Most Undervalued Defense Stocks To Buy According To Analysts.
UAVs offer an unprecedented bird’ s-eye view of the battlefield, making it difficult for enemy targets to move and hide from the theatre of war. An increasing number of countries are actively deploying military drones within and outside their borders for intelligence, reconnaissance, surveillance, and target operations, in what is being seen as the arrival of a new threat in the aerial defense space.
According to a report, the drone industry was valued at $30.2 billion in 2024 and is projected to reach $48.5 billion in 2029, at a CAGR of 9.9% during this period. This has already been a healthy year for the drone market. For perspective, a major ETF issued by AdvisorShares has gained 15.46% YTD, outperforming the broader market by two percentage points. The market’s growth is fueled by the need for enhanced aerial security and the advancements in technologies being made in the UAV industry.
There is active work ongoing in building drone defense systems as well to guard countries against the threats posed by UAVs. In early October this year, the Department of Defense (DOD) awarded a $250 million contract to Anduril Industries to counter drone attacks against American forces. Under the contract, the US will receive 500 recoverable Roadrunner interceptors.
Roadrunners are reusable drones that can intercept incoming drones or land back on the ground if they are not engaged. Anduril did not name the DOD customer for security concerns, however, the company stated that the contract would serve the American military in ‘priority regions where U.S. forces face significant UAS threats’.
Anduril Industries also recently unveiled a new, autonomous drone called Bolt after the success of similar products in Ukraine. The vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) autonomous vehicle will provide militaries with capabilities for a range of missions, from ISR to search and rescue. The drone also comes with a munition variant, called Bolt-M, to arm ground troops on the battlefield by making quick and precise strikes.
Compared to the use of costly and vulnerable fighter jets, loitering munitions after surveying the area through unmanned aerial vehicles has proven much more effective in the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine, resulting in a surge of demand for military drones. With that said, let’s shift our focus now on the best military drone stocks to buy according to analysts.
Methodology
We sampled stocks from ETFs with military drone exposure and our own previous related articles on the subject. Then we narrowed down the list to the eight top stocks preferred by analysts, basing our rankings on their median share price upside potential and the number of analysts who had made projections about these companies, as of October 25, 2024.
We first ranked the stocks on each of these two metrics and followed it up by assigning the two metrics their respective weights, which were 40% for the median share price upside potential and 60% for the analyst count. This was followed by calculating the weighted ranking for each metric, and then aggregating the two to get an overall weighted ranking score. The 8 Best Military Drone Stocks To Buy According to Analysts are ranked in descending order of these weighted rankings.
Since only a few public companies are operating in the military-drone industry, we did not have a lot of choices for stocks, and one of these stocks had a negative median upside so we ranked it on a positive mean upside instead, which was based on the contribution of 5 analysts. This stock’s mean share price upside potential was assigned a weightage of 40% as well.
For added perspective, we also mentioned the sentiment of the hedge funds towards each stock from Insider Monkey’s database of 912 hedge funds for the second quarter of 2024.
Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 275% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 150 percentage points (see more details here).
A military aircraft in flight, showing the strength of the company’s combat & air mobility capability.
Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE:LMT)
Median Share Price Upside Potential: 10.26%
Total Analysts: 11
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 56
Weighted Ranking: 3.6
Lockheed Martin is the largest defense contractor in the world, with over $67 billion in revenue in 2023, of which 96% came from defense-related sales. It is famed for producing some of the most notable military aircraft in history, including the F-35 fifth-generation fighter jet. For the last several decades, the company has also been delivering advanced autonomous solutions to the U.S. military to meet the needs of its most demanding missions.
It is the RQ-170 Sentinel unmanned aerial vehicle maker, which the U.S. Air Force continues to fly over complex conflict zones. According to The National Interest, the stealth drone is believed to have played a role in the operation that killed Osama bin Laden in 2011. Some other prominent UAVs that Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE:LMT) manufactures include Indago 4 and The Stalker.
The company announced its third quarter 2024 financial results on October 22. Net sales for the quarter grew 1.2% year-over-year to $17.1 billion, driven by robust performances from Missiles and Fire Control, and Rotary and Mission Systems segments. Net earnings totalled $1.6 billion, translating to an EPS of $6.80 per share, which beat expectations of $6.54, and was seven cents higher than in the same period last year.
After these strong results, Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE:LMT) has increased its guidance for the full year, and now expects annual revenue in 2024 to be $71.25 billion, reflecting a 5% growth from 2023. The company has also raised its segment operating profit margin and now expects it to be around 10.5%, driven by the anticipation of a higher sales volume. It has also upgraded its EPS forecast by 30 cents to $26.65 per share.
The defense contractor continues to invest heavily in autonomy and artificial intelligence. It has demonstrated its capabilities in crewed-uncrewed teaming, AI-driven autonomous systems, and integrated technologies at numerous U.S. Army events this year. During one of these demonstrations, it launched an autonomous drone to provide overwatch guidance to a ground-based robot navigating a dangerous urban terrain.
Lockheed Martin is one of the best military drone stocks to buy according to analysts, who have a consensus on its Buy rating and anticipate a 10.26% uptick, in median terms, in its share price. It remains a popular stock among hedge funds as well. Among hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey, 56 held investments in the company, as of Q2 2024.
Overall LMT ranks 3rd on our list of the best military drone stocks to buy according to analysts. While we acknowledge the potential of LMT as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns, and doing so within a shorter timeframe. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than LMT but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.
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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.