Lockheed Martin Corp. (NYSE:LMT)

Price to earnings (P/E) ratio

The Price to Earnings ratio shows an overall upward trend from 13.44 in the first available quarter of 2020 to a peak of 22 in September 2022. Following this peak, there is a noticeable decrease, with values stabilizing around the mid to high teens and low twenties range through to the first quarter of 2025. This suggests heightened market expectations for earnings growth leading up to late 2022, followed by a period of relative stabilization or reduced growth expectations.

Price to operating profit (P/OP) ratio

The Price to Operating Profit ratio exhibits fluctuations with a general upward trajectory from 10.63 in March 2020 to a high of 15.88 in September 2024. Intermittent declines are observed, particularly around late 2021 and early 2023, but the overall pattern indicates increasing valuation multiples relative to operating profits, reflecting investor willingness to pay more per unit of operating profit over time.

Price to sales (P/S) ratio

The Price to Sales ratio trends upward from 1.40 in early 2020 to a peak of 1.92 in September 2024. Despite some minor volatility, including a decline following the peak in mid-2024, the progression indicates a steady increase in market valuation relative to sales, implying either growing sales figures or increasing investor confidence in future revenue growth.

Price to book value (P/BV) ratio

The Price to Book Value ratio initially declines sharply from 30.96 in early 2020 to a low around 9.5 in late 2021, suggesting a significant adjustment in market valuation relative to book value during this period. From late 2021 onward, there is a reversal with a significant rise reaching peaks above 19 by mid to late 2024 before a slight decline towards early 2025. This indicates fluctuating investor sentiment and changing perceptions of the company's net asset value or growth prospects over the analyzed period.

The financial data reveals distinct trends across share price, earnings per share (EPS), and the price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio over the observed periods.

Share price

The share price exhibited fluctuations with an overall upward bias from March 2020 to March 2025. Initially, the price decreased from $380.4 in March 2020 to a low of $327.93 by December 2020. Subsequently, there was a recovery and growth, reaching a peak of $576.98 in September 2024. Post this peak, the price retreated somewhat but remained elevated relative to earlier periods, closing at $462.08 in March 2025. This trend suggests a recovery and growth phase punctuated by volatility.

Earnings per share (EPS)

EPS data, available from December 2020 onwards, shows variation with a general upward tendency. EPS reported a value of 24.39 at the end of 2020 and experienced some fluctuations, notably dipping to 17.74 in September 2022 before rebounding. The EPS peaked around the fourth quarter of 2023 and first quarter of 2024, stabilizing around values in the high twenties. The trend suggests episodic earnings challenges followed by recovery and growth in profitability.

Price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio

The P/E ratio rose from 13.44 in December 2020 to a high of 22.32 by the third quarter of 2023, indicating an increased market valuation relative to earnings during this period. Following this peak, the ratio decreased somewhat to around 19.67 by March 2025. The initial rise in P/E may reflect growing investor confidence and expectations for future earnings growth, whereas the subsequent decline could indicate a market revaluation or moderating growth expectations.

In summary, the company experienced a period of share price decline in 2020 followed by a strong recovery through 2024. Earnings showed variability but generally improved over time, recovering from a notable dip in late 2022. The P/E reflected these dynamics by increasing during periods of earnings improvement and investor optimism and decreasing slightly as the market adjusted its valuation. Overall, the trends suggest positive investor sentiment supported by improving earnings performance, albeit with some periods of volatility and adjustment.

Share Price Trends

The share price exhibited notable fluctuation over the periods analyzed. Starting at $380.4 in March 2020, it experienced a decline reaching a low of $327.93 by December 2020. Subsequently, the price recovered sharply, peaking at $501.41 in March 2023. Post this peak, the price showed some volatility, with values fluctuating mostly above the $400 mark. The highest recorded value was $576.98 in September 2024. Towards the end of the period in March 2025, the price slightly decreased again to $462.08, reflecting some degree of market variability.

Operating Profit Per Share (OPPS) Trends

The operating profit per share, available from December 2020 onwards, showed an upward trajectory initially. It rose from $30.86 in December 2020 to a peak of $36.32 in September 2024, indicating improving operational profitability during this span. However, a drop was observed in the subsequent periods, with OPPS falling to $29.79 in March 2025 before a minor recovery to $31.4 in the same month, suggesting some recent operational challenges or margin pressures.

Price to Operating Profit Ratio (P/OP) Trends

The P/OP ratio displayed considerable fluctuation across the examined quarters. Initially moderate at 10.63 in December 2020, the ratio increased to peak levels around 15.88 in September 2024, indicating the market valuation was rising faster than operating profits during that period. This rise in P/OP suggests increasing investor expectations or valuations relative to profitability. A slight decrease to 14.72 and 14.37 in the following quarters implies some market readjustment but maintaining elevated valuation levels compared to earlier years.

Summary of Insights

The share price's recovery and its peaks align broadly with increasing operating profitability, reflecting positive business performance. However, the rising Price to Operating Profit ratio points to periods where market optimism or valuation multiples expanded disproportionately relative to profit growth. The recent decline in operating profit per share coupled with sustained high valuation multiples could indicate emerging performance risks or investor caution. Overall, the data suggests a generally positive performance trend interrupted by short-term cyclicality and valuation sensitivity.

The share price exhibited notable fluctuations over the observed periods, beginning at approximately $380.40 in early 2020 and reaching a low point around $327.93 by the end of 2020. Subsequently, it generally trended upward, peaking near $577.00 in late 2024 before pulling back again towards the $460 range by early 2025. This trajectory suggests a period of volatility followed by a strong recovery and growth in valuation.

Sales per share showed a steady and consistent increase throughout the recorded quarters, starting from around $233.48 in early 2021 and gradually rising to approximately $306.50 by early 2025. This progression indicates sustained growth in sales efficiency on a per-share basis, reflecting positive performance in revenue generation relative to the shares outstanding.

The Price-to-Sales (P/S) ratio demonstrated variability in alignment with the share price movement. Initial data from early 2021 shows the ratio around 1.4, which increased to a peak above 1.9 during mid to late 2022 and again towards late 2024. This rise in the P/S ratio may imply a growing market valuation relative to sales, potentially reflecting heightened investor confidence or expectations. The ratio experienced some decline periods, notably dipping below 1.6 at points, indicating phases where price appreciation may have lagged sales growth or market conditions adjusted valuations downward.

Overall, the data reveals a positive trend in sales per share complemented by a share price that, despite volatility, increased significantly over the longer term. The oscillations in the P/S ratio suggest fluctuating market sentiment or varying growth expectations across quarters, but the general uptrend in both share price and sales per share conveys an improving financial position and growing market valuation over the observed timeframe.

Share Price

The share price exhibits notable fluctuations over the observed periods. Initially, it starts at $380.4 and shows a slight decline to $327.93 by the end of 2020. From early 2021 onwards, the share price demonstrates a general upward trend, reaching a peak of $576.98 in September 2024. However, this peak is followed by a decline to $457.45 by December 2024, with a modest recovery to $462.08 in March 2025. The movement suggests periods of volatility with a strong overall appreciation in share value over the five-year span.

Book Value Per Share (BVPS)

BVPS shows an overall increasing trend from $12.29 in March 2020 to a peak of $45.66 in September 2022. Following this peak, a decline is observed leading down to $28.29 by December 2023. Subsequent periods reflect fluctuations around the high twenties to low thirties, indicating some instability or adjustments in equity value. Despite the recent dips, the BVPS remains considerably higher than the initial value at the start of the period, implying growth in shareholder equity per share over time.

Price-to-Book Value Ratio (P/BV)

The P/BV ratio starts very high at 30.96 in March 2020 and steadily decreases to around 9.5 by September 2021, indicating that the share price was initially very elevated relative to the book value but became more aligned with the underlying equity. After September 2021, the ratio fluctuates between approximately 9 and 19, showing increased volatility. Notably, it rises sharply to above 19 in the mid-2024 period before decreasing again toward 16.2 by March 2025. These variations suggest changes in market valuation sentiment relative to the company’s book value, possibly driven by share price volatility and changes in equity.