Aerospace and defense exchange-traded funds (ETFs) couldn’t protect themselves from the volatility of the broad market as all four were in the red despite positive third-quarter earnings results from Lockheed Martin (etftrends.com/quote/LMT). The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down by more than 500 points before rallying to settle for a loss of 125 points.
The iShares U.S. Aerospace & Defense ETF (Cboe: ITA) fell 0.72%, PowerShares Aerospace & Defense Portfolio (NYSEArca: PPA) slid 0.54%, SPDR S&P Aerospace & Defense ETF (NYSEArca: XAR) fell 0.81%, and the Direxion Dly Aerospace&Def Bl 3X ShsETF (NYSEArca: DFEN) dropped 1.65%.
DFEN, in particular, seeks daily investment results equal to 300% of the daily performance of the Dow Jones U.S. Select Aerospace & Defense Index, which attempts to measure the performance of the aerospace and defense industry of the U.S. equity market. DFEN has been leveraging the strength in the industry thus far this year and the results show with a 41.12% gain year-to-date.
Lockheed Martin was down 1.24% at the closing bell despite raising its forecast for 2018 to about $17.50 a share, which is higher than its original forecast of $16.75 to $17.05 a share. Lockheed Martin is also expecting revenue to rise by 5% in 2019.
“The preliminary outlook for 2019 assumes the U.S. Government continues to support and fund the corporation’s key programs,” Lockheed Martin said.
Lockheed Martin’s earnings per share came in 83 cents higher than analyst expectations with adjusted third-quarter earnings of $5.14 a share. The firm’s revenue of $14.32 billion also exceeded expectations–16% more than the $12.34 billion reported the previous year.
“Our team achieved another quarter of strong growth leading us to improve our expectations for our full-year financial results,” Lockheed Martin Chairman and CEO Marillyn Hewson said in a statement. “As we look ahead to 2019, we remain focused on providing innovative, essential solutions to customers, and continuing to generate growth and long-term value for shareholders.”
