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Market Snapshot
briefing.com
| Dow | 33879.77 | -96.77 | (-0.28%) | | Nasdaq | 12169.87 | +16.47 | (0.14%) | | SP 500 | 4156.73 | +0.59 | (0.01%) | | 10-yr Note | -2/32 | 3.60 |
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| | NYSE | Adv 1347 | Dec 1555 | Vol 765 mln | | Nasdaq | Adv 2104 | Dec 2347 | Vol 4.9 bln |
Industry Watch
| Strong: Utilities, Real Estate, Consumer Discretionary, Health Care |
| | Weak: Communication Services, Energy, Materials, Industrials, Information Technology |
Moving the Market
-- Digesting latest slate of earnings news
-- Wait-and-see mode trade ahead of upcoming influential earnings reports
-- Rising Treasury yields acting as a headwind for growth stocks that had a big run recently
-- Relative strength from mega cap stocks helping to boost index performance
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Closing Summary
19-Apr-23 16:20 ET
Dow -79.62 at 33896.92, Nasdaq +3.81 at 12157.21, S&P -0.35 at 4155.79
[BRIEFING.COM] Following a slate of earnings news since yesterday's close, the stock market had a lackluster showing today. Major indices were confined to narrow trading ranges, registering only modest gains or losses throughout the session. The sideways price action was a reflection of a wait-and-see mindset ahead of earnings reports from most mega cap stocks next week and Tesla (TSLA 180.59, -3.72, -2.0%) after today's close.
The market had more of a negative bias initially, but several mega cap stocks recovered from early weakness and boosted index performance. Ultimately, the main indices closed off their lows of the day. Apple (AAPL 167.63, +1.16, +0.7%), Amazon.com (AMZN 104.30, +2.00, +2.0%), and NVIDIA (NVDA 279.31, +2.64, +1.0%) were among the most influential winners today. The Vanguard Mega Gap Growth ETF (MGK) rose 0.1% while the Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF (RSP), the market-cap weighted S&P 500, and the Nasdaq Composite all finished the session flat.
Outsized moves were mostly reserved for stocks with specific catalysts. Intuitive Surgical (ISRG 298.57, +29.29, +10.9%) and Western Alliance Bancorp (WAL 40.35, +7.84, +24.1%) were some of the best performers today following their pleasing quarterly results. The latter fueled some buying interest in bank stocks. The SPDR S&P Bank ETF (KBE) rose 3.1% and the S&P Regional Bank ETF (KRE) was up 3.9% at today's close.
Also, Morgan Stanley (MS 90.45, +0.60, +0.7%) closed with a modest gain, rebounding from an opening 3.7% decline following its earnings results.
Roughly half of the S&P 500 sectors logged a gain, but moves in either direction were limited. The utilities (+0.8%), real estate (+0.6%), and health care (+0.3%) sectors led the outperformers while the communication services sector (-0.7%) brought up the rear.
The communication services sector was weighed down by an earnings-related loss in Netflix (NLFX 323.12, -10.58, -3.2%).
Treasury yields rose today, which acted as a headwind for equities. Price action in the bond market was a reflection of concerns about Fed policy. The 2-yr note yield rose five basis points to 4.26% and the 10-yr note yield rose three basis points to 3.60%. Some persistently high core inflation data for the eurozone and UK in March also contributed to today's selling interest.
- Nasdaq Composite: +16.2% YTD
- S&P 500: +8.2% YTD
- S&P Midcap 400: +3.3% YTD
- Russell 2000: +2.2% YTD
- Dow Jones Industrial Average: +2.3% YTD
Reviewing today's economic data:
- Weekly MBA Mortgage Application Index fell 8.8% with purchase applications plunging 10% and refinance applications declining 6.0%
- Weekly EIA Crude Oil Inventories showed a draw of 4.58 million barrels following last week's build of 0.597 million barrels.
Looking ahead to Thursday, market participants will receive the following economic data:
- 8:30 ET: Weekly Initial Claims (Briefing.com consensus 242,000; prior 239,000), Continuing Claims (prior 1.810 mln), and April Philadelphia Fed survey (Briefing.com consensus -20.0; prior -23.2)
- 10:00 ET: March Leading Indicators (Briefing.com consensus -0.4%; prior -0.3%) and March Existing Home Sales (Briefing.com consensus 4.50 mln; prior 4.58 mln)
- 10:30 ET: Weekly natural gas inventories (prior +25 bcf)
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSM), AT&T (T), American Express (AXP), Nucor (NU), Philip Morris International (PM), AutoNation (AN), D.R. Horton (DHI), Truist (TFC), Union Pacific (UNP), Rite Aid (RAD), KeyCorp (KEY), Pool (POOL), and Comerica (CMA) are among the more notable companies reporting earnings ahead of tomorrow's open.
Earnings after the close and ahead of Thursday's open
19-Apr-23 15:40 ET
Dow -106.55 at 33869.99, Nasdaq +12.56 at 12165.96, S&P -0.30 at 4155.84
[BRIEFING.COM] The main indices turned modestly lower ahead of the close.
After the close, Tesla (TSLA), IBM (IBM), Steel Dynamics (STLD), Kinder Morgan (KMI), Lam Research (LRCX), Discover Financial Services (DFS), Alcoa (AA), and Las Vegas Sands (LVS) are some of the more notable companies reporting earnings.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSM), AT&T (T), American Express (AXP), Nucor (NU), Philip Morris International (PM), AutoNation (AN), D.R. Horton (DHI), Truist (TFC), Union Pacific (UNP), Rite Aid (RAD), KeyCorp (KEY), Pool (POOL), and Comerica (CMA) are among the more notable companies reporting earnings ahead of tomorrow's open.
Looking ahead to Thursday, market participants will receive the following economic data:
- 8:30 ET: Weekly Initial Claims (Briefing.com consensus 242,000; prior 239,000), Continuing Claims (prior 1.810 mln), and April Philadelphia Fed survey (Briefing.com consensus -20.0; prior -23.2)
- 10:00 ET: March Leading Indicators (Briefing.com consensus -0.4%; prior -0.3%) and March Existing Home Sales (Briefing.com consensus 4.50 mln; prior 4.58 mln)
- 10:30 ET: Weekly natural gas inventories (prior +25 bcf)
Energy complex futures settle lower
19-Apr-23 15:05 ET
Dow -96.77 at 33879.77, Nasdaq +16.47 at 12169.87, S&P +0.59 at 4156.73
[BRIEFING.COM] Recent price action has the major indices little changed.
A short time ago, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy released a bill that will raise the debt ceiling for a year and provide spending cuts.
Energy complex futures settled the session lower. WTI crude oil futures fell 1.9% to $79.34/bbl and natural gas futures fell 5.9% to $2.23/mmbtu.
The S&P 500 energy sector is the worst performer today with a 0.5% decline.
April Beige Book shows economic activity was little changed in recent weeks
19-Apr-23 14:30 ET
Dow -75.01 at 33901.53, Nasdaq +24.81 at 12178.21, S&P +2.05 at 4158.19
[BRIEFING.COM] The major averages popped initially after the release of the Fed's latest Beige Book which showed that overall economic activity was little changed in recent weeks. Currently, the S&P 500 (+0.05%) is in second place, narrowly above yesterday's close.
Other points of interest from the report included: Employment growth moderated somewhat this period as several Districts reported a slower pace of growth than in recent Beige Book reports Contacts reported the labor market becoming less tight as several Districts noted increases to the labor supply. Additionally, firms benefited from better employee retention, which allowed them to hire for open roles while not constantly trying to back-fill positions.
Additionally, overall price levels rose moderately during this reporting period, though the rate of price increases appeared to be slowing. Selling price pressures eased broadly in manufacturing and services sectors. Consumer prices generally increased due to still-elevated demand as well as higher inventory and labor costs. Prices for homes and rents leveled out in most Districts but remained at near record highs.
Expectations for future growth were mostly unchanged as well; however, two Districts saw outlooks deteriorate.
Gold dips ahead of April Beige Book
19-Apr-23 13:55 ET
Dow -67.72 at 33908.82, Nasdaq +18.66 at 12172.06, S&P +1.14 at 4157.28
[BRIEFING.COM] With about two hours to go on Wednesday the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (+0.15%) is today's top performing major average, having moved mostly sideways over the last half hour; market participants await the Fed's April Beige Book which is on tap for the top of the hour.
Gold futures settled $12.40 lower (-0.6%) to $2,007.30/oz owing in part to a modest move higher in the dollar as well as gains in yields. Broadly, treasury yields have been rising today, reflecting concerns about the Fed's policy path, which has acted as a headwind for equities.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Dollar Index is up about +0.2% to $101.94.
Rising rates creating headwind for breakout effort
The corporate news flow has picked up, following the usual cadence of an earnings reporting period that is still in its early stages. Thus far, the results have been predominately better than expected, which is an outcome that also follows suit with the cadence of an earnings reporting period.
Notwithstanding the better than expected results, many of which have been a function of hurdling earnings estimates that had been cut in front of the reports, the stock market is little changed since last Friday when JPMorgan Chase (JPM), Wells Fargo (WFC), and Citigroup (C) got the reporting period rolling.
At the close last Friday, the S&P 500 stood at 4,137.64. Yesterday it closed at 4,154.87, but it is expected to do some backpedaling at today's open.
Currently, the S&P 500 futures are down 26 points and are trading 0.6% below fair value, the Nasdaq 100 futures are down 109 points and are trading 0.8% below fair value, and the Dow Jones industrial Average futures are down 111 points and are trading 0.3% below fair value.
Should things hold as they are, the S&P 500 would open today around 4,130. That represents a setback from yesterday and a setback from the close last Friday, but even so, the S&P 500 would be up 7.6% still since the start of the year.
The bulk of that gain has been driven by the outperformance of the mega-cap stocks. On an equal-weighted basis, the S&P 500 is up 3.1% entering today -- not bad at all, but certainly not as strong as the market-cap weighted index. As it so happens, a good bit of the weakness in the equity futures this morning can be attributed to some early weakness in the mega-cap stocks.
Tesla (TSLA), for one, is down 2.8% on reports that it has cut prices for its Model 3 and Model Y. Tesla reports its quarterly results after today's close. Meta Platforms (META) is down 1.9% on a Bloomberg report that it is prepping for more layoffs. Apple (AAPL), Microsoft (MSFT), Alphabet (GOOG), NVIDIA (NVDA), and Amazon.com (AMZN) are all trading lower.
Another Nasdaq-listed laggard of note is Netflix (NFLX). It is down 2.1% after reporting Q1 earnings last night and issuing some disappointing Q2 guidance that was attributed to a shift in timing for the broad launch of its paid sharing initiative. To be fair, NFLX had been down close to 10% immediately after its report but has rebounded nicely from tat knee-jerk selloff.
Nevertheless, its weakness remains a drag on sentiment along with the otherwise lackluster response overall to other earnings reports from the likes of Travelers (TRV), Morgan Stanley (MS), Abbott Labs (ABT), United Airlines (UAL), ASML (ASML), and U.S. Bancorp. (USB).
We will cast some blame on the Treasury market for the lackluster action. The 2-yr note yield is up four basis points to 4.25% and the 10-yr note yield is up five basis points to 3.62%. The move there is a continuation of a move that began two weeks ago when the 2-yr note yield stood at 3.76% and the 10-yr note yield hit 3.29%.
A "calming down" of the banking industry crisis has driven some unwinding of safety trades, but an added component of the backup in yields, which is starting to register more, is the re-think of the timing for a Fed policy pivot. Several Fed officials have pushed the need for more tightening in the wake of core CPI moving up in March, but, importantly, no Fed official has pushed the idea of cutting rates before the end of the year.
Core inflation data for March out of the eurozone and UK today has contributed to the weakness in Treasuries. Core CPI in the eurozone was up 5.7% year-over-year, versus 5.6% in February, and core CPI in the UK was unchanged at 6.2% year-over-year.
The rise in market rates has cast some pressure on growth stocks that had been rallying with the move down in rates and expectations that the Fed will cut rates more than once before the end of the year. With the re-think on that front, some money is being taken off the table in these big winners and that, along with general valuation concerns and a desire to hear more earnings guidance from bellwether companies, is getting in the way at the moment of the S&P 500 breaking out above 4,200.
-- Patrick J. O'Hare, Briefing.com
CDW's bearish FY23 IT market prediction sends shares tumbling considerably lower today (CDW)
CDW's (CDW -13%) cloudy Q1 revenue forecast released last night is sending its shares considerably lower today, hitting levels not seen since last October. The IT service giant, which provides a broad array of offerings ranging from discrete hardware and software products to various cloud capabilities, cautioned that buying had softened significantly over the past few months.
As a result, CDW expects Q1 revs of $5.1 bln, a 14% drop yr/yr, and a 6% decline sequentially, well below analysts' predictions of positive sequential growth. Also, CDW stated that FY23 adjusted EPS would be modestly below FY22 levels. Furthermore, CDW anticipates the U.S. IT market to dip by a high single-digit percentage yr/yr in 2023.
- CDW's IT forecast is particularly discouraging since it represented a meaningful shift from its outlook just one month ago. During its presentation at a Morgan Stanley Technology conference in early March, CDW expected roughly flattish growth within the U.S. IT market. Conversations with numerous customers and partners backed its view. Although, it is important to note that CDW followed up on this remark by cautioning that it operates in an uncertain environment, so dynamics could change as the year progresses.
- Nonetheless, investors were not anticipating CDW to change its IT forecast this quickly and as dramatically as it did. The company discussed intensifying economic uncertainty fueling more cautious spending as the culprit behind its Q1 guidance and updated IT outlook. Specifically, volume declines primarily emanated from CDW's largest commercial customers.
- There is the possibility that CDW is projecting a worst-case scenario, building in upside if market conditions do not reach its most pessimistic viewpoint. However, CDW's outlook does not stray too far from recent sentiments shared by various IT network, hardware, and software providers. For example, Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) commented last month that although demand still exists, it is uneven across its portfolio. HPE also saw more elongated sales cycles. Other software providers like MongoDB (MDB) and Sprinklr (CXM) have also recently touched on softening IT spending.
- On the bright side, CDW continues to target net sales outperformance of roughly 200-300 bps in constant currency in FY23, consistent with last month's remarks. The company also noted that strong Q1 cash flows enabled the firm to return approximately $280 mln to shareholders through dividends and repurchases.
Bottom line, CDW's Q1 outlook and FY23 IT spending projection set a gloomy tone ahead of many prominent IT service providers' earnings over the next few weeks, who may experience similar budget tightening during Q1.
Netflix streams lower on downside Q2 guidance as paid sharing roll out gets bumped into Q2 (NFLX)
Netflix (NFLX -4%) is streaming lower following its Q1 earnings report last night, but it has recovered after an initial 10% drop. The Q1 results were generally in-line, but the downside Q2 guidance caused the initial drop. However, the stock has recovered somewhat as investors started to understand the reasoning for the weak guidance, which we will get into later. Of note, NFLX said it expects to accelerate share repurchases over the course of 2023.
- Global streaming paid net adds in Q1 were +1.75 mln. Unfortunately, NFLX no longer provides guidance on this metric, so we do not really know if it was better than internal expectations. NFLX wants investors to focus more on overall revenue and profitability and less on quarter-to-quarter net adds, which can be lumpy. Also, NFLX is developing new revenue streams where membership is just one component of its growth (like advertising and paid sharing).
- A metric for which NFLX still does guide is operating margin. And that came in at 21.0% in Q1, ahead of the 19.9% prior guidance. Unfortunately, NFLX also guided to a sequential decline in Q2 at 19.0%. However, Netflix's operating margin can be lumpy given its production schedules and there a lot of changes going on. UCAN revenue grew 8% yr/yr while EMEA revenue was down 2% yr/yr.
- NFLX is rolling out two big changes to its model: an ad-supported tier and it is cracking down on password sharing (with the solution being called "paid sharing"). Probably the biggest news out of the report last night was Netflix announcing that it pushed back the broad launch of paid sharing (including the US) from late Q1 into Q2.
- Paid sharing looks very much like a price increase. NFLX sees an initial cancel reaction, and then recovers as borrowers sign-up for their own Netflix accounts or existing members purchase an extra account. As a result, some of the membership growth and revenue benefit will fall in Q3 rather than Q2. Hence the weak Q2 guidance. Also, there will likely be some volatility in the net adds metric the next few quarters as paid sharing rolls out.
- While the paid sharing launch got pushed back, NFLX rolled out its ad-supported tier in November 2022. So this was the first full quarter. It's still very early days, but NFLX is pleased with its progress. Engagement on its ad tier is above initial expectations and, as expected, NFLX has seen very little switching from its standard and premium plans. It's only a couple of quarters in, but the goal is to build a highly lucrative high-margin business.
The stock is lower on the Q2 guidance. However, we think the recovery off its lows was because investors began to realize that the Q2 guidance shortfall was more related to the paid sharing roll out being pushed back. It was not really a demand shortfall. Looking ahead, investors should brace for a couple of volatile quarters in Q2 and Q3 especially for net adds as subscribers decide how to respond to NFLX cracking down on password sharing.
Intuitive Surgical proves to be a cut above after accelerated demand fuels upbeat Q1 results (ISRG)
Intuitive Surgical (ISRG +12%) is proving to be a cut above today, relishing in sizeable gains after robust demand led to upbeat Q1 results and raised FY23 procedure growth guidance. The robotic surgical systems manufacturer experienced surprising strength in and outside the U.S., with a decent recovery in China after a spike in COVID cases last quarter weighed on overall numbers. Meanwhile, the favorable post-pandemic trends ISRG experienced over the past several quarters, including increased patient count and diagnostic pipelines running above pre-pandemic levels, continued in Q1.
- Although ISRG's results last quarter spurred pronounced selling pressure, there were still plenty of promising developments. For instance, China may have been a weak point, but COVID cases were already ticking meaningfully lower toward the end of December, potentially marking a bottom in terms of procedure growth. ISRG added credence to this notion in Q1, stating that China was amid a recovery from Q4 lows. Although, the region has not yet met the firm's expected 2023 run rate.
- Another silver lining from last quarter was relative strength within and outside the U.S. This positive momentum tickled into Q1, with domestic and global procedures climbing 26% yr/yr. Although ISRG was lapping favorable comparisons from the year-ago period, which reflected an adverse COVID-related impact, the company believes that a return of patients to normalized healthcare routines and improved staffing levels positively impacted Q1 procedure growth, albeit to an unknown degree.
- Additionally, ISRG expanding its da Vinci Surgical System installed base by 12% yr/yr in Q4 helped take some of the sting out of a 4% drop in system placements. In Q1, ISRG kept its installed base growth stable, seeing a 12% improvement yr/yr, underpinning continued demand for additional capacity given the upbeat procedure growth. Likewise, instead of posting a decline in system placements, this metric remained flat yr/yr during the quarter.
- With encouraging trends from Q4 gaining additional steam in Q1, ISRG performed a 180 from last quarter, delivering upside on its top and bottom lines after missing on both metrics in Q4. The company grew its EPS 8.8% yr/yr to $1.23 on revenue growth of 14.3% to $1.7 bln.
Looking ahead, ISRG's solid Q1 figures fueled its raised FY23 procedure growth outlook of +18-21% from +12-16%. ISRG also reiterated its CapEx projection of $0.8-1.0 bln. Although investors were not so forgiving of this forecast last quarter, primarily due to ISRG's underwhelming results, investors are less worried about the roughly 70% uptick in CapEx yr/yr after Q1 numbers. Also, despite pro forma gross margins ticking down by 100 bps yr/yr in Q1 to 67.2%, below ISRG's expectations, the company still maintained its 68-69% target for FY23.
Bottom line, although choppiness surrounding COVID hospitalizations, uncertainty with China's recovery timeline, and general macroeconomic challenges still exist, ISRG's Q1 report and raised FY23 procedure outlook demonstrated the resilient demand for its systems, an uplifting sign for subsequent quarters.
Morgan Stanley's diversified business drives upside results as investment banking stays in rut (MS)
Bolstered by strong results within its Wealth Management segment, primarily due to higher interest rates, Morgan Stanley (MS) beat 1Q23 EPS and revenue estimates, one day after rival Goldman Sachs (GS) fell short on the top-line. The upside performance is a testament to MS's strategy to diversify its revenue streams and to make the company less dependent on its investment banking and trading businesses. However, it's those two businesses that are under the microscope today as the disappointing performance of MS's Institutional Securities segment clouds over the earnings and revenue beats.
- Like GS before it, MS reported a steep decline in advisory revenue, which tumbled by 32% yr/yr to $638 mln. That's not quite as bad as the 42% plunge experienced by GS in Q1, but MS seemed to underperform in the equity underwriting space as the IPO market remained ice cold. Here, revenue fell by 22% to $202 mln, compared to an 8% drop for GS and a 20% decline for Jefferies (JEF).
- The news isn't much better on the trading side as equities and fixed income revenue decreased by 14/% and 12%, respectively. Heading into the earnings reports for GS and MS, there was an expectation that the fixed income trading desks for both companies would post relatively strong results due to the heightened volatility in the bond, currency, and commodities markets.
- While fixed income outperformed equities for both GS and MS, neither company received the anticipated boost this quarter. It's worth noting, though, that fixed income trading was an area of strength for MS in the year-ago quarter, remaining flat on a yr/yr basis after surging by 44% in 1Q21.
Overall, the Institutional Securities segment reported a 12% decrease in revenue. Mitigating the impact of that decline was the Wealth Management segment, which posted an 11% jump in revenue to $6.6 bln. For the past several years, MS has focused on building up its Wealth Management and Investment Management segments, with its landmark $13.0 bln acquisition of E*Trade in 2020 playing a major role in that transformation.
- As interest rates have shot higher, the dividends from that acquisition have also increased in the form of rising net interest income (NII) growth.
- In Q1, NII climbed higher by 43% yr/yr to $2.2 bln, reflecting higher interest rates and bank lending growth. The NII growth more than offset a modest drop in asset management revenue as a result of lower asset levels from the decline in the broader market.
The main takeaway is that MS's more diversified business model continues to set it apart from rival GS with approximately half of its revenue now coming from the Wealth Management and Investment Management segments. Still, MS has substantially more exposure to the struggling investment banking industry than consumer-centric banks like JPMorgan Chase (JPM) or Bank of America (BAC), putting it at a disadvantage once again for this earnings cycle.
Lockheed Martin launched to 52-week highs following upbeat Q1 numbers fueled by its Space unit (LMT)
Lockheed Martin (LMT +2%) blasts through previous resistance, forming fresh 52-week highs, following sizeable top and bottom line beats in Q1. The underlying theme in the quarter was resilient demand and minor supply chain issues, allowing LMT to kick off 2023 on the right foot and position it to meet its commitments for the year. The leading defense contractor reiterated its FY23 outlook, its commitment to delivering free cash flow at or above $6.2 bln, and its plans to return to growth in 2024.
- LMT delivered $15.13 bln in sales during Q1, a 1.1% jump yr/yr, assisting its adjusted EPS to remain relatively flat yr/yr at $6.43. LMT's Space segment was its only business to enjoy sales growth in Q1, climbing 15.6% to $2.96 bln. The positive momentum in Space can be attributed to classified programs. LMT's other segments, Aeronautics, Missiles & Fire Control (MFC), and Rotary & Mission Systems (RMS), each witnessed declining revs yr/yr in the quarter, albeit not by more than 3%.
- Breaking down some of LMT's business lines, in MFC, the company commented that its first long-range missile able to travel at speeds greater than Mach 5 is slated for delivery by the mid-2020s. This hypersonic technology is a central focus of LMT over the long term and is pouring capital into developing the technology on an accelerated timeline.
- Meanwhile, in Aeronautics, which includes LMT's F-35 program, the company does anticipate F-35 deliveries to be lower-than-expected due to hardware delivery timing. However, LMT does not expect this to materially impact sales and profit goals.
- LMT's strong numbers in Q1 reflect steady investments by the U.S. and its allies in defense. The preliminary details of the FY24 President's Budget Request (PBR) released last month further underscore a heightened emphasis on security, illuminated by a 3% increase over the FY23 funding. LMT noted that near-term threats posed by China and Russia are spurring additional demand for its advanced technologies, including procurement of 83 F-35 aircraft, ongoing expansion in classified programs, and increased munitions funding.
- These developments, coupled with LMT's strong start to the year, drove the company's reaffirmed FY23 outlook. LMT continues to project EPS of $26.60-26.90 and revs of $65.0-66.0 bln.
Overall, Q1 contained plenty of encouraging developments, paving the way for LMT to hit its FY23 targets and remain on track to return to growth next year. Supply chain challenges are mostly a thing of the past, with only a few pockets of notable weaknesses, particularly in MFC and RMS, a lingering issue for LMT, which will likely persist into 2024. Still, if overall numbers in Q1 were any indication, LMT has demonstrated success in delivering growth despite these problems.
Bottom line, it is hard to bet against the leading defense contractor for the U.S., which boasts the largest military budget across the globe. Even though shares moved to one-year highs today, upside still exists, especially when investing for the long term.
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