As Lockheed Martin grows nearer to closing a long-term, $37 billion deal involving the sale of 440 F-35 fighter jets to 11 nations, investors are expecting a significant boost to cash flow outlook.
"This more than doubles the total amount of airplanes under contract, and that we'll be building," said Jeff Babione, an executive of the company.
The deal would yield multiple economic advantages. It would solidify jobs at Lockheed and international partner factories in Texas, Italy and Japan, where more than 140 jets are now in production. The deal would sustain approximately 150,000 jobs worldwide that are linked to the program and a projected 200,000 jobs that eventually would be added, Babione said.
If closed and finalized, the agreement would subsequently augment the reputation and smooth over the cost of Lockheed's problematic program (which carries an estimated total cost of $400 billion) by granting it greater economies of scale.
Trump has openly expressed his distaste and disapproval of expensive government aircraft programs. In April, he cited his prowess as a negotiator and vowed to save money on the expensive F-35. His comments followed a statement from Lockheed in February that credited Trump for helping to accelerate negotiations.
This would be the most important deal yet for the stealthy F-35 jet, set to make its Paris Airshow debut this week.
The average price in 2019 could be $85 million for the F-35 "A" variant and could drop below $80 million in 2020, the people said. That would mark the lowest price ever paid for an F-35, making this deal an important step in reducing the overall cost of each jet.
This new move has strengthened the Lockheed stock (NYSE: LMT), especially considering it was under significant downward pressure previously due to the potential curtailment of defense spending under the Trump administration. Moreover, despite there being a slight delay in contractual negotiations for the F-35, the corporation has still experienced strong cash flow growth the first quarter this year. Since about a week, the share has been on the rise and grown by more than 1.1%, further testifying to the notion that investors should long the Lockheed stock because it has been able to survive multiple challenges.
Testing is now 90% complete but full scale production of the aircraft, which is scheduled for April 2019, could cost the U.S. Department of Defense a billion dollars more than what was forecasted in 2011 when the program was restructured. The fact that the deal is still about be closed despite this fact reveals the administration's underlying if not overtly explicit faith in the company, further strengthening its survival and long-term position in the market.
The F-35 is the nation's most refined fighter jet, equipped with stealth technology and a cockpit helmet display that allows pilots to effectively see through the airplane at targets on the ground below. Lockheed executives have estimated that a multi-year deal will save about $2 billion for the nations that choose to participate in the multi-year purchase.