Student valuation · DCF and comps · Excel and Python

Lockheed Martin (LMT) Valuation

A formula-driven DCF, defense-peer comparables cross-check, WACC-by-growth sensitivity analysis, and one-page investment memo. The Excel workbook is generated from Python and remains inspectable cell by cell.

Illustrative student valuation, not investment advice.

NYSE: LMT

BUY
Target
~$560
Upside
~13%
Dividend
~2.7%
Total return
~16%
Beta
~0.6

Valuation map

Three methods triangulate fair value. The base and higher cases sit from roughly $560 to $606, while the exit-multiple case stays near the recent market price.

DCF, exit multiple (12x)
$482
Conservative floor
Current price
$494
Recent market
Blended target
$560
Base case
DCF, Gordon growth
$581
Perpetuity method
Comps median
$606
Peer cross-check

Method

The workbook starts from FY2025 financials and forecasts five years of revenue, EBIT, taxes, D&A, capex, and working capital. Unlevered free cash flow is discounted at a CAPM-based WACC of roughly 6.8 percent.

DCF, two terminal methods
Five-year unlevered FCF with a 2.25 percent Gordon-growth perpetuity and a 12x exit EV/EBITDA terminal value.
Comparable companies
EV/Revenue, EV/EBITDA, and P/E against RTX, Northrop Grumman, General Dynamics, and L3Harris, with Boeing excluded from the P/E median for negative earnings.
Sensitivity
A live WACC-by-terminal-growth grid shows how implied value moves with the model's two most sensitive assumptions.

Thesis

This is not a high-growth re-rating story. The thesis is an asymmetric, cash-generative compounder riding a multi-year global defense up-cycle.

Munitions demand and backlog

Elevated defense budgets and replenishment demand support low-cyclicality growth, with a backlog near 2x annual revenue.

F-35 sustainment

As the installed base grows, revenue shifts toward sustainment and modernization even when production flattens.

Cash returns

Free cash flow funds a growing dividend and buybacks that reduce the share count.

Key risks include appropriations delays, F-35 concentration, fixed-price development losses, and multiple compression.