NEW YORK, Jan 3, 2026, 17:07 ET — Market closed
Lockheed Martin shares closed up 2.77% at $497.07 on Friday, in the first U.S. trading session of 2026. Northrop Grumman gained 2.71% and General Dynamics rose 2.0% as defense contractors moved higher together.
The move matters now because investors are resetting positions for the new year, and defense stocks often draw interest when geopolitical risk rises or when the market leans toward steadier cash flows.
Lockheed is also a rates-sensitive name. It pays a dividend, and shifts in Treasury yields can change the appeal of dividend stocks versus risk-free government bonds.
On Friday, President Donald Trump threatened to come to the aid of protesters in Iran if security forces fired on them, Reuters reported. Defense shares, including Lockheed, were higher after the comments, according to Investor’s Business Daily.
Over the weekend, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said the Islamic Republic would not yield to foreign pressure as protests simmered, keeping the Middle East on traders’ radar going into Monday.
U.S. stocks opened 2026 with a cautious rebound on Friday, with the Dow and S&P 500 edging higher while the Nasdaq was little changed, Reuters said. “The market is seeing a ‘buy the dip, sell the rip’ mentality,” Joe Mazzola, head of trading and derivatives strategist at Charles Schwab, told Reuters, as investors looked ahead to next week’s labor-market data. Reuters
Treasury yields also moved higher, with the 10-year note ending around 4.191% on Friday, Reuters reported. Yields rise when bond prices fall, and higher yields can weigh on income-oriented sectors by offering investors a more competitive return in government debt.
Lockheed, based in Bethesda, Maryland, operates across aeronautics, missiles and fire control, rotary and mission systems, and space, making it a bellwether for U.S. and allied procurement cycles.
The next company-specific catalyst is earnings. Lockheed is expected to report quarterly results around Jan. 27, according to Nasdaq’s earnings calendar.
Investors will be looking for commentary on cash generation and any change in assumptions around production and delivery schedules, which tend to drive how the market values long-cycle defense programs.
Before the next session:
Lockheed will next trade when U.S. markets reopen on Monday, with defense names likely to track any fresh developments in Iran and any sharp move in rates.
Technically, the stock ended within a few dollars of $500, a round-number level that often draws short-term trading interest. Friday’s session ranged roughly from $476.54 to $497.16.
Beyond Monday, the focus shifts quickly to late-January earnings and the next batch of U.S. macro data that can move yields — a key input for how investors price dividend-heavy, large-cap industrials.
