Lockheed Martin

Lockheed Martin generates annual revenue exceeding sixty-seven billion dollars. Seventy-five percent comes from the United States government. No negotiation occurs over price. Instead, the contract is cost-plus: the government reimburses every dollar the company spends on labor, materials, overhead, plus a profit margin of typically eight to fifteen percent. If suppliers demand more aluminum, Lockheed passes it through. If wages rise, the government absorbs the increase. The F-thirty-five fighter jet program illustrates the economics. The contract is worth over four hundred billion dollars over its lifetime—the largest defense contract in American history. Each F-thirty-five costs roughly eighty million dollars to manufacture. Lockheed's backlog exceeds one hundred fifty billion in unfulfilled orders. These are not sales the company must pursue. They are commitments the government already made to fund. Sustainment contracts are where the real margin lives.