Start here if you're new
what it is
L3Harris makes defense systems for space, aircraft, radios, and missiles across four segments.
how it gets paid
Last year Harris Tech made $21.9B in revenue. Space & airborne systems was the main engine at $7.0B, or 32% of sales.
why it's growing
Revenue grew 2.5% last year. The 3.62% beat matters because the stock trades at 32.1x trailing earnings.
what just happened
L3Harris beat estimates by 3.6% with $2.86 EPS versus $2.76 expected.
At a glance
A balance sheet — strong enough to weather a downturn
55/100 earnings predictability — expect surprises
32.1x trailing p/e — you're paying up for this one
1.5% dividend yield — cash in your pocket every quarter
12.0% return on capital — nothing to write home about
xvary composite: 70/100 — average
What they do
L3Harris makes defense systems for space, aircraft, radios, and missiles across four segments.
Defense buyers do not swap suppliers like phone cases. L3Harris pulls in $21.9B across four segments, versus $2.6B in the smallest one. The 9.7% operating margin means 9.7 cents of every sales dollar stays after running the business, so your cash flow does not live or die on one contract.
How they make money
$21.9B
annual revenue · their business grew +2.5% last year
Space & airborne systems
$7.0B
Integrated mission systems
$6.6B
Communications systems
$5.7B
Aerojet Rocketdyne
$2.6B
The products that matter
space and defense payloads
Space & Airborne Systems
part of a $16.2B company
This is where space and electronic-warfare exposure sit inside the $16.2B revenue base. Segment revenue is not broken out here, so you should treat any precise mix story with humility.
mission critical
battlefield systems integration
Integrated Mission Systems
supports the full contractor base
Integrated mission work matters because complex programs are hard to replace. On a 10.2% net margin, that stickiness matters more than branding language.
systems layer
secure comms hardware
Communication Systems
contract-driven demand
Communication systems are central to the thesis because governments replace mission gear slowly and carefully. That helps explain why institutions kept buying even with the stock near $345.50.
program exposure
avionics and aviation electronics
Aviation Systems
one of four main segments
Aviation Systems rounds out the portfolio, but this snapshot does not split the $16.2B across the four segments. You know the buckets. You do not get enough mix data here to crown one segment as the whole story.
portfolio breadth
Key numbers
$314
18-mo target
The target sits $31.50 below the stock price. That is a plain warning.
9.7%
operating margin
This means 9.7 cents of every sales dollar stays after running the business. On $21.9B of sales, that is real cash.
12.0%
return on capital
For every $100 invested in the business, L3Harris earns $12 in operating profit. That is a solid return in a slow-moving industry.
1.5%
dividend yield
You get $1.50 a year for every $100 you put in at the current price. That is income, not a rescue.
Financial health
A
strength
- balance sheet grade A — very strong financial position
- risk rank 2 — safer than 80% of stocks
- price stability 85 / 100
- long-term debt $10.4B (14% of capital)
- net profit margin 11.7% — keeps 12 cents of every dollar in revenue
- return on equity 16% — $0.16 profit for every $1 investors have put in
A — among the top-rated companies for balance sheet quality.
Total return vs. market
You invested $10,000 in LHX 3 years ago → it's now worth $17,170.
The index would have given you $13,880.
source: institutional data · total return
What just happened
beat estimates
L3Harris beat estimates by 3.6% with $2.86 EPS versus $2.76 expected.
EDGAR lists $21.9B of revenue, up 3% vs. prior year. Yahoo's last-earnings check showed $2.86 actual versus $2.76 expected.
$21.9B
revenue
$2.86
eps
3.62%
surprise
EPS surprise
The 3.62% beat matters because the stock trades at 32.1x trailing earnings. You are paying for clean quarters, not sloppy ones.
-
l3harris technologies kicked off 2026 in the headlines.
-
on january 5th, the company disclosed it plans to sell 60% of its space propulsion and power systems branch to ae industrial partners for $845 million.portfolio streamlining and a reduction in exposure to capital-intensive programs were cited, as were a sharp focus on defense.
-
proceeds from the sale, expected to close later in 2026, will go toward debt reduction.
-
one caveat: the rs-25 rocket engine is excluded from the sale.
-
lhx will retain 40% and thinks the entity will be better managed by ae, which has specialization in this area.a desire to pitch in with regard to the department of war’s vision for a faster, more-agile defense base was mentioned in the release.
source: Yahoo Finance consensus and EDGAR, 2026
Get this snapshot in your inbox
This page, delivered free — plus weekly updates when the numbers change. plain english, no spam.
weekly updates
earnings alerts
plain english
no spam
What could go wrong
L3Harris sells into missions governments view as critical. That helps demand. It does not spare you from budget fights, program mistakes, or a stock price that already expects a lot.
med
u.s. defense budget pressure
This is a government contractor. If priorities shift or appropriations tighten, awards can slow even when the mission still matters.
The exposure is broad: the current $16.2B revenue base is tied to defense and government spending decisions one way or another.
med
program execution on complex systems
Mission systems do not leave much room for delays, overruns, or integration mistakes. When the work is complicated, margin is usually the first casualty.
A 10.2% net margin is respectable, but it does not give you endless cushion if large contracts get more expensive to deliver.
med
premium valuation meeting ordinary returns
The stock trades at 32.1x trailing earnings while return on capital is 9.0%. That gap works beautifully until growth slows.
If the business starts looking more like a normal contractor than a growth story, the multiple has room to compress before the balance sheet becomes the issue.
med
portfolio-sale execution
Selling 60% of the space propulsion and power systems business might sharpen focus, but transactions also create transition risk and a new set of expectations.
If the sale does not improve the earnings mix or meaningfully reduce debt, you are left with change but not much payoff.
A strong balance sheet helps, but it does not change the math: you are paying a premium price for a business whose $16.2B revenue base depends on government budgets and whose current return on capital is 9.0%.
source: institutional data · regulatory filings · risk analysis
Pay attention to
earnings
the next report after the beat
$2.46 EPS bought management some credibility. The next report tells you whether that strength was momentum or a high point.
metric
whether growth stays above ordinary-contractor levels
Revenue grew 53.6% last year. If that fades quickly while the stock stays near 32.1x earnings, valuation becomes the story.
risk
washington budget language
Contractors live downstream from budget decisions. Watch authorization and appropriations signals for any pressure on program funding.
trend
what management does with the asset-sale proceeds
The company said proceeds should go to debt reduction. If that happens, $10.4B in long-term debt becomes less of a talking point.
Analyst rankings
short-term outlook
average
Momentum score 3 — in human-speak, analysts do not see a strong near-term edge either way.
risk profile
above average
Stability score 2 means the stock has historically behaved better than roughly 80% of the market.
chart momentum
average
Technical score 3 says the chart is not flashing anything dramatic. Welcome to a stock the market mostly understands.
earnings predictability
55 / 100
That score is the quiet part loud: this is not one of those companies where estimates land gently every period.
source: institutional data
Institutional activity
institutions have been net buying for 3 consecutive quarters — 728 buyers vs. 556 sellers in 3q2025. total institutional holdings: 0.2B shares. net buying for 3 quarters.
source: institutional data
Price targets
3-5 year target range
$223
$405
$346
current price
$314
target midpoint · 9% from current · 3-5yr high: $575 (+65% · 15% ann'l return)
Want the deeper analysis?
The full deep dive: dcf model, scenario analysis, competitive moat breakdown, and quarterly tracking — everything on this page, taken further.
see plans from $5/moThe deep dive