By Kelly Cloonan

Shares of defense companies fell after several warned of hits to their top line.

Northrop Grumman fell 12% to $466.81 on Tuesday, while RTX slid 9% to $114.91. Lockheed Martin was down 3% at $444.84.

GE Aerospace and Palantir Technologies ticked up 3% and 2%, respectively.

Northrop on Tuesday cut its earnings forecast for 2025 after reporting lower sales and profit in the first quarter as the wind-down of a space program and manufacturing changes weighed on results.

The defense contractor guided for full-year earnings of $24.95 to $25.35 a share, down from a prior estimate of $27.85 to $28.25 a share. The company said the new forecast reflects its judgment based on the current information available regarding inflation, labor and supply chain challenges, as well as changes in the government budget.

RTX, meanwhile, maintained its outlook of full-year adjusted sales between $83 billion and $84 billion, including 4% to 6% organic growth, but said its outlook doesn't incorporate the impact of recent U.S. and non-U.S. tariffs.

In an earnings presentation, the company said it could see a hit to its operating profit of approximately $850 million, given higher U.S. tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China, as well as global reciprocal tariffs, Chinese tariffs on the U.S., as well as U.S. steel and aluminum tariffs.

Write to Kelly Cloonan at kelly.cloonan@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 22, 2025 10:52 ET (14:52 GMT)

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