Lockheed Martin Corporation LMT is the largest U.S. defense contractor with a platform-centric focus that guarantees a steady inflow of follow-on orders from a leveraged presence in the Army, Air Force, Navy and IT programs.However, a large percentage of Lockheed Martin’s business comes from the U.S. government. Hence, any cutback in the domestic defense budget is a potential risk for its future performance.Estimate Trend & Surprise HistoryInvestors should note that the first quarter Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings of $2.51 per share has decreased 2 cents over the last 7 days.Coming to the earnings surprise, Lockheed Martin Corporation has surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate in the last four quarters, resulting in a positive average surprise of 6.48%.Zacks Rank: Currently, Lockheed Martin has a Zacks Rank#3 (Hold) but that could change following its first quarter 2016 earnings report which has just released. We have highlighted some of the key details from the just-released announcement below:Earnings : Lockheed Martin beat on earnings. Earnings per share came in at $2.58, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.51 by nearly 2.8%.Revenue: Revenues of $11.7 billion surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $11.09 billion by 5.5%.Key Stats to Note : At the end of the first quarter, Lockheed Martin achieved a backlog of $97.9 billion, down from $99.6 billion at end 2015.Stock Price : It would be interesting to see how the market reacts to the earnings beat during the trading session today.Check back later for our full write up on this LMT earnings report later!Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report LOCKHEED MARTIN (LMT): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here.