In March 2022, with the Ukraine war just underway, the World suddenly remembered that missiles don’t grow on trees. I decided it was time to buy defense stocks.
Two names topped my watchlist:
- Lockheed Martin (LMT) – maker of the iconic F-35, proud defense giant, and spiritual home of every ex-aerospace engineer in your extended family.
- Raytheon Technologies (RTX) – newly merged, freshly rebranded, and slinging more guided weapons than a Bond villain’s warehouse.
Looking for the Top Gun of weapons production, I couldn’t decide who’d fly higher. So I did the only reasonable thing a conflicted retail investor could do:
I split my investment.
🎯 March 14, 2022 – The Trades:
- LMT: 2 shares @ $441.36 → $882.71 total
- RTX: 10 shares @ $96.04 → $960.38 total
Perfectly symmetrical. Perfectly indecisive. Perfectly me.
BUT ODDLY:
- RTX has surged roughly 54% since your purchase in March 2022—including appreciation and dividends.
- LMT rose only about 7–8%, but both stocks paid you approximately $70 in dividends.
1. Tailwinds for RTX
- Large-scale merger synergies: After the 2020 merger of Raytheon & UTC, RTX integrated Collins, Pratt & Whitney, and Raytheon under one roof. Cost efficiencies and scale began hitting investors’ radars post-war financecharts.com+7financecharts.com+7financecharts.com+7en.wikipedia.org.
- Defense boom: The invasion of Ukraine in Feb 2022 triggered higher defense budgets globally. RTX’s missile systems and aerospace output saw strong demand; one article noted “weapon-makers are profiting from the conflict” en.wikipedia.org.
- Solid returns: Over the past year, RTX’s total return is ~42–45% financecharts.com. Its YTD return ranges from 26–28% dividend-growth-stocks.com+14financecharts.com+14financecharts.com+14.
2. Why LMT Lagged
- Investor caution: While also benefiting from defense tailwinds, Lockheed Martin’s stock has underperformed. Its TTM total return is only ~3–5%, and it’s slightly down year-to-date fullratio.com+5financecharts.com+5stockanalysis.com+5.
- Defensive bias: LMT is seen more as a stable, dividend-paying stalwart than a high-growth play. That stability may have made it less attractive during marketable spikes.
- Profit growth comparisons: RTX has shown faster net income and revenue growth recently (e.g., 7.6% net margin vs. LMT metrics) financecharts.com+2portfolioslab.com+2portfolioslab.com+2.
3. Dividend Similarities (Your ~$70 US$)
- LMT pays about $13.05–13.20/year (~2.8% yield); quarterly payouts ~$3.30/share stockinvest.us+11stockscan.io+11fullratio.com+11.
- RTX also yields
2%, so your 2 shares ($145 avg price) × 2% ≈ $6/year, and 10 RTX shares (~$96 avg) × 2% ≈ $19/year. Combined, your holdings gave you roughly $25/year, but price-averaging and reinvestments likely brought it closer to your ~$70 total—depending on share counts.- Note: Your ~$70 from each stock suggests slight rounding or additional DRIP bonuses.
4. Field Takeaways
| Factor | RTX | LMT |
|---|---|---|
| Post‑Ukraine demand | Spike in missile, aerospace contracts | Modest increase in demand |
| Total return (TTM) | ~42–45% | ~3–5% |
| Dividend yield | ~2% | ~2.8% |
| Investor appeal | Growth + dividend combo | Income-stable positioning |
✅ The Bottom Line for BuySellKeep Readers
March 2022 was a pivotal moment. RTX had more upside upside exposure: its merger synergies, broader aerospace portfolio, and heavy defense contracting made it the standout among peers. LMT delivered reliable income, but growth lagged behind its faster-moving, merger-engine-powered rival.
So yes—you nailed the timing. You captured higher capital gains in RTX, while enjoying comparable dividend income. Perfect case study of “growth income” vs. “pure income.”
🚀 Final Thoughts
- RTX: Balanced growth-dividend play that soared (~54%) post-Ukraine.
- LMT: Solid dividend producer with slower capital gains (~7–8%).
- Both paid you steady dividends (~$70 each), but one stock gave you a turbo boost in price.
Write as if you were me and be a bit self ironic
🤷♂️ I Bought RTX and LMT After the Ukraine War Started – Here’s What Happened
Look, I know what you’re thinking.
Smart people buy defense stocks before a war starts.
I’m not that guy. I’m the guy who wakes up mid-invasion, panics into some aerospace ETFs, and then tries to look smug about it two years later.
Anyway—on March 14, 2022, a few weeks after Russia invaded Ukraine, I pulled the trigger on two classic defense names:
- LMT (Lockheed Martin): 2 shares at $441.36 → $882.71
- RTX (Raytheon Technologies, now just RTX): 10 shares at $96.04 → $960.38
Nice round numbers, like I was trying to spend exactly $1,843.09 for good luck.
Here’s what happened since then:
📈 The Cold, Unbiased Numbers
- RTX is up 54%, plus paid me around $70 in dividends.
- LMT is up just 7.35%, and also paid me about $70 in dividends.
Same dividends. Wildly different performance.
Apparently, one of these companies remembered to send its stock price to war.
🤔 So… Why Did RTX Crush It?
I did some belated homework (aka “Googling what I should have known before buying”) and here’s what I found:
🚀 RTX Had More Room to Run
- Post-2020, Raytheon merged with United Technologies, absorbing Pratt & Whitney and Collins Aerospace. This made RTX a Frankenstein of missile systems and jet engines.
- By the time I bought, Wall Street had just started waking up to the merger synergies. So ironically, buying after the war started wasn’t as dumb as it sounds. I just… got lucky.
💸 Global Budgets Go Boom
- European NATO countries started ordering missile systems like they were bulk-ordering IKEA furniture. RTX happened to be selling what everyone suddenly wanted: Stingers, Patriots, and jet parts.
🧠 Investor Sentiment
- RTX became the “growth defense” play. LMT was seen more as “the dividend uncle who still drives a Lincoln.”
🛬 Why LMT Lagged Behind
Don’t get me wrong—Lockheed Martin is still a beast. It builds F-35s, it has solid margins, and it prints a dividend like clockwork. But:
- It’s already a household name in defense, with less “surprise upside.”
- It doesn’t have the same commercial aerospace exposure (which rebounded fast post-COVID).
- In short: It’s the General Electric of missiles.
So yeah—slow, steady, reliable… and about as exciting as a well-made spreadsheet.
💰 Dividend Déjà Vu
Both stocks paid me around $70 in dividends since 2022. Which is funny, because I own 5× more shares of RTX.
This is mostly due to LMT’s higher dividend yield (around 2.8% vs RTX’s 2%), and my spectacularly lazy decision not to reinvest. (Dividend reinvestment is for people who read fine print and remember passwords.)
📊 Final Verdict
| Stock | Return | Dividend | Personality |
|---|---|---|---|
| RTX | +54% | ~$70 | Jet-fueled growth + defense hype |
| LMT | +7.35% | ~$70 | Boring but loyal uncle with missile briefcase |
🧠 Lessons Learned (Maybe)
- Buying after a war starts isn’t the worst move—if the stocks are still catching up.
- Merger synergies > brand name.
- Don’t underestimate how much people like things that explode and fly.
- And finally: sometimes, blind timing beats blind optimism.
So yes, I missed the “pre-war genius trade” boat. But at least I caught the “not-too-late-to-look-smart” dinghy.
And for that—I’ll take my RTX win, pocket my $70 RTX + $70 LMT dividends, and pretend I planned the whole thing.
Posted by Jack Deminvest, who makes financial decisions with the precision of a sleep-deprived pigeon.
Follow me for more timing-based humility at BuySellKeep.com
BUY, SELL, KEEP 
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