L3Harris Technologies, Inc. (LHX) Up 6.8% — Buy the Breakout?
L3Harris Technologies, Inc. (LHX) is surging this Thursday, last changing hands at $278.41 on the NYSE — a $17.80 gain from the prior close of $260.61. The rally adds meaningful ground in a recovery effort. LHX still trades roughly 26.6% below its 52-week high of $379.23, set on March 2, 2026, so a sizable gap remains between today's price and where the stock stood earlier this year. For investors who have watched the shares drift lower, the distance back to that peak defines the upside on the table.
Roughly 1.24 million shares have traded so far against a 90-day average of about 1.61 million, with the regular session still open. Turnover has already reached about three-quarters of a typical full day, and the price gain has held through the morning.
Why L3Harris Technologies, Inc. Price is Moving Higher
The driver is a decisive Q3 beat paired with a raised 2026 outlook. L3Harris reported adjusted EPS of $3.28, well ahead of the $2.96 analysts expected. Revenue reached $6.06 billion against a $5.93 billion consensus. Revenue grew 7.1% year over year, and diluted EPS jumped 33%, which shows earnings growing much faster than sales. Management raised its 2026 EPS guidance to a range of $12.25 to $12.35, up from the prior $11.80 to $12.00, and lifted the low end of its revenue forecast by $300 million to a new range of $23.5 billion to $23.7 billion.
The order book makes the raised outlook more credible. L3Harris booked $19.3 billion in orders during the quarter, pushing backlog to a record $53.2 billion, up 47% from a year ago. That backlog covers more than two years of revenue at the new guidance midpoint, which gives the company a long runway of contracted work. Free cash flow reached $1.3 billion, up 195% year over year. That confirms the earnings strength is turning into cash, which supports the dividend and future capital deployment.
Defense stocks are also firm today, but LHX is clearly leading. Northrop Grumman Corporation (NOC) is up 2.26%, and Lockheed Martin (LMT) traded up about 2.4% earlier in the session. Both gains are a fraction of L3Harris's move. A supportive sector backdrop helped, but LHX's gain of nearly three times its large-cap defense peers points to the company's own results as the main catalyst.
What is the L3Harris Technologies, Inc. Rating - Should I Buy?
Weiss Ratings assigns LHX a C+ rating. Current recommendation is Hold. The C+ sits at the upper end of the Hold range. It reflects a business with strong fundamentals whose stock has not yet rewarded shareholders in step with that strength. Today's report could start to narrow that gap.
The fundamental case starts with the Excellent rating on the Growth Index. It is backed by 8.39% revenue growth and a backlog that just expanded 47% to a record $53.2 billion, a combination that points to growth lasting well beyond the current fiscal year. The Excellent Solvency Index rating fits a company producing $1.3 billion in quarterly free cash flow. L3Harris has the financial capacity to fund production ramps on its large contract base without straining its balance sheet. Efficiency is rated Good. The 33% rise in diluted EPS shows operating leverage, and the raised EPS guidance suggests margins are moving the right way. A 9.34% ROE and an 8.17% profit margin explain why that index is not rated higher, since a capital-intensive defense contractor working through program costs does not post software-like returns. Still, the trend is clearly favorable.
The weaker ratings come from the stock's market performance. The Total Return Index is rated Fair, which makes sense for a stock still about 26.6% below its March high despite steady operating progress. The Weak Volatility Index reflects the stock's large swings. The slide from $379.23 and today's 6.83% earnings-driven jump both show that LHX can reprice sharply when results arrive. The Dividend Index is rated Fair, consistent with a 1.90% yield that provides steady income but is not the main reason to own the stock. At a forward P/E of 26.29, the market is already pricing in some of the growth story. Those market-based dimensions keep the overall rating at C+ for now, even as the fundamentals argue for more.
Within the Industrials sector, L3Harris is on par with Northrop Grumman Corporation (NOC, C+), Deere & Company (DE, C+), and Vertiv Holdings Co (VRT, C+). It ranks ahead of Bloom Energy Corporation (BE, C) and AB Volvo (publ) (VOLVF, C), placing L3Harris among the better-positioned names in the group under the Weiss framework.
About L3Harris Technologies, Inc.
L3Harris Technologies, Inc. (LHX) is an Industrials company and one of the largest defense technology contractors in the United States. It was formed in 2019 through the merger of L3 Technologies and Harris Corporation and is headquartered in Melbourne, Florida. The company supplies the U.S. Department of Defense, intelligence agencies, NASA, and allied governments worldwide. Its work spans space, air, land, sea, and cyber domains.
The portfolio covers several high-priority areas of modern defense spending. L3Harris is a leading maker of tactical communications, including the Falcon family of radios used by U.S. and allied ground forces, such as the AN/PRC-163 and AN/PRC-117G. In space, it builds missile-warning and missile-tracking satellites, Earth observation sensors, and weather instruments. Its electronic warfare systems and intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance aircraft serve military customers worldwide. The 2023 acquisition of Aerojet Rocketdyne brought in solid rocket motors for munitions such as Javelin, Stinger, and GMLRS, along with the RS-25 engines that power NASA's Space Launch System. That business directly serves the push to rebuild munitions stockpiles.
The company's competitive advantages come from deep incumbency on long-duration government programs, specialized engineering that few rivals can match, and its position as a prime contractor or critical supplier on platforms that run for decades once fielded. Its growing role in solid rocket propulsion and space-based missile defense puts it near the center of several of the Pentagon's fastest-growing budget priorities. Those positions are difficult for competitors to dislodge.
Investor Outlook
L3Harris Technologies, Inc. (LHX) carries a Weiss Rating of C+ (Hold), and its Q3 beat, raised guidance, and record $53.2 billion backlog give the recovery case real momentum. Investors should watch whether the company delivers on its raised 2026 EPS range of $12.25 to $12.35 and keeps converting backlog into strong free cash flow. Sustained progress on both could help close the gap to the $379.23 high and lift the Total Return Index over time. See full rankings of all C+ rated Industrials stocks inside the Weiss Stock Screener.
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