Raytheon Company (NYSE:RTN)

I love defense companies but I really love Raytheon. They produce the top 3 (known to the public) missles used by the Army, Navy and Airforce: Patriot, Sidewinder, and Tomahawk. They finally sold Raytheon Aircraft to Hawker Beechcraft Corp (a Goldman Sachs company) so they can focus their efforts on missile defense, precision engagement, intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and homeland security.

They are also in position to take the lead on the new US Missle Defense Shield and the need for upgraded sensors for UAV's being ordered by the Govt.

With the war ongoing, our need to replace tons of munitions and our upgrade to more precise weapons and UAV's, Raytheon will find its way to the big table at DoD and grab some of our tax money.

Good defense market for now

Best "Bang" for the buck in the defense industry...Who knows they might even reverse the decision on their loss to LLL.

As the supply of defense contractors dwindles, those remaining will pick up bigger & bigger chunks of the pie. RTN will survive. They likely are the largest weapons system supplier to the USN and build quality systems.

Global prosperity is making it possible for many nations to upgrade their weapons arsenals. And they all want to do that for obvious reasons. Raytheon will get more than their share of this business.

Government contracts near term. Acceptable earnings this qtr.

Boeing Gold List supplier

A play on the need for sophistacated weapons systems.
Unrest in the word seems to be increasing, which should lead to more spending.

good performance and value at this level

War machines - nuff said

Defense spending with regard to current geopolitical concerns will continue to be a requirement for the U.S. for many years.

Solid Company that has irons in lots of fires. Nowhere to go but up!

Defense.

Raytheon is an industry leader in defense and government electronics, space, information technology, technical services, and business and special mission aircraft. They operate in 7 business segments and have the advantage of a global presence in an age where the whole world seems to be at war with each other.

Year 2006 has been good for Raytheon, with sales up 6.3% to 20.3 billion while it was up 11.7% in the fourth quarter. The backlog at the end of 2006 was an incredible $33.8 billion which in itself represents sales of almost two years. A cash position of $2.4 billion has brought down the company’s net debt to $1.2 billion compared to $2.8 billion at the end of 2005.

Companies like Raytheon are in for a treat, with President Bush asking for $624.6 billion for the Pentagon in 2008, in the new defense budget. Nearly $142 billion will be spent to pay for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. With the USA beefing up its operations in Iraq and a potential war with Iran looming large the defense boom might continue longer than a lot of analysts have predicted.

Raytheon is also trying to penetrate into emerging markets like India where it will be a major presence at the 2007 Aero India Trade Show in Bangalore. The sales for 2007 is expected to be up 5% to 8% over 2006 and nearly 20% of total sales is expected to come from overseas bookings. The USA seems to be keen on improving their homeland security and this has augured well for Raytheon which caters to all branches of the Department of Defense and the Department of Homeland Security. With a plethora of contracts heading the company’s way even as this report is being written, 2007 will be another explosive year for the company.

HAS NEEDED MILITARY PRODUCTS

The defense industry will continue to grow along as long the threat of terrorist threat and the geo-political situation is at a stalemate.

Offense and Defense. A critical company for the US

Raytheon continues to secure large government defense contracts as well as pursue international sales. In the next 2-5 years they will be expanding their roll beyond full product life support to take on a battlespace integration roll.

Good company that is clearly already ahead of the market. Expect pull back to something south of $50