L3Harris Technologies, Inc.
L3Harris Technologies, Inc. provides mission-critical solutions for government and commercial customers worldwide. It operates through three segments: Space & Mission Systems (SMS), Communications & Spectrum Dominance (CSD), and Missile Solutions (MSL). The SMS segment integrates satellite and payload capabilities, including missile warning and defense, with maritime, air special missions, and other global defense and civil government programs. Its MSL segment unites propulsion, hypersonic, and other advanced missile technologies. The CSD segment provides tactical radios, software, waveforms, satellite terminals, and end-to-end battlefield systems for the U.S. Department of Defense, international, federal, and state agency customers; broadband communications; integrated vision solutions, such as helmet-mounted integrated night vision goggles with image intensifier tubes and weapon-mounted sights, aiming lasers, and range finders; and public safety radios and system applications and equipment. The company was formerly known as Harris Corporation and changed its name to L3Harris Technologies, Inc. in June 2019. L3Harris Technologies, Inc. was founded in 1895 and is headquartered in Melbourne, Florida.
What does it do?
L3Harris makes the technology that militaries and governments rely on to communicate, navigate, and defend themselves. Think encrypted radios that soldiers use in the field, satellites that detect missile launches, and the motors that power hypersonic weapons. If the U.S. military needs to talk securely, see threats from space, or hit a target with precision, there is a good chance L3Harris built part of that system. They also sell to allied governments around the world, so this is not just a U.S. story.
Defense budgets globally are surging after Russia's invasion of Ukraine shook governments into spending more on national security — and L3Harris sits right in the middle of that spending wave. The U.S. government is specifically prioritizing space-based missile defense and hypersonic weapons, which are two of L3Harris's fastest-growing areas. With geopolitical tensions rising in Europe, the Middle East, and the Pacific, demand for exactly what L3Harris sells is not going away anytime soon.
How does it make money?
L3Harris makes almost all of its money from long-term government contracts, mostly with the U.S. Department of Defense. Revenue hit $21.9 billion in the latest year, up from $21.3 billion the prior year. That money comes from three buckets: Space & Mission Systems (satellites and missile warning), Communications & Spectrum Dominance (secure radios and electronic warfare gear), and Missile Solutions (propulsion and hypersonic systems). These contracts often run for years, which means the company has a large, predictable backlog of future revenue already locked in.
Why do investors care?
The growth story here is simple: governments are spending more on defense, and L3Harris has the contracts to prove it. Hypersonics — missiles that travel at five times the speed of sound and are incredibly hard to intercept — is a hot area where the company is investing heavily, and the U.S. is pouring money into catching up with China and Russia. Investors also like the steady, contract-based cash flows that make earnings relatively predictable. For the thesis to work, defense budgets need to stay elevated, and L3Harris needs to keep winning new contracts while integrating the large Aerojet Rocketdyne acquisition it completed in 2023.
Deep Dive
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