Lockheed Martin Corporation: 10-K Risk Factor Changes

Many of our employees and retirees participate in defined benefit pension plans. The impact of these plans on our earnings may be volatile in that the amount of expense or income we record may materially change from year to year because the calculations are sensitive to changes in several key economic assumptions, including interest rates and rates of return on plan assets, other actuarial assumptions including participant longevity (also known as mortality), as well as the timing of cash funding. Changes in these factors, including actual returns on plan assets, may also affect our plan funding, cash flows and stockholders’ equity. We could be required to make pension contributions earlier than and/or in excess of what was planned if our return on pension assets is less than our assumptions, which would reduce our free cash flow. We have made substantial cash contributions to our plans as required by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), as amended, and in accordance with U.S. Government Cost Accounting Standards (CAS), and expect to make future contributions as required or when deemed prudent. We generally can recover a significant portion of these contributions related to our plans as allowable costs on our U.S. Government contracts, including FMS. However, there can be differences between the time when we contribute cash to our plans under pension funding rules and when we recover pension costs under CAS, which can affect the timing of our cash flows. Our business segments’ results of operations include pension expense as calculated under CAS while our consolidated financial statements must present pension income or expense in accordance with U.S. GAAP Financial Accounting Standards (FAS); differences in these accounting rules may result in significant period adjustments referred to as our FAS/CAS pension adjustments. Additionally, because allowable pension costs are included in the price of our products and services, those costs can affect our affordability and competitiveness. In recent years, we have taken actions intended to reduce the size of our defined benefit pension plans including pension transactions whereby we purchase group annuity contracts (GACs) from insurance companies using assets from the pension trust and transfer associated pension liabilities to the insurers. We expect to continue to evaluate such transactions in the future. Future transactions, depending on their size, could result in us making additional contributions to the pension trust and/or require us to recognize noncash settlement charges in earnings in the applicable reporting period. For more information on how these factors could impact financial condition and results of operations, see “Critical Accounting Policies – Qualified Defined Benefit Pension Plans” in the MD&A and “Note 11 – Retirement Benefits” included in our Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.

Many of our employees and retirees participate in defined benefit pension plans, retiree medical and life insurance plans, and other postemployment plans (collectively, postretirement benefit plans). The impact of these plans on our earnings may be volatile in that the amount of expense or income we record for our postretirement benefit plans may materially change from year to year because the calculations are sensitive to changes in several key economic assumptions, including interest rates and rates of return on plan assets, other actuarial assumptions, including participant longevity (also known as mortality), as well as the timing of cash funding. Changes in these factors, including actual returns on plan assets, may also affect our plan funding, cash flows and stockholders’ equity. We could be required to make pension contributions earlier than and/or in excess of what was planned if our return on pension assets is less than our assumptions, which would reduce our free cash flow. We have made substantial cash contributions to our plans as required by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), as amended, and in accordance with U.S. Government Cost Accounting Standards (CAS), and expect to make future contributions as required or when deemed prudent. We generally can recover a significant portion of these contributions related to our plans as allowable costs on our U.S. Government contracts, including FMS. However, there can be differences between the time when we contribute cash to our plans under pension funding rules and when we recover pension costs under CAS, which can affect the timing of our cash flows. Our business segments’ results of operations include pension expense as calculated under CAS while our consolidated financial statements must present pension income or expense in accordance with U.S. GAAP Financial Accounting Standards (FAS); differences in these accounting rules may result in significant period adjustments referred to as our FAS/CAS pension adjustments. In recent years, we have taken actions intended to mitigate the risk related to our defined benefit pension plans including pension risk transfer transactions whereby we purchase group annuity contracts (GACs) from insurance companies using assets from the pension trust. We expect to continue to evaluate such transactions in the future. Although under the majority of the GACs we have purchased, we are relieved of all responsibility for the associated pension obligations, we have purchased and may in the future purchase GACs whereby the insurance company reimburses the pension plans but we remain responsible for paying benefits under the plans to covered retirees and beneficiaries and are subject to the risk that the insurance company will default on its obligations to reimburse the pension trust. While we believe pension risk transfer transactions are beneficial, future transactions, depending on their size, could result in us making additional contributions to the pension trust and/or require us to recognize noncash settlement charges in earnings in the applicable reporting period. For more information on how these factors could impact financial condition and results of operations, see “Critical Accounting Policies – Postretirement Benefit Plans” in the MD&A and “Note 11 – Postretirement Benefit Plans” included in our Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements. 19 19 19 Table of Contents Table of Contents