Best Industrials Stocks Right Now

Lockheed Martin is a major defense contractor that handles every phase of delivering technologically advanced systems worldwide. It operates in missile control, fire control, rotary systems, mission systems, aeronautics and space. This Bethesda, Maryland, company has over 100,000 employees. Its customers are the U.S. Navy, Army, Air Force, Marine Corps, NASA and many foreign allies. Lockheed offers a large suite of products for each of its divisions.

In 2019, Lockheed Martin posted a whopping $6.6 billion operating profit. Its earnings-per-share was $21.95. The operating profit went up 12% from the year before — the earnings-per-share increased by 25% for the same period.

Omaha, Nebraska-based Union Pacific is the largest public railroad in North America. Operating on more than 30,000 miles of track in the western two thirds of the U.S., UP generated roughly $22 billion of revenue in 2021 by hauling coal, industrial products, intermodal containers, agriculture goods, chemicals, and automotive goods. UP owns about one fourth of Mexican railroad Ferromex and derives about 10% of its revenue hauling freight to and from Mexico.

Honeywell traces its roots to 1885 with Albert Butz’s firm, Butz-Thermo Electric Regulator, which produced a predecessor to the modern thermostat. Today, Honeywell is a global multi-industry behemoth with one of the largest installed bases of equipment. The firm operates through four business segments, including aerospace, building technologies, performance materials and technologies, and safety and productivity solutions. In recent years, the firm has made several portfolio changes, including the addition of Intelligrated in 2016, as well as the spins of Garrett Technologies and Resideo in 2018. In 2019, the firm launched Honeywell Forge, its enterprise performance management software solution that leverages the firm’s domain expertise in buildings, airlines, and critical infrastructure.

Caterpillar is an iconic manufacturer of heavy equipment, power solutions, and locomotives. It is currently the world’s largest manufacturer of heavy equipment with over 15% market share in 2020. The company is divided into four reportable segments: construction industries, resource industries, energy and transportation, and Caterpillar Financial Services. Its products are available through a dealer network that covers the globe with over 2,000 branches maintained by 168 dealers. Caterpillar Financial Services provides retail financing for machinery and engines to its customers, in addition to wholesale financing for dealers, which increases the likelihood of Caterpillar product sales.

FedEx pioneered overnight delivery in 1973 and remains the world’s largest express package provider. In its fiscal 2020 (ended May 2020), FedEx derived 51% of revenue from its express division, 33% from ground, and 10% from freight, its asset-based less-than-truckload shipping segment. The remainder comes from other services, including FedEx Office, which provides document production/shipping, and FedEx Logistics, which provides global forwarding. FedEx acquired Dutch parcel delivery firm TNT Express in 2016. TNT was previously the fourth- largest global parcel delivery provider.