Stock Research and Analysis
by Morningstar Equity AnalystsL-3 Communications has positioned itself as the "sundry" defense contractor with products and services extending across hundreds of platforms. While the defense industry has ridden a wave of increased spending, we don't foresee a wipeout in the near Read more 
Bulls Say
L-3's businesses are well-diversified. As of Dec. 31, 2008, no single contract accounted for more than 3% of total revenue.
L-3 was built to fill the government's needs in outsourcing training and modernizing legacy defense platforms.
L-3's business areas are aligned with the DoD's forward-going priorities. Read more
Bears Say
L-3 depends largely upon the U.S. government as a source of revenue. At the end of 2008, approximately 81% of the company's revenue was derived from U.S. government agencies.
The acquisition of Titan didn't exactly live up to L-3's expectations because the firm has subsequently lost the linguistic contract, a main reason for the merger.
The dangers associated with a grow-through-acquisition strategy are no exception for L-3. Overpayment for a company would surely drag down L-3's returns on invested capital. Read more
Strategy
L-3 hopes to expand its prime contractor and supplier positions in its C3ISR, aircraft modernization and maintenance, and government services business areas. The company will focus on solid contract Read more
Management
Michael Strianese became CEO in 2006 after the sudden death of founder and former CEO Frank Lanza. Strianese has been with L-3 since its formation, serving first as vice president of finance and controller, and then moving his way up to CFO in 2005. Read more
Profile
L-3 Communications is a defense contractor that provides high-technology products, subsystems, and systems primarily to the U.S. government. It offers aircraft maintenance Read more
Why Housing Could Come Back with a Vengeance
Watch more
Watch more
View all of our analyst reports with a free trial to Morningstar.com Premium.
