Guide Note

Raytheon is an American industrial company that focuses mainly on defense products as well as designing and manufacturingaerospace, communications, and electronics technologies. It is currently the world's leading producer of guided missiles and was the fifth largest defense contractor in the world in 2007.

Fast Facts

1. Stock symbol: RTN
2. Annual revenue (2007): $21.3 billion
3. Founders: Laurence K. Marshall, Vannevar Bush, and Charles G. Smith
4. Year established: 1922
5. Industry: Defense manufacturing
6. Phone: 781-522-3000
7. Fax: 781-860-2172
8. HQ: Waltham, Massachusetts
9. Chairman/CEO: William H. Swanson
10. CFO: David C. Wajsgras
11. Staff: 72,100

1. 1922: Company is founded by Laurence K. Marshall, Vannevar Bush, and Charles G. Smith, as the American Appliance Company
2. 1925: Changes name to Raytheon, meaning "light of/from the gods", after an early electron tube they manufactured
3. 1948: Manufacture the first guided missiles intended to destroy moving targets
4. 1967: Develops and sells the first tabletop microwave oven
5. 1990: Removes any non-defense related subsidiaries, including Amana Refrigeration
6. 1991: Their proprietary Patriot Missile is heavily used in the Gulf War, and receives international media attention
7. 2007: Ranked 96 on the Fortune 500 list of America's largest corporations