Sectors & IndustriesIndustrialsAerospace & Defense

Best Defense Stocks to Buy Now (2026)

Top defense stocks in 2026 ranked by overall Zen Rating. "A" Rated stocks have returned an average of +32.52% per year, and are the best defense stocks to buy now. Learn More.

According to Zen Ratings, our proprietary rating system that evaluates 115 factors proven to drive growth in stocks and assigns each stock in our system an overall letter grade as well as 7 individual Component Grades for Value, Growth, Momentum, Sentiment, Safety, Financials, and proprietary AI algorithms, the 3 best defense stocks to buy right now are:

V2x (NYSE:VVX) is the #1 top defense stock out of 78 with a Zen Rating of A. Stocks with a rating of A have had an average return of +32.52% per year. Learn more.

The Component Grade breakdown for V2x (NYSE:VVX) is: Value: A, Growth: B, Momentum: C, Sentiment: B, Safety: B, Financials: C, and AI: C.

V2x (NYSE:VVX) has a Due Diligence Score of 46, which is 16 points higher than the defense industry average of 30.

VVX passed 15 out of 33 due diligence checks and has strong fundamentals. V2x has seen its stock return 48.25% over the past year, underperforming other defense stocks by -3 percentage points.

V2x has an average 1 year price target of $71.33, an upside of 2.27% from V2x's current stock price of $69.75.

V2x stock has a consensus Hold recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 6 analysts covering V2x, 33.33% have issued a Strong Buy rating, 0% have issued a Buy, 50% have issued a hold, while 0% have issued a Sell rating, and 16.67% have issued a Strong Sell.

Moog (NYSE:MOG.A) is the #2 top defense stock out of 78 with a Zen Rating of A. Stocks with a rating of A have had an average return of +32.52% per year. Learn more.

The Component Grade breakdown for Moog (NYSE:MOG.A) is: Value: C, Growth: A, Momentum: B, Sentiment: B, Safety: A, Financials: C, and AI: C.

Moog (NYSE:MOG.A) has a Due Diligence Score of 47, which is 17 points higher than the defense industry average of 30.

MOG.A passed 17 out of 38 due diligence checks and has strong fundamentals. Moog has seen its stock return 101.34% over the past year, overperforming other defense stocks by 50 percentage points.

Moog has an average 1 year price target of $240.00, a downside of -28.87% from Moog's current stock price of $337.43.

Moog stock has a consensus Strong Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 1 analyst covering Moog, 100% have issued a Strong Buy rating, 0% have issued a Buy, 0% have issued a hold, while 0% have issued a Sell rating, and 0% have issued a Strong Sell.

Cadre Holdings (NYSE:CDRE) is the #3 top defense stock out of 78 with a Zen Rating of A. Stocks with a rating of A have had an average return of +32.52% per year. Learn more.

The Component Grade breakdown for Cadre Holdings (NYSE:CDRE) is: Value: C, Growth: A, Momentum: C, Sentiment: C, Safety: C, Financials: B, and AI: C.

Cadre Holdings (NYSE:CDRE) has a Due Diligence Score of 44, which is 14 points higher than the defense industry average of 30.

CDRE passed 16 out of 38 due diligence checks and has strong fundamentals. Cadre Holdings has seen its stock return 34.23% over the past year, underperforming other defense stocks by -17 percentage points.

Cadre Holdings has an average 1 year price target of $46.50, an upside of 4.75% from Cadre Holdings's current stock price of $44.39.

Cadre Holdings stock has a consensus Strong Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 2 analysts covering Cadre Holdings, 100% have issued a Strong Buy rating, 0% have issued a Buy, 0% have issued a hold, while 0% have issued a Sell rating, and 0% have issued a Strong Sell.

Out of 21 defense stocks that have issued dividends in the past year, the 3 defense stocks with the highest dividend yields are:

Smith & Wesson Brands (NASDAQ:SWBI) has an annual dividend yield of 4.37%, which is 3 percentage points higher than the defense industry average of 0.94%. Smith & Wesson Brands's dividend payout is stable, having never dropped by more than 10% in the last 10 years. Smith & Wesson Brands's dividend has shown consistent growth over the last 10 years.

Smith & Wesson Brands's dividend payout ratio of 236.4% indicates that its high dividend yield might not be sustainable for the long-term.

Park Aerospace (NYSE:PKE) has an annual dividend yield of 1.91%, which is 1 percentage points higher than the defense industry average of 0.94%. Park Aerospace's dividend payout is not stable, having dropped more than 10% two times in the last 10 years. Park Aerospace's dividend has shown consistent growth over the last 10 years.

Park Aerospace's dividend payout ratio of 117.4% indicates that its dividend yield might not be sustainable for the long-term.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) has an annual dividend yield of 1.68%, which is 1 percentage points higher than the defense industry average of 0.94%. General Dynamics's dividend payout is stable, having never dropped by more than 10% in the last 10 years. General Dynamics's dividend has shown consistent growth over the last 10 years.

General Dynamics's dividend payout ratio of 38.3% indicates that its dividend yield is sustainable for the long-term.

Defense stocks were up 0.03% in the last day, and up 0.75% over the last week.

We couldn't find a catalyst for why defense stocks are up.

Based on the Valuation rating, one of the 7 components of a stocks overall Zen Ratings grade, which evaluates factors including estimated earnings yield, earnings before interest and taxes/enterprise value, cash flow yield, free cash flow to price, and price-to-earnings growth (PEG ratio), the 3 most undervalued defense stocks right now are:

Textron (NYSE:TXT) is the most undervalued defense stock based on its Valuation Rating of A. Valuation is one of 7 Component Grades used to calculate the overall Zen Rating.

Textron has a valuation score of 43, which is 24 points higher than the defense industry average of 19. It passed 3 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Textron's stock has gained 34.68% in the past year. It has underperformed other stocks in the defense industry by -16 percentage points.

V2x (NYSE:VVX) is the second most undervalued defense stock based on its Valuation Rating of A. Valuation is one of 7 Component Grades used to calculate the overall Zen Rating.

V2x has a valuation score of 57, which is 38 points higher than the defense industry average of 19. It passed 4 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

V2x's stock has gained 48.25% in the past year. It has underperformed other stocks in the defense industry by -3 percentage points.

Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) is the third most undervalued defense stock based on its Valuation Rating of B. Valuation is one of 7 Component Grades used to calculate the overall Zen Rating.

Lockheed Martin has a valuation score of 29, which is 10 points higher than the defense industry average of 19. It passed 2 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Lockheed Martin's stock has gained 47.4% in the past year. It has underperformed other stocks in the defense industry by -4 percentage points.

64.91% of defense stocks rated by analysts are a strong buy right now. On average, analysts expect defense stocks to rise by 4.32% over the next year.

8.11% of defense stocks have a Zen Rating of A (Strong Buy), 22.97% of defense stocks are rated B (Buy), 43.24% are rated C (Hold), 18.92% are rated D (Sell), and 6.76% are rated F (Strong Sell).