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:

Sifco Industries (NYSEMKT:SIF) is the #1 top defense stock out of 83 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 Sifco Industries (NYSEMKT:SIF) is: Value: B, Growth: A, Momentum: A, Sentiment: C, Safety: C, Financials: A, and AI: D.

Sifco Industries (NYSEMKT:SIF) has a Due Diligence Score of 30, which is -3 points lower than the defense industry average of 33. Although this number is below the industry average, our proven quant model rates SIF as a "A".

SIF passed 9 out of 33 due diligence checks and has average fundamentals. Sifco Industries has seen its stock return 460.59% over the past year, overperforming other defense stocks by 435 percentage points.

V2x (NYSE:VVX) is the #2 top defense stock out of 83 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: C, Safety: B, Financials: C, and AI: B.

V2x (NYSE:VVX) has a Due Diligence Score of 43, which is 10 points higher than the defense industry average of 33.

VVX passed 14 out of 33 due diligence checks and has strong fundamentals. V2x has seen its stock return 30.65% over the past year, overperforming other defense stocks by 5 percentage points.

V2x has an average 1 year price target of $70.57, an upside of 7.56% from V2x's current stock price of $65.61.

V2x stock has a consensus Hold recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 7 analysts covering V2x, 28.57% have issued a Strong Buy rating, 0% have issued a Buy, 42.86% have issued a hold, while 0% have issued a Sell rating, and 28.57% have issued a Strong Sell.

Astronics (NASDAQ:ATRO) is the #3 top defense stock out of 83 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 Astronics (NASDAQ:ATRO) is: Value: C, Growth: A, Momentum: B, Sentiment: C, Safety: B, Financials: B, and AI: C.

Astronics (NASDAQ:ATRO) has a Due Diligence Score of 36, which is 3 points higher than the defense industry average of 33.

ATRO passed 12 out of 33 due diligence checks and has average fundamentals. Astronics has seen its stock return 195.89% over the past year, overperforming other defense stocks by 170 percentage points.

Astronics has an average 1 year price target of $86.00, an upside of 28.38% from Astronics's current stock price of $66.99.

Astronics stock has a consensus Strong Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 2 analysts covering Astronics, 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 23 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 3.37%, which is 2 percentage points higher than the defense industry average of 0.96%. 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 200% indicates that its dividend yield might not be sustainable for the long-term.

Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) has an annual dividend yield of 2%, which is 1 percentage points higher than the defense industry average of 0.96%. Lockheed Martin's dividend payout is stable, having never dropped by more than 10% in the last 10 years. Lockheed Martin's dividend has shown consistent growth over the last 10 years.

Lockheed Martin's dividend payout ratio of 65.1% indicates that its dividend yield is sustainable for the long-term.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) has an annual dividend yield of 1.8%, which is 1 percentage points higher than the defense industry average of 0.96%. 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 37.8% indicates that its dividend yield is sustainable for the long-term.

Defense stocks were down -1.5% in the last day, and down -3.9% over the last week. Merlin was the among the top losers in the aerospace & defense industry, dropping -25.43% yesterday.

Merlin shares are trading lower after the company announced a $80 million PIPE investment.

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 25 points higher than the defense industry average of 18. It passed 3 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Textron's stock has gained 28.29% in the past year. It has overperformed other stocks in the defense industry by 2 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 43, which is 25 points higher than the defense industry average of 18. It passed 3 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

V2x's stock has gained 30.65% in the past year. It has overperformed other stocks in the defense industry by 5 percentage points.

Sifco Industries (NYSEMKT:SIF) 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.

Sifco Industries has a valuation score of 29, which is 11 points higher than the defense industry average of 18. It passed 2 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Sifco Industries's stock has gained 460.59% in the past year. It has overperformed other stocks in the defense industry by 435 percentage points.

67.69% of defense stocks rated by analysts are a strong buy right now. On average, analysts expect defense stocks to rise by 23.55% over the next year.

11.39% of defense stocks have a Zen Rating of A (Strong Buy), 13.92% of defense stocks are rated B (Buy), 48.1% are rated C (Hold), 20.25% are rated D (Sell), and 6.33% are rated F (Strong Sell).