Sectors & IndustriesIndustrialsAerospace & Defense
Best Defense Stocks to Buy Now (2025)
Top defense stocks in 2025 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.

Industry: Aerospace & Defense
B
Defense is Zen Rated B and is the 58th ranked industry out of 145 stock market industries
Learn how the Zen Ratings work
Ticker
Company
Zen Rating
Financials
Market Cap
ROE
ROA
ROCE
ROIC
D/E
Current Ratio
Gross Margin
Profit Margin
Operating Margin
TATT
TAT TECHNOLOGIES LTD
$319.57M10.90%7.30%10.25%9.90%0.462.9721.70%7.30%8.44%
ESLT
ELBIT SYSTEMS LTD
$18.01B10.40%3.00%9.03%8.30%2.351.2024.00%4.70%7.49%
TXT
TEXTRON INC
$12.69B11.70%5.00%8.38%8.60%1.331.6518.80%6.00%7.58%
CAE
CAE INC
$8.02B-4.90%-2.10%-0.36%-0.40%1.350.8626.10%-4.70%-0.67%
CVU
CPI AEROSTRUCTURES INC
$42.48M13.50%4.70%16.22%11.30%1.621.6521.30%4.10%8.30%
VVX
V2X INC
$1.56B3.50%1.10%6.57%11.20%2.151.107.90%0.80%3.40%
DRS
LEONARDO DRS INC
$10.70B9.40%5.90%9.84%18.10%0.592.0222.80%7.00%9.03%
LMT
LOCKHEED MARTIN CORP
$111.93B83.40%9.90%21.05%18.30%7.481.0810.10%7.70%10.40%
RGR
STURM RUGER & CO INC
$566.18M9.80%8.30%11.90%12.30%0.184.6321.50%5.80%7.22%
CDRE
CADRE HOLDINGS INC
$1.20B12.20%5.80%11.11%16.00%1.103.4841.10%6.40%10.93%
AOUT
AMERICAN OUTDOOR BRANDS INC
$140.46M-2.50%-1.80%-2.14%-2.40%0.384.8245.20%-2.10%-2.19%
HWM
HOWMET AEROSPACE INC
$59.76B27.70%11.80%18.41%23.50%1.252.3032.20%16.60%22.50%
ATRO
ASTRONICS CORP
$812.25M-6.40%-2.50%2.87%2.50%1.532.7321.20%-2.00%1.78%
WWD
WOODWARD INC
$11.33B17.20%8.70%14.45%18.10%0.921.9525.80%11.40%15.12%
MRCY
MERCURY SYSTEMS INC
$2.99B-6.20%-3.80%-4.11%-6.10%0.653.6225.60%-10.20%-9.89%
ISSC
INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS & SUPPORT INC
$121.59M14.90%9.50%12.61%18.40%0.705.2250.10%12.40%17.50%
NPK
NATIONAL PRESTO INDUSTRIES INC
$608.34M12.00%9.70%13.37%16.30%0.234.9320.20%10.70%13.05%
DCO
DUCOMMUN INC
$860.81M4.80%2.80%5.49%6.50%0.653.2425.10%4.00%6.64%
GD
GENERAL DYNAMICS CORP
$72.87B17.80%7.10%13.49%22.00%1.551.3415.40%8.10%10.37%
LOAR
LOAR HOLDINGS INC
$8.87B2.90%1.80%5.76%12.80%0.335.2849.40%5.50%20.15%
RTX
RTX CORP
$170.21B7.60%2.80%7.04%12.70%1.651.0119.50%5.60%9.67%
BWXT
BWX TECHNOLOGIES INC
$10.17B27.60%9.90%16.19%12.50%1.661.9624.20%10.40%14.34%
KTOS
KRATOS DEFENSE & SECURITY SOLUTIONS INC
$5.34B1.20%0.80%1.78%3.10%0.442.9425.30%1.40%2.60%
PKE
PARK AEROSPACE CORP
$260.22M6.60%5.70%8.24%9.20%0.167.5527.90%11.90%15.01%
HEI
HEICO CORP
$35.74B15.90%7.50%11.36%18.90%0.983.4039.10%14.20%20.69%
SARO
STANDARDAERO INC
$9.07B0.60%0.20%7.37%7.80%1.621.9514.40%0.20%6.96%
ERJ
EMBRAER SA
$8.41B12.00%3.10%13.10%16.10%2.761.4818.00%5.50%15.18%
LHX
L3HARRIS TECHNOLOGIES INC
$41.11B8.40%3.80%7.12%13.60%1.161.0226.00%7.60%11.33%
EH
EHANG HOLDINGS LTD
$1.24B-36.00%-18.80%-20.29%-43.80%0.662.8961.40%-50.40%-49.55%
CW
CURTISS WRIGHT CORP
$13.19B16.60%8.40%14.57%22.80%1.041.6937.00%13.00%18.16%
TDG
TRANSDIGM GROUP INC
$80.44B-36.30%7.30%19.28%14.40%-4.442.7059.70%20.20%45.46%
MOG.A
MOOG INC
$5.35B11.40%5.00%9.88%10.10%1.352.4527.10%5.70%9.07%
AIR
AAR CORP
$1.99B-1.00%-0.40%3.49%3.20%1.422.8218.80%-0.50%3.01%
BYRN
BYRNA TECHNOLOGIES INC
$511.60M28.70%22.30%15.08%28.30%0.253.9962.00%15.10%9.31%
AXON
AXON ENTERPRISE INC
$47.59B18.40%9.50%10.97%13.70%0.922.3059.60%18.10%18.32%
HII
HUNTINGTON INGALLS INDUSTRIES INC
$8.93B12.30%4.70%8.09%9.40%1.541.0712.80%4.80%6.52%
VSEC
VSE CORP
$2.41B1.90%1.00%4.15%5.10%0.763.1011.70%1.40%5.58%
AZ
A2Z CUST2MATE SOLUTIONS CORP
$232.58M-228.20%-158.00%-226.16%897.70%0.871.4927.70%-237.20%-231.65%
SATL
SATELLOGIC INC
$386.94MN/A-168.40%-418.97%-189.10%-2.160.8161.00%-903.40%-881.23%
KRMN
KARMAN HOLDINGS INC
$4.80B6.70%1.70%9.87%10.30%2.951.7638.30%3.70%18.84%
BA
BOEING CO
$137.90BN/A-7.90%-16.84%-10.60%-48.071.23-2.10%-16.80%-12.81%
POWW
AMMO INC
$232.76M-6.90%-6.10%-7.59%-22.80%0.163.1727.10%-17.40%-19.29%
HXL
HEXCEL CORP
$3.90B8.00%4.40%7.19%6.10%0.812.5924.10%6.60%9.38%
SPAI
SAFE PRO GROUP INC
$49.16M-314.50%-178.90%-175.59%-3,036.70%0.283.0841.80%-342.50%-328.32%
NOC
NORTHROP GRUMMAN CORP
$70.05B25.00%7.70%14.77%16.80%2.240.9519.30%9.20%12.62%
EVTL
VERTICAL AEROSPACE LTD
$264.26MN/A-1,185.30%12.40%24.50%-1.100.08N/AN/AN/A
AVAV
AEROVIRONMENT INC
$4.38B3.90%3.20%3.61%6.10%0.224.2239.60%4.40%4.47%
MNTS
MOMENTUS INC
$8.79MN/A-228.40%683.10%-474.00%-2.270.3096.90%-1,653.10%-1,634.39%
PRZO
PARAZERO TECHNOLOGIES LTD
$11.09MN/A-156.10%-250.28%-1,783.60%-19.413.876.30%-1,185.90%-1,185.88%
SKYH
SKY HARBOUR GROUP CORP
$812.76M-69.30%-9.40%N/A-6.50%3.81N/A11.40%-306.40%-301.58%
SPCE
VIRGIN GALACTIC HOLDINGS INC
$101.97M-92.40%-33.70%-41.14%-31.20%1.984.19-1,179.50%-4,928.10%-4,743.31%
DPRO
DRAGANFLY INC
$15.60M-690.50%-147.60%-281.73%690.00%1.211.7421.30%-211.50%-213.15%
SWBI
SMITH & WESSON BRANDS INC
$405.70M7.90%5.10%7.98%7.50%0.594.6729.00%6.00%8.34%
PL
PLANET LABS PBC
$1.01B-26.20%-19.00%-24.55%-55.40%0.442.1357.20%-50.40%-49.41%
KITT
NAUTICUS ROBOTICS INC
$6.66MN/A-199.90%-373.04%-83.50%-1.680.56-402.60%-2,327.60%-1,842.35%
RKLB
ROCKET LAB USA INC
$10.03B-43.80%-16.20%-21.95%-20.20%2.102.0426.60%-43.60%-42.52%
SIDU
SIDUS SPACE INC
$28.92M-111.40%-65.00%-68.91%-105.90%0.601.57-31.40%-375.90%-347.08%
LUNR
INTUITIVE MACHINES INC
$1.54BN/A-127.60%-110.52%-417.80%-0.352.971.20%-124.70%-124.37%
EVEX
EVE HOLDING INC
$1.04B-103.60%-52.60%-51.76%-53.70%1.575.27N/AN/AN/A
SPR
SPIRIT AEROSYSTEMS HOLDINGS INC
$4.22BN/A-31.50%-57.40%-23.90%-3.021.03-22.80%-34.80%-28.86%
VTSI
VIRTRA INC
$52.25M3.00%2.00%4.03%5.10%0.434.6173.70%5.20%8.54%
RDW
REDWIRE CORP
$827.53MN/A-56.40%-71.79%-94.60%-1.830.8414.60%-51.10%-33.82%
ACHR
ARCHER AVIATION INC
$4.60B-111.10%-81.10%-57.69%-483.40%0.3312.07N/AN/AN/A
SHMD
SCHMID GROUP NV
$173.19MN/A-37.70%-153.05%-38.20%-3.060.6026.70%-30.00%-18.60%
TGI
TRIUMPH GROUP INC
$1.97B-558.10%36.10%54.38%45.00%-19.372.5030.50%45.10%52.76%
HOVR
NEW HORIZON AIRCRAFT LTD
$15.60M-114.20%172.30%112.30%1,293.20%0.487.11N/AN/AN/A
SIF
SIFCO INDUSTRIES INC
$16.84M-13.80%-4.30%-2.33%-1.40%1.411.267.80%-5.40%-1.47%
RAIN
RAIN ENHANCEMENT TECHNOLOGIES HOLDCO INC
$35.50MN/A-21.40%91.79%-25.20%-1.240.12N/AN/AN/A
AIRI
AIR INDUSTRIES GROUP
$13.45M-9.30%-2.70%2.23%1.00%2.411.4316.20%-2.50%0.96%
OPXS
OPTEX SYSTEMS HOLDINGS INC
$43.79M23.00%16.90%24.27%24.50%0.265.6328.30%11.90%14.72%
ASTC
ASTROTECH CORP
$9.90M-40.40%-37.40%-47.21%-50.60%0.1010.7447.70%-3,198.10%-3,197.61%
KWE
KWESST MICRO SYSTEMS INC
$1.87M-410.00%-155.80%-163.22%4,083.40%0.612.5841.80%-463.80%-452.98%
GPUS
HYPERSCALE DATA INC
$2.17M-253.40%-24.00%-693.08%-27.00%25.320.2722.70%-57.60%-34.20%
CODA
CODA OCTOPUS GROUP INC
$75.35M7.50%7.00%8.89%19.90%0.0712.8068.90%18.70%22.61%

Defense Stocks FAQ

What are the best defense stocks to buy right now in May 2025?

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:

1. Tat Technologies (NASDAQ:TATT)


Tat Technologies (NASDAQ:TATT) is the #1 top defense stock out of 74 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 Tat Technologies (NASDAQ:TATT) is: Value: C, Growth: B, Momentum: A, Sentiment: B, Safety: C, Financials: C, and AI: B.

Tat Technologies (NASDAQ:TATT) has a Due Diligence Score of 39, which is 8 points higher than the defense industry average of 31.

TATT passed 16 out of 38 due diligence checks and has average fundamentals. Tat Technologies has seen its stock return 138.45% over the past year, overperforming other defense stocks by 123 percentage points.

Tat Technologies has an average 1 year price target of $35.00, an upside of 19.82% from Tat Technologies's current stock price of $29.21.

Tat Technologies stock has a consensus Strong Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 1 analyst covering Tat Technologies, 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.

2. Elbit Systems (NASDAQ:ESLT)


Elbit Systems (NASDAQ:ESLT) is the #2 top defense stock out of 74 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 Elbit Systems (NASDAQ:ESLT) is: Value: C, Growth: A, Momentum: A, Sentiment: B, Safety: A, Financials: C, and AI: A.

Elbit Systems (NASDAQ:ESLT) has a Due Diligence Score of 44, which is 13 points higher than the defense industry average of 31.

ESLT passed 17 out of 38 due diligence checks and has strong fundamentals. Elbit Systems has seen its stock return 103.12% over the past year, overperforming other defense stocks by 88 percentage points.

3. Textron (NYSE:TXT)


Textron (NYSE:TXT) is the #3 top defense stock out of 74 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 Textron (NYSE:TXT) is: Value: A, Growth: C, Momentum: C, Sentiment: C, Safety: A, Financials: C, and AI: B.

Textron (NYSE:TXT) has a Due Diligence Score of 43, which is 12 points higher than the defense industry average of 31.

TXT passed 16 out of 38 due diligence checks and has strong fundamentals. Textron has seen its stock lose -17.11% over the past year, underperforming other defense stocks by -33 percentage points.

Textron has an average 1 year price target of $86.38, an upside of 22.92% from Textron's current stock price of $70.27.

Textron stock has a consensus Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 8 analysts covering Textron, 37.5% have issued a Strong Buy rating, 12.5% have issued a Buy, 37.5% have issued a hold, while 0% have issued a Sell rating, and 12.5% have issued a Strong Sell.

What are the defense stocks with highest dividends?

Out of 20 defense stocks that have issued dividends in the past year, the 3 defense stocks with the highest dividend yields are:

1. Transdigm Group (NYSE:TDG)


Transdigm Group (NYSE:TDG) has an annual dividend yield of 5.23%, which is 4 percentage points higher than the defense industry average of 1.36%.

Transdigm Group's dividend payout ratio of 264.5% indicates that its high dividend yield might not be sustainable for the long-term.

2. Smith & Wesson Brands (NASDAQ:SWBI)


Smith & Wesson Brands (NASDAQ:SWBI) has an annual dividend yield of 4.23%, which is 3 percentage points higher than the defense industry average of 1.36%. 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 78.5% indicates that its high dividend yield is sustainable for the long-term.

3. Park Aerospace (NYSE:PKE)


Park Aerospace (NYSE:PKE) has an annual dividend yield of 2.91%, which is 2 percentage points higher than the defense industry average of 1.36%. 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 138.9% indicates that its dividend yield might not be sustainable for the long-term.

Why are defense stocks up?

Defense stocks were up 1.06% in the last day, and up 3.84% over the last week. Leonardo Drs was the among the top gainers in the aerospace & defense industry, gaining 8.85% yesterday.

Leonardo shares are trading higher after the company reported better-than-expected Q1 financial results.

What are the most undervalued defense stocks?

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:

1. Cpi Aerostructures (NYSEMKT:CVU)


Cpi Aerostructures (NYSEMKT:CVU) 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.

Cpi Aerostructures has a valuation score of 43, which is 23 points higher than the defense industry average of 20. It passed 3 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Cpi Aerostructures's stock has gained 25.38% in the past year. It has overperformed other stocks in the defense industry by 10 percentage points.

2. V2x (NYSE:VVX)


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 29, which is 9 points higher than the defense industry average of 20. It passed 2 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

V2x's stock has dropped -0.58% in the past year. It has underperformed other stocks in the defense industry by -16 percentage points.

3. Textron (NYSE:TXT)


Textron (NYSE:TXT) is the third 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 57, which is 37 points higher than the defense industry average of 20. It passed 4 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Textron's stock has dropped -17.11% in the past year. It has underperformed other stocks in the defense industry by -33 percentage points.

Are defense stocks a good buy now?

56.6% of defense stocks rated by analysts are a strong buy right now. On average, analysts expect defense stocks to rise by 9.55% over the next year.

4.76% of defense stocks have a Zen Rating of A (Strong Buy), 25.4% of defense stocks are rated B (Buy), 44.44% are rated C (Hold), 17.46% are rated D (Sell), and 7.94% are rated F (Strong Sell).

What is the average p/e ratio of the aerospace & defense industry?

The average P/E ratio of the aerospace & defense industry is 41.84x.
WallStreetZen does not provide financial advice and does not issue recommendations or offers to buy stock or sell any security.

Information is provided 'as-is' and solely for informational purposes and is not advice. WallStreetZen does not bear any responsibility for any losses or damage that may occur as a result of reliance on this data.