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: B.

V2x (NYSE:VVX) has a Due Diligence Score of 46, which is 15 points higher than the defense industry average of 31.

VVX passed 15 out of 33 due diligence checks and has strong fundamentals. V2x has seen its stock return 51.19% over the past year.

V2x has an average 1 year price target of $70.14, a downside of -1.25% from V2x's current stock price of $71.03.

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 #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 Astronics (NASDAQ:ATRO) is: Value: C, Growth: A, Momentum: B, Sentiment: B, Safety: B, Financials: B, and AI: C.

Astronics (NASDAQ:ATRO) has a Due Diligence Score of 33, which is 2 points higher than the defense industry average of 31.

ATRO passed 11 out of 33 due diligence checks and has average fundamentals. Astronics has seen its stock return 204.41% over the past year, overperforming other defense stocks by 154 percentage points.

Astronics has an average 1 year price target of $86.00, an upside of 17.57% from Astronics's current stock price of $73.15.

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.

Moog (NYSE:MOG.A) 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 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 16 points higher than the defense industry average of 31.

MOG.A passed 17 out of 38 due diligence checks and has strong fundamentals. Moog has seen its stock return 84.59% over the past year, overperforming other defense stocks by 34 percentage points.

Moog has an average 1 year price target of $240.00, a downside of -23.71% from Moog's current stock price of $314.59.

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.

Out of 22 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 3.69%, which is 3 percentage points higher than the defense industry average of 0.93%. 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.

Park Aerospace (NYSE:PKE) has an annual dividend yield of 1.86%, which is 1 percentage points higher than the defense industry average of 0.93%. 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 1.69%, which is 1 percentage points higher than the defense industry average of 0.93%. 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 down -1.61% in the last day, and down -2.21% over the last week. Starfighters Space was the among the top losers in the aerospace & defense industry, dropping -7.85% yesterday.

Starfighters Space shares are trading lower. The company announced a strategic partnership with Mu-G Technologies to pursue microgravity flight missions for NASA, academic institutions and commercial research customers across US and Canada.

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 23 points higher than the defense industry average of 20. It passed 3 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Textron's stock has gained 22.63% in the past year. It has underperformed other stocks in the defense industry by -28 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 37 points higher than the defense industry average of 20. It passed 4 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

V2x's stock has gained 51.19% in the past year. It has performed in line with other stocks in the defense industry.

Byrna Technologies (NASDAQ:BYRN) 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.

Byrna Technologies 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.

Byrna Technologies's stock has dropped -46.51% in the past year. It has underperformed other stocks in the defense industry by -97 percentage points.

68.33% of defense stocks rated by analysts are a strong buy right now. On average, analysts expect defense stocks to rise by 5.64% over the next year.

9.46% of defense stocks have a Zen Rating of A (Strong Buy), 18.92% of defense stocks are rated B (Buy), 47.3% are rated C (Hold), 17.57% are rated D (Sell), and 6.76% are rated F (Strong Sell).