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.

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:

Sturm Ruger & Co (NYSE:RGR) 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 Sturm Ruger & Co (NYSE:RGR) is: Value: B, Growth: C, Momentum: C, Sentiment: C, Safety: B, Financials: B, and AI: B.

Sturm Ruger & Co (NYSE:RGR) has a Due Diligence Score of 42, which is 12 points higher than the defense industry average of 30.

RGR passed 14 out of 38 due diligence checks and has strong fundamentals. Sturm Ruger & Co has seen its stock lose -14.25% over the past year, underperforming other defense stocks by -28 percentage points.

V2x (NYSE:VVX) 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 V2x (NYSE:VVX) is: Value: A, Growth: A, Momentum: C, Sentiment: C, Safety: C, Financials: C, and AI: C.

V2x (NYSE:VVX) has a Due Diligence Score of 38, which is 8 points higher than the defense industry average of 30.

VVX passed 12 out of 33 due diligence checks and has average fundamentals. V2x has seen its stock return 11.14% over the past year, underperforming other defense stocks by -2 percentage points.

V2x has an average 1 year price target of $66.71, an upside of 35.68% from V2x's current stock price of $49.17.

V2x stock has a consensus Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 7 analysts covering V2x, 28.57% have issued a Strong Buy rating, 42.86% have issued a Buy, 14.29% have issued a hold, while 0% have issued a Sell rating, and 14.29% have issued a Strong Sell.

Tat Technologies (NASDAQ:TATT) 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 Tat Technologies (NASDAQ:TATT) is: Value: C, Growth: B, Momentum: A, Sentiment: B, Safety: C, Financials: C, and AI: C.

Tat Technologies (NASDAQ:TATT) has a Due Diligence Score of 37, which is 7 points higher than the defense industry average of 30.

TATT passed 15 out of 38 due diligence checks and has average fundamentals. Tat Technologies has seen its stock return 106.61% over the past year, overperforming other defense stocks by 93 percentage points.

Out of 19 defense stocks that have issued dividends in the past year, the 3 defense stocks with the highest dividend yields are:

National Presto Industries (NYSE:NPK) has an annual dividend yield of N/A, which is N/A percentage points lower than the defense industry average of 1.42%. National Presto Industries's dividend payout is not stable, having dropped more than 10% two times in the last 10 years. National Presto Industries's dividend has not shown consistent growth over the last 10 years.

National Presto Industries's dividend payout ratio of 0% indicates that its dividend yield might not be sustainable for the long-term.

Transdigm Group (NYSE:TDG) has an annual dividend yield of 5.57%, which is 4 percentage points higher than the defense industry average of 1.42%.

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

Smith & Wesson Brands (NASDAQ:SWBI) has an annual dividend yield of 4.1%, which is 3 percentage points higher than the defense industry average of 1.42%. 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.

Defense stocks were down -0.84% in the last day, and up 1.03% over the last week. Planet Labs was the among the top losers in the aerospace & defense industry, dropping -10.61% yesterday.

Planet Labs PBC shares are trading lower after the company reported worse-than-expected Q4 financial results.

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:

V2x (NYSE:VVX) 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.

V2x has a valuation score of 43, which is 21 points higher than the defense industry average of 22. It passed 3 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

V2x's stock has gained 11.14% in the past year. It has underperformed other stocks in the defense industry by -2 percentage points.

Textron (NYSE:TXT) 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.

Textron has a valuation score of 57, which is 35 points higher than the defense industry average of 22. It passed 4 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Textron's stock has dropped -23.4% in the past year. It has underperformed other stocks in the defense industry by -37 percentage points.

Virtra (NASDAQ:VTSI) 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.

Virtra has a valuation score of 71, which is 49 points higher than the defense industry average of 22. It passed 5 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Virtra's stock has dropped -46.23% in the past year. It has underperformed other stocks in the defense industry by -60 percentage points.

52% of defense stocks rated by analysts are a strong buy right now. On average, analysts expect defense stocks to rise by 17.12% over the next year.

4.55% of defense stocks have a Zen Rating of A (Strong Buy), 22.73% of defense stocks are rated B (Buy), 50% are rated C (Hold), 15.15% are rated D (Sell), and 7.58% are rated F (Strong Sell).