Latest news with #militaryspending
Globe and Mail
15 hours ago
- Business
- Globe and Mail
ETFs in Focus in Light of Aerospace & Defense Q2 Earnings Boost
The uptrend in the Aerospace & Defense industry is mapped by the performance of the S&P Aerospace & Defense Select Industry Index, which has added 33% year to date, surpassing the S&P 500's 8.9% gain in the same period. The increase in military spending by global economies gives a significant boost to the U.S. Aerospace – Defense Industry. According to Statista, between 2020 and 2024, the United States commanded about 43% of the global market share, maintaining its position as the world's largest exporter of major weapons. Below, we highlight Q2 earnings results of a few renowned U.S. Aerospace – Defense Industry players. Earnings in Focus Northrop Grumman Northrop Grumman Corporation NOC reported second-quarter 2025 adjusted earnings of $7.11 per share, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $6.71 by 6%. Including one-time items, the company reported GAAP earnings of $8.15 per share, which improved 28% from the year-ago quarter's reported number of $6.36. The year-over-year improvement can be attributed to strong segment operating performance and a net after-tax benefit related to the divestiture of the company's training services business. The company's total sales of $10.35 billion in the second quarter beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $10.06 billion by 2.9%. The top line also rose 1.3% year over company updated its 2025 guidance. NOC now expects its revenues in the range of $42.05-$42.25 billion, narrower than the previous guidance in the band of $42.00-$42.50 billion. NOC now expects adjusted earnings in the band of $25.00-$25.40 per share, higher than its earlier guided band of $24.95-$25.35. RTX Corporation RTX Corporation 's RTX second-quarter 2025 adjusted earnings per share of $1.56 beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.45 by 7.6%. The bottom line also improved 10.6% from the year-ago quarter's level of $1.41, driven by growth in adjusted operating profit. RTX's second-quarter sales totaled $21.58 billion, which surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $20.53 billion by 5.1%. The top line also surged a solid 9.4% from $19.72 billion recorded for the second quarter of 2024. Lockheed Martin Lockheed Martin Corporation LMT reported second-quarter 2025 adjusted earnings of $7.29 per share, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $6.49 by 12.3%. The bottom line increased 2.5% from the year-ago quarter's reported figure of $7.11. Including one-time items, the company reported GAAP earnings of $1.46 per share, lower than the prior-year quarter's recorded earnings of $6.85. The year-over-year deterioration in earnings was mainly due to lower consolidated operating profit generated in the second quarter of 2025 compared to the prior-year quarter. Net sales were $18.16 billion, which missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $18.56 billion by 2.2%. The top line, however, inched up 0.2% from $18.12 billion reported in the year-ago quarter. The company partially updated its 2025 guidance. Lockheed still expects to generate sales in the range of $73.75-$74.75 billion in 2025. ETFs to Consider The aerospace and defense industry maintains a moderately optimistic outlook. Given the current geopolitical climate, the trend of rising military spending is likely to persist. For investors looking to take a bet on Q2 results as well as a continued surge in military spending, the following Aerospace – Defense ETFs provide a great opportunity. Investors can consider iShares U.S. Aerospace & Defense ETF ITA, Invesco Aerospace & Defense ETF PPA, SPDR S&P Aerospace & Defense ETF XAR, Global X Defense Tech ETF SHLD and U.S. Global Technology and Aerospace & Defense ETF WAR. Boost Your Portfolio with Our Top ETF Insights Zacks' exclusive Fund Newsletter delivers actionable information, top news and analysis, as well as top-performing ETFs, straight to your inbox every week. Don't miss out on this valuable resource. It's free! Get it now >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Lockheed Martin Corporation (LMT): Free Stock Analysis Report Northrop Grumman Corporation (NOC): Free Stock Analysis Report Global X Defense Tech ETF (SHLD): ETF Research Reports iShares U.S. Aerospace & Defense ETF (ITA): ETF Research Reports Invesco Aerospace & Defense ETF (PPA): ETF Research Reports SPDR S&P Aerospace & Defense ETF (XAR): ETF Research Reports RTX Corporation (RTX): Free Stock Analysis Report
Yahoo
a day ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Examining report Pentagon secretly transferred $934M to renovate Trump's new Air Force One
In late July 2025, reporters from The New York Times discovered a "mysterious" transfer of $934 million that they claimed would be used to renovate the Boeing 747 plane U.S. President Donald Trump received as a gift from Qatar earlier that year. Trump said on Truth Social in May that the plane was a gift for the Department of Defense (DOD), not him personally, and that it would "replace" the current Air Force One. According to the Times, the DOD would use the $934 million, taken from a yearslong project to update the U.S.'s ground-based nuclear missiles, to renovate the plane to Air Force One standards. The $934 million transfer was for an "unnamed classified project," according to the Times report. Following the New York Times article, claims (archived) circulated online about the alleged transfer, referencing (archived) the Times article. One X user wrote, "Retrofitting Trump's 747-8 luxury jet bribe from Qatar might cost taxpayers $934 million (!!!)" above a screenshot from the article. The claim also circulated on Instagram (archived), Threads (archived), Bluesky (archived) and Reddit (archived). Snopes readers also wrote in asking about the claim. However, while the New York Times article cited by social media users spreading claims about the alleged $934 million transfer was authentic, Snopes has not independently verified the document the New York Times said showed the alleged transfer. The article cited unnamed Air Force sources who reportedly "privately" conceded that the Air Force was using funds originally meant for the Sentinel land-based intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) project to pay for the renovation of the new Air Force One. Snopes has not been able to independently verify this information. We reached out to the New York Times journalists who wrote the article to ask if they could share verifiable details about the alleged transfer such as the document mentioned in the article. We also reached out to the Air Force to ask if it could confirm the Times' report. We await replies to our queries. According to the New York Times, the $934 million allegedly earmarked for refurbishing Trump's gifted Boeing 747 came as a "mysterious" transfer from what it described as "one of the Pentagon's most over-budget, out-of-control projects": the program to replace the U.S.'s Minuteman III ICBMs with Sentinel ICBMs. In 2024, the Pentagon estimated that project would cost $140.9 billion, 81% more than its original cost estimate of $77.7 billion. Land-based ICBMs are part of the "nuclear triad," three systems including submarines and bombers that can carry nuclear weapons. Air Force officials "privately acknowledge dipping into nuclear modernization funds for the complex project," according to the report, with "complex project" referring to the renovation of the gifted Boeing 747. On June 5, Air Force Secretary Troy Meink told a House Armed Services Committee that the renovation would likely cost "less than $400 million" despite numbers as high as $1 billion being "thrown around." Actual estimates, according to the New York Times, are classified. Snopes previously reported on the original offer from Qatar to gift the plane to the U.S. Department of Defense. We also reported on rumors that the Biden administration started negotiations for the plane or that former U.S. President Barack Obama received his own plane during his presidency. Lopez, C. Todd. "Sentinel Land-Based Nuclear Modernization Program Will Continue, With Changes." U.S. Department of Defense, 10 Jul. 2024, @realDonaldTrump. "So the Fact That the Defense Department Is Getting a GIFT, FREE OF CHARGE." Truth Social, 12 May 2025, Sanger, David E., and Eric Schmitt. "What Will It Cost to Renovate the 'Free' Air Force One? Don't Ask." The New York Times, 27 Jul. 2025, "Sentinel ICBM." Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center, 28 Jul. 2025, U.S. House Armed Services Committee. "Full Committee Hearing: 'Department of the Air Force Fiscal Year 2026 Posture.'" YouTube, 5 Jun. 2025,
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Russia's economy is now so militarized, it may keep expanding its army even after the Ukraine war
Russia's military industry is likely to expand even after the Ukraine war ends, wrote a think tank. Military spending is driving Russia's economy, sustaining it despite Western sanctions. Russia's militarized economy is supporting political and economic stakeholders, deterring cutbacks. Russia's war machine has become such an integral part of its economic engine that its military industry is likely to keep expanding even after the fighting in Ukraine ends, according to a report from the Center for Strategic and International Studies. "The end of hostilities will not lead to a radical cut-off of military investment," wrote CSIS analysts in a report published on Thursday. Now in its fourth year, Russia's war with Ukraine continues even as Russian President Vladimir Putin's administration weathers sweeping Western sanctions. And while cracks are starting to show, the Russian economy may still be able to sustain the war effort for several more years, the report said. Defense spending is set to hit a post-Soviet record of 6.3% of GDP in 2025 and could climb even higher despite mounting signs of economic slowdown or recession. "Russia's economy appears sustainable for the next few years," the CSIS analysts wrote. They forecast that the Kremlin could maintain its war of attrition through at least 2027. 'Russia could be preparing for some kind of future confrontation with NATO' The CSIS report comes amid renewed scrutiny of Russia's economy. Manufacturing activity contracted last month, and employment has suffered. GDP growth slowed to 1.4% in the first quarter, down sharply from 4.5% in the previous quarter. Still, Russia has defied expectations thanks to its growing military-industrial complex. "Having become the most sanctioned country in the world, it has managed to maneuver around many economic constraints, keeping revenues from energy sales high and its budget balanced, investing in the military and defense industry, ramping up domestic production of weapons and equipment, and boosting economic growth," wrote the think tank analysts. Crucially, the militarized economy has built a broad base of political and economic stakeholders — from elites to ordinary workers — who benefit from continued conflict. That makes any significant drawdown in military activity politically and economically unlikely. Even if a ceasefire is reached, Russia may still be able to rebuild and expand its armed forces over the next decade. "Russia's war-induced socioeconomic changes have been so significant that the process of societal militarization is unlikely to stop even if the war in Ukraine were to end," wrote the CSIS analysts. The Kremlin's strategic posture hasn't softened either. CSIS suggests Russia is preparing for a long-term confrontation with NATO, using the war to modernize its forces and test Western resolve. Beyond conventional arms, Russia has ramped up hybrid warfare, including cyberattacks, disinformation, sabotage, political meddling, and strikes on critical infrastructure. These tools allow Moscow to operate aggressively across multiple fronts. "Despite being inferior to NATO in terms of its conventional capabilities, today's Russia represents a bigger challenge to European security than it did at the start of 2022," the CSIS analysts wrote. The Kremlin is learning from past failures, adapting quickly, and growing more confident in what it sees as a West unwilling to stop it. "Moscow's ongoing large-scale military reforms signal that Russia could be preparing for some kind of future confrontation with NATO within roughly the next decade—including even a large-scale conventional war," they wrote. Read the original article on Business Insider
New York Times
6 days ago
- Politics
- New York Times
The Anticorruption Watchdogs at the Center of Protests Against Zelensky
Thousands of people in Ukraine for a second night turned out to protest President Volodymyr Zelensky's bid to control the country's anticorruption agencies, even as he promised to walk back some of the policies that had touched off the street action. The surge of anger, with protesters toting profanity-laced signs directed at Mr. Zelensky and his top advisers, underscores the pivotal role of those watchdog agencies in Ukraine's politics and the sensitive issues they investigate. None are more fraught than alleged schemes to embezzle from military budgets. Military spending in Ukraine is drawn from the country's tax revenues and is not tied to the flow of weaponry donated by Western allies. Since Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022, the anticorruption agencies have scrutinized such spending, Balazs Jarabik, a former European Union diplomat and founder of Minority Report, a political risk consultancy, said in an interview. And over the more than three years of the war, criminal cases have sprung from those investigations, enraging Ukrainians. On Tuesday, Mr. Zelensky signed into law a bill giving Ukraine's prosecutor general — who is approved by Parliament, where Mr. Zelensky's party holds a majority — new power over the two agencies, the National Anticorruption Bureau of Ukraine and the Specialized Anticorruption Prosecutor's Office. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
New York Times
6 days ago
- Business
- New York Times
Far From Russia's Aggression, Spaniards Are Reluctant to Spend Big on Security
María del Carmen Abascal was already frustrated over the lack of affordable housing in Spain, where rising rent could force her out of the apartment in Madrid she has lived in for 69 years. Then she heard about the government's plans to increase military spending this year by more than $12 billion. And if NATO had its way, it would be a lot more. 'They should put that money into social spending, in housing, in everything that people in Spain need,' Ms. Abascal said, her lips pursed indignantly during a recent interview in one of the last working-class neighborhoods in central Madrid, where housing prices are skyrocketing. Perhaps nowhere in Europe has the tug of war between spending more for domestic priorities or for defense so vexed a government than in Spain. Torn between a looming Russian threat to Europe and housing, health care and education needs, Spain has tried to split the difference. It was the only country in the alliance that openly refused to agree last month to spend up to 5 percent of its gross domestic product over the next decade on defense, as President Trump demands. The drastic spending increase, which the rest of NATO's 32 member countries committed to, would ease Europe's dependence on the United States for security. But for Spain, it would mean more than doubling its annual defense budget to an estimated $73.8 billion, draining funding for social programs. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
