Best Aerospace & Defense Stocks
Defense primes (Lockheed, Northrop, RTX, General Dynamics) + commercial aerospace (Boeing, Airbus suppliers). Multi-decade contract visibility + regulatory + technical moats - the original wide-moat industrial cohort.
Industry leader
HEICO Corporation HEI
Buffett-Fit: 66/100
What drives this industry
Defense primes ride 5-20-year contract backlogs that smooth earnings across full business cycles. Government concentration is the customer risk; engineering capability + clearance staff + classified IP is the moat. ROIC routinely above 15% with low cyclicality - Buffett-quality compounders disguised as boring industrials.
Top 50 ranked by Buffett-Fit
Sorted by composite quality score - ROIC, margin stability, balance-sheet strength, growth quality. Click any ticker for the full Buffett verdict.
- 1
HEIHEICO Corporation41.9B mcap
66Q - 2
TDGTransDigm Group Incorporated67.9B mcap
65Q - 3
HWMHowmet Aerospace Inc.102.6B mcap
60Q - 4
CWCurtiss-Wright Corporation27.0B mcap
57Q - 5
BWXTBWX Technologies, Inc.18.6B mcap
53Q - 6
CDRECadre Holdings, Inc.1.3B mcap
53Q - 7
HXLHexcel Corporation6.5B mcap
53Q - 8
ATROAstronics Corporation2.9B mcap
51Q - 9
WWDWoodward, Inc.20.9B mcap
50Q - 10
GDGeneral Dynamics Corporation92.7B mcap
47Q - 11
LMTLockheed Martin Corporation122.9B mcap
47Q - 12
DRSLeonardo DRS, Inc.12.0B mcap
46Q - 13
LOARLoar Holdings Inc.5.8B mcap
46Q - 14
HIIHuntington Ingalls Industries, Inc.12.6B mcap
44Q - 15
ESLTElbit Systems Ltd.35.9B mcap
44Q - 16
RTXRTX Corporation238.4B mcap
43Q - 17
AXONAxon Enterprise, Inc.31.1B mcap
43Q - 18
TXTTextron Inc.16.0B mcap
42Q - 19
GEGE Aerospace316.4B mcap
42Q - 20
PKEPark Aerospace Corp.689M mcap
41Q - 21
MOG-AMoog Inc.10.1B mcap
40Q - 22
AMTMAmentum Holdings, Inc.5.7B mcap
40Q - 23
SWBISmith & Wesson Brands, Inc.688M mcap
39Q - 24
HAWKHawkEye 360, Inc.2.8B mcap
39Q - 25
EMBJEmbraer S.A.10.6B mcap
38Q - 26
LHXL3Harris Technologies, Inc.58.1B mcap
38Q - 27
KRMNKarman Holdings Inc.8.5B mcap
38Q - 28
VSECVSE Corporation3.9B mcap
38Q - 29
VVXV2X, Inc.2.3B mcap
37Q - 30
NOCNorthrop Grumman Corporation78.9B mcap
37Q - 31
RKLBRocket Lab USA, Inc.78.6B mcap
36Q - 32
CAECAE Inc.7.5B mcap
35Q - 33
LUNRIntuitive Machines, Inc.6.1B mcap
34Q - 34
DCODucommun Incorporated2.2B mcap
34Q - 35
RGRSturm, Ruger & Company, Inc.638M mcap
33Q - 36
AIRAAR Corp.4.3B mcap
33Q - 37
NPKNational Presto Industries, Inc.943M mcap
32Q - 38
SAROStandardAero, Inc.8.9B mcap
31Q - 39
BAThe Boeing Company172.7B mcap
30Q - 40
FLYFirefly Aerospace Inc.7.9B mcap
29Q - 41
RALRalliant Corp.6.9B mcap
28Q - 42
BETABETA Technologies, Inc.3.7B mcap
26Q - 43
VOYGVoyager Technologies, Inc.2.6B mcap
24Q - 44
KTOSKratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc.10.5B mcap
23Q - 45
PLPlanet Labs PBC14.3B mcap
22Q - 46
EVEXEve Holding, Inc.918M mcap
22Q - 47
AVAVAeroVironment, Inc.8.7B mcap
21Q - 48
ACHRArcher Aviation Inc.4.8B mcap
20Q - 49
MRCYMercury Systems, Inc.5.9B mcap
18Q - 50
RDWRedwire Corporation2.6B mcap
16Q
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Key terms in this analysis
Educational framework analysis only. Not investment advice, not a recommendation, not personalized to your situation. Always do your own research.