Defense, right? It’s like, massive business—and with Trump, it’s tangled up in all sorts of global and money stuff. The guy talks peace now and then, but let’s not kid ourselves. A bit of tension can really boost the defense industry’s wallet, you know?
So you’ve got these big-ticket items like jets and, uh, oil—kind of the usual suspects. They’re doing double duty. Not only do they keep American factories humming and defense guys smiling, but they also give countries a sorta peace offering. Like, “Hey, buy our stuff, and maybe we’ll cut you some slack on those tariff things.” Sweet deal for reducing that trade deficit the Donald was always on about.
Then there’s today’s juicy tidbit: Pentagon just said the U.S. is cool with selling Egypt this huge $4.67 billion NASAMS setup. Funny thing is, America’s already making more selling to Egypt than buying. Imagine that—sending $6.1 billion worth of goodies to Cairo but only grabbing $2.5 billion back. Go figure.
Meanwhile, Europe’s getting a bit sweaty. Trump was pointing fingers, calling them defense freeloaders. So now they’re opening their wallets, buying more gear. They’re probably hoping this means the U.S. will go easy on them with those pesky tariffs.
Investors? Oh, they’re paying attention, alright. That iShares U.S. Aerospace & Defense ETF (ITA)—talk about a rocket! Since hitting the floor in April, it shot up 53.67%! This year alone, it’s up by 36%. Clearly, confidence much? The way it’s soaring, you’d think everyone wants in on the action.
And if you eyeball that 5-year chart, whoa—it’s like hitting the gas pedal right there. The top 10 stocks basically hog 75% of the field, so it’s kind of like betting on the biggest names in the game and hoping they keep hitting home runs.
There you have it. Makes you wonder how tangled up all these gears really are.
