Defense Stocks Jump as Iran War Drives Record Backlogs at Northrop, RTX
NOC is trading near its 52-week low of $470.06 (14% above the low).
Summary
Northrop shares rose as much as 7% intraday — the biggest one-day gain in over a year — before settling up 5.4% near $538, after the company disclosed $16.4 billion in net awards for the quarter and a record $109.6 billion backlog. RTX posted its own record $340 billion backlog on more than $81 billion in new commercial and defense awards, though its stock was roughly flat at $189.66. CEO Kathy Warden told analysts allied defense budgets are in a multi-year upswing, with demand driven by the war in Iran. This builds on this morning's Q3 report — $7.89 EPS on $11.1 billion in sales, up 7%, with 2026 EPS guidance raised $0.70 at the midpoint — and the backlog number is the piece that extends the story beyond the quarter. Lockheed Martin reports Thursday, which will show whether the demand surge is sector-wide.
At the time of this announcement, NOC was trading at $535.87 on NYSE in the Industrial Applications And Services sector, with a market capitalization of approximately $76.1B. The 52-week trading range was $470.06 to $774.00. This news item was assessed with positive market sentiment and an importance score of 7 out of 10. Source: Dow Jones Newswires.