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U.S. Aerospace & Defense Industry Analysis

UpdatedApr 23, 2026
DataAggregated Company Financials
Companies100
  • 7D-6.2%
  • 3M-7.3%
  • 1Y43.8%
  • YTD-1.0%

Over the last 7 days, the Aerospace & Defense industry has dropped 6.2%, driven by a pullback from General Electric of 12%. Meanwhile, Rocket Lab actually outperformed within the industry, gaining 22% in the last week. This takes the industry's 12 month performance to a gain of 44%. Looking forward, earnings are forecast to grow by 18% annually.

Industry Valuation and Performance

Has the U.S. Aerospace & Defense Industry valuation changed over the past few years?

DateMarket CapRevenueEarningsPEAbsolute PEPS
Thu, 23 Apr 2026US$1.6tUS$520.7bUS$37.3b37.3x43.2x3.1x
Sat, 21 Mar 2026US$1.6tUS$511.5bUS$35.4b40.3x45.9x3.2x
Mon, 16 Feb 2026US$1.7tUS$510.3bUS$35.6b40.7x47.3x3.3x
Wed, 14 Jan 2026US$1.5tUS$410.1bUS$32.0b40.5x46.5x3.6x
Fri, 12 Dec 2025US$1.3tUS$409.8bUS$32.0b37.8x40.3x3.1x
Sun, 09 Nov 2025US$1.3tUS$408.9bUS$32.1b38.5x41.2x3.2x
Tue, 07 Oct 2025US$1.3tUS$398.6bUS$31.3b39.9x42.1x3.3x
Thu, 04 Sep 2025US$1.2tUS$395.4bUS$31.1b34.4x39x3.1x
Sat, 02 Aug 2025US$1.2tUS$393.1bUS$31.4b36.1x38x3x
Mon, 30 Jun 2025US$1.1tUS$387.1bUS$29.9b36.5x38.3x3x
Wed, 28 May 2025US$1.0tUS$386.7bUS$29.9b34.1x34.8x2.7x
Fri, 25 Apr 2025US$913.8bUS$381.0bUS$28.7b31x31.8x2.4x
Sun, 23 Mar 2025US$937.1bUS$377.0bUS$29.1b32.2x32.2x2.5x
Tue, 18 Feb 2025US$920.6bUS$376.1bUS$30.0b33.9x30.7x2.4x
Thu, 16 Jan 2025US$903.0bUS$403.9bUS$27.9b33.8x32.3x2.2x
Sat, 14 Dec 2024US$893.1bUS$403.7bUS$27.9b34.4x32x2.2x
Mon, 11 Nov 2024US$966.7bUS$403.3bUS$27.9b36x34.6x2.4x
Wed, 09 Oct 2024US$949.4bUS$393.7bUS$23.6b34.5x40.2x2.4x
Fri, 06 Sep 2024US$885.9bUS$388.8bUS$23.3b33.3x38.1x2.3x
Sun, 04 Aug 2024US$844.9bUS$387.9bUS$23.1b32.9x36.6x2.2x
Tue, 02 Jul 2024US$790.1bUS$381.1bUS$24.0b32.1x32.9x2.1x
Thu, 30 May 2024US$812.9bUS$381.1bUS$23.9b31x34.1x2.1x
Sat, 27 Apr 2024US$790.0bUS$379.7bUS$23.5b31.2x33.7x2.1x
Mon, 25 Mar 2024US$597.9bUS$303.9bUS$18.8b31.7x31.7x2x
Wed, 21 Feb 2024US$569.3bUS$303.1bUS$18.5b29.4x30.7x1.9x
Fri, 19 Jan 2024US$577.9bUS$302.1bUS$20.9b28.9x27.6x1.9x
Sun, 17 Dec 2023US$566.6bUS$301.7bUS$20.9b27.7x27.1x1.9x
Tue, 14 Nov 2023US$553.9bUS$301.4bUS$20.7b30.1x26.8x1.8x
Thu, 12 Oct 2023US$538.1bUS$301.2bUS$22.4b26.4x24x1.8x
Sat, 09 Sep 2023US$543.1bUS$305.9bUS$22.9b24.5x23.8x1.8x
Mon, 07 Aug 2023US$554.9bUS$305.2bUS$22.8b26.6x24.3x1.8x
Wed, 05 Jul 2023US$579.8bUS$297.4bUS$21.7b25.3x26.7x1.9x
Fri, 02 Jun 2023US$547.9bUS$300.3bUS$21.9b23.5x25.1x1.8x
Sun, 30 Apr 2023US$572.8bUS$297.4bUS$22.0b22.1x26x1.9x
Price to Earnings Ratio

26x


Total Market Cap: US$572.8bTotal Earnings: US$22.0bTotal Revenue: US$297.4bTotal Market Cap vs Earnings and Revenue0%0%0%
U.S. Aerospace & Defense Industry Price to Earnings3Y Average 34x202420252026
Current Industry PE
  • Investors are optimistic on the American Aerospace & Defense industry, and appear confident in long term growth rates.
  • The industry is trading at a PE ratio of 43.2x which is higher than its 3-year average PE of 34.0x.
  • The 3-year average PS ratio of 2.4x is lower than the industry's current PS ratio of 3.1x.
Past Earnings Growth
  • The earnings for companies in the Aerospace & Defense industry have grown 19% per year over the last three years.
  • Revenues for these companies have grown 21% per year.
  • This means that more sales are being generated by these companies overall, and subsequently their profits are increasing too.

Industry Trends

Which industries have driven the changes within the U.S. Industrials industry?

US Market1.73%
Industrials0.43%
Aerospace & Defense-6.24%
Aerospace and Defense-6.24%
Industry PEThere are no additional sub-industries under this industry.
Forecasted GrowthThere are no additional sub-industries under this industry.

Top Stock Gainers and Losers

Which companies have driven the market over the last 7 days?

CompanyLast Price7D1YValuation
RKLB Rocket LabUS$90.0422.3%
+US$9.5b		343.8%PS86.5x
BA BoeingUS$231.283.3%
+US$5.8b		34.2%PE94.6x
LUNR Intuitive MachinesUS$29.9425.4%
+US$965.8m		280.9%PS22.7x
FLY Firefly AerospaceUS$41.4510.2%
+US$619.0m		n/aPS41.5x
AVAV AeroVironmentUS$210.105.9%
+US$588.5m		43.7%PS6.6x

Latest News

HXL
US$91.32
Hexcel
7D
10.0%
1Y
82.0%
LMT
US$529.79
Lockheed Martin
7D
-12.8%
1Y
13.5%
NOC
US$587.66
Northrop Grumman
7D
-12.7%
1Y
26.9%

Northrop Grumman: The Nuclear Triad Winner Is Now A Strong Buy

Apr 23
BA
US$234.15
Boeing
7D
7.0%
1Y
32.8%
GD
US$318.71
General Dynamics
7D
-4.8%
1Y
17.3%
RTX
US$179.30
RTX
7D
-8.5%
1Y
47.0%

RTX Corporation: Flying High Operationally, Grounded Temporarily By Expectations

Apr 22
FLY
US$41.45
Firefly Aerospace
7D
10.2%
1Y
n/a
GE
US$282.34
General Electric
7D
-5.3%
1Y
43.0%

GE Aerospace: One Of My Highest Conviction Long-Term Compounders

Apr 21
LUNR
US$29.94
Intuitive Machines
7D
25.4%
1Y
280.9%

Intuitive Machines: Liftoff Has Just Started (Rating Upgrade)

Apr 20
LHX
US$330.22
L3Harris Technologies
7D
-6.6%
1Y
52.7%

L3Harris: Strong Results Coming, But A Weak Stock For The Near Term

Apr 20
CRS
US$426.66
Carpenter Technology
7D
0.1%
1Y
114.0%
TDG
US$1,165.76
TransDigm Group
7D
-5.1%
1Y
-14.8%
RKLB
US$84.60
Rocket Lab
7D
2.0%
1Y
286.7%

Rocket Lab USA, Inc. (RKLB): The "End-to-End" Space Sovereign and the Neutron Inflection

Rocket Lab USA, Inc. (RKLB) , the most consistent challenger to the SpaceX orbital monopoly, reached a critical high-water mark on Friday, April 17, 2026.
HEI
US$268.74
HEICO
7D
-5.6%
1Y
8.7%
CW
US$725.50
Curtiss-Wright
7D
0.8%
1Y
116.2%

CW: Defense And Aerospace Contracts Will Support Stable Long Term Returns

Analysts have nudged their price target for Curtiss-Wright up by $10 to $780, citing updated assumptions for slightly higher revenue growth, profit margins and a modestly lower discount rate, along with a broadly similar future P/E outlook. What's in the News Averna partnered with Curtiss-Wright to develop five custom aerospace test systems, with a focus on precision load applications, repeatability, scalability and secure data handling integrated into Curtiss-Wright's manufacturing execution systems (Key Developments).
DCO
US$143.16
Ducommun
7D
4.8%
1Y
154.1%

DCO: Defense Exposure And Vision 2032 Plan Will Shape Balanced Outlook

Analysts have made a slight trim to the Ducommun price target, lowering it by about $0.40. They are balancing recent target hikes tied to defense exposure, missile demand and margin plans with a modest reset following the latest Citi update.