U.S. defense contractors, which saw international sales rise strongly under President Barack Obama’s administration, can expect a continued boom in arms exports under Donald Trump, aided by persistent security risks in the Middle East and rising tensions in Asia and Europe.
Shares of major defense contractors, including Raytheon Co. (RTN.N), Northrop Grumman Corp (NOC.N) and General Dynamics (GD.N) hit lifetime highs, on Wednesday as investors bet on higher Pentagon spending under Trump, who has vowed a massive build-up of the U.S. military even as he pledges to reduce foreign entanglements.
“I think that foreign military sales would absolutely go up, or at the very least stay at its current level,” said Franklin Turner, co-leader of law firm McCarter English’s government contracts & export controls practice.
“I can’t imagine that the world becomes a less violent place.”