The $3.6 Trillion Defense Boom: 6 Stocks Ranked Worst to Best

The Pentagon just unleashed what could become one of the biggest defense spending booms in decades. The Golden Dome missile defense buildout could ultimately cost as much as 3.6 trillion with a T dollars. And billions of dollars in contracts are already starting to flow. More than 2,400 companies are eligible to compete, including some of the biggest defense stocks in the market. But being in the running doesn't make them all good investments. I narrowed down the field to six different stocks positioned to benefit, then ran each through our quant ratings and ranked them from the weakest to the strongest. Now, all them look promising in one way or another, but the final two separate themselves from the pack with a combination of excellent quant ratings and the strongest fundamentals on the entire list. So, stick around because those are the two Golden Dome stocks that look best positioned to capitalize on this massive spending wave. But before I dig into them, I should probably tell you who I am. My name is Jacob Wade and I'm a financial coach that helps high-income earners retire early. And if you do like timely financial news videos just like this one, hit the thumbs up button below. It lets me know to keep making more videos just like this one. All right, here's why all of this matters right now. The money is actually already moving. So, Golden Dome is the mission and Shield is how the Pentagon starts writing checks. The Missile Defense Agency has opened this $151 billion contract vehicle and individual awards are already starting to roll out. And this isn't one contract where you either win or lose. Golden Dome could mean years of awards across missiles, satellites radar sensors communications, and everything needed to connect them into one massive defense network. And that's opportunity for investors if you can identify the companies actually winning this work. and separate the strongest stocks from the ones that simply are riding the Golden Dome hype, then you could get in front of a spending cycle that may actually last for years. Because with more than 2400 companies cleared to compete, there are going to be plenty of Golden Dome headlines, but a contract announcement doesn't automatically make a stock a buy. So, that's why I've narrowed this down to six different stocks ranked from weakest to strongest. And as we move up the list, you're going to see the fundamentals get dramatically better with the final two earning our strongest buy rating. So, let's get into the ranking. All right, the first stock that we're going to discuss is ION Q, ticker symbol IO NQ. This quantum computing company has exactly the kind of Golden Dome story that gets investors excited. It won a Golden Dome contract in February and then landed a DARPA contract worth up to $58 million this month alone for quantum atomic clock technology, which is critical for precision timing and navigation when GPS simply isn't available. Now, Wall Street also sees the potential, too. Eight out of the 10 analysts rate Ion Q a buy or a strong buy. the most ambitious analyst among the group believes the stock could see a greater than 120% upside in the coming year alone. But here's where that story kind of falls apart. Ion Q is bleeding money. It lost $1.4 billion over the last 12 months and its latest quarterly loss widened 331.9% from the prior quarter. Its profit margin sits at an eyewatering negative 553.3%. Meanwhile, the CEO, CFO, and several directors have sold shares over the past year with essentially no insider buying. So, honestly, that's why Ion Q earns an F in our Zen ratings, which is our quant rating system that distills 115 fundamental checks into an easyto read letter grade, A through F, just like school, and F is the worst possible grade. Now, that's already a big warning flag, but we can get more insight as to why by looking at the underlying component grades, which are additional grades that let you see how a stock rates in key areas like value, momentum, and more. And honestly, the the grades here are dismal. So value, sentiment, safety, and our proprietary AI factor trained to sort of sniff out potential outperformance. They all earned an F-grade with only growth and financials reaching a letter C-grade. Listen, the contracts are exciting. That's great. And the fundamentals just aren't there yet. So until losses start shrinking and those grades improve, ION Q is watchless only. Now, I should also mention that our editor-in chief, Steve Rightmeister, discusses stock market news and his stock picks in detail during his free weekly live trainings. You can join him live every Monday for free, but you do need to register to join. So, you can just scan the QR code on the screen right here or go to wall streetzen.com/live to sign up. All right, next up we have another stock worth watching but perhaps not buying, at least not right now, which is Northrup Grumman, ticker symbol N OC. Now, at first glance, this one looks very promising. This massive defense player isn't just hoping to benefit from Golden Dome, it's already winning work. Now, alongside Loheed Martin and L3 Harris, Northrep was selected to help build 72 space vehicles for the Trunch 3 tracking layer. And Wall Street likes this stock too with six of 10 analysts recommending NOC as a strong buy. Although I will note that the price targets are only suggesting the stock could see a modest double-digit growth. So what's holding this stock back? Well, in a word, it's growth. Earnings rose 16% over the past year, but over the past 5 years, they've grown just at 2.56% annually, which is less than half the aerospace and defense industry's 5.43% growth rate. And the stock has also gone essentially nowhere over the past year. It's down.78% while insiders have been net sellers as well. So this leaves Northrup with a C zen rating which is a hold recommendation. Now C is average but average implies that there are above average alternatives out there which we will get to. Now the C rating is supported by some strong component grades. Value, sentiment, and financials all earn a B-grade but growth falls all the way to a D. Now, there are signs that things could change with this company. Earnings jumped 25% quarter over quarter and 16% year-over-year in the latest quarter. Now, if that acceleration continues, North could become much more interesting, which is why I suggest just adding it to your free watch list on wall streetzen.com so you can actually stay up todate on the latest information. And if it gets raised to a B rating or even an A rating, we could be eyeing this stock at a very different intention. For now, hold is the recommendation. Okay, things are about to heat up on this list with stocks that actually look worth considering right now. But I'm still ramping up, so make sure you stay tuned for those last two picks, which are the real standouts here. All right, let's move on to aerospace and defense tech company L3 Harris, ticker symbol LHX. Now, this company is right in the middle of this buildout, not just watching from the sidelines. It's one of the primes selected to help build the 72 space vehicles for the trunch 3 tracking layer alongside Loheed Martin and Northwick Grumman. Like I mentioned, this is real awarded hardware, not a future maybe sometime. And the forward-looking numbers here back it up. L3 Harris just posted its third straight quarter of earnings growth, up 14.5% from the prior quarter, and earnings have grown 110.71% annually over the past three years. And and honestly, analysts are lined up with us here, too. The average price target sits at nearly 20% above current levels as of the week that I'm recording this. While Street High suggests that the stock could see greater than a 40% upside in the coming year alone. And the Zen rating honestly agrees here. L3 Harris earns an overall B rating, a buy recommendation matching Wall Street's own consensus. And if you look at the component grades here, value, safety, AI, they all grade out at a B. and growth momentum sentiment and financials aren't the components sitting at a C-grade. And that's honestly the real gap between where L3 Harris is now and honestly strong buy territory. So, if that recent earnings acceleration continues showing up in the numbers, the C's have real room to climb. All right, we're halfway through this list. Three more names to go. And remember, the final two stocks make the cut as legitimate buys right now. And the best setup on this entire list is still coming up. So, stick with me here. But first, real quick, if you're getting value from this video, consider subscribing to the channel. You can just hit the subscribe button below and click that little bell notification so you don't miss any videos. We do this kind of grounded data driven research every single week, and I'd love to have you back for the next video. All right, the next stock is RTX. Again, that's the ticker symbol RTX and perhaps more commonly known as Rathon, which is the company that builds the Patriot and Standard missile systems that form the backbone of missile defense today, which and that honestly makes it one of the best positioned companies as that architecture gets layered into the Golden Dome. Now, the numbers here are some of the strongest on this list. Earnings are up 25% over the past year and have grown 29.81% 81% annually over the past 5 years, which is faster than the aerospace and defense industry average of 5.43% and the broader market average of 27.93%. And this is actually the one stock on the list where Wall Street is more bullish than we are. Analysts carry a strong buy consensus with six of nine recommending it as a buy or better. Now, the Zen ratings actually land one notch more conservative at a B, which is again a buy. And growth, momentum, sentiment, and AI all come in at a B, while value, safety, and financials come in at a C. And value is the one thing honestly holding this stock back. So, RTX trades at a price to earnings ratio of 38.93X, which is kind of rich for this specific sector. If that earnings growth keeps up and the price catches its breath a bit, value actually has room to climb here. That's the lever that could push RTX from a buy into a strong buy recommendation. All right, this is where things get really exciting with our final two stocks, each which have a real connection to the catalyst and strong fundamentals that actually back the case for potentially entering a position here. So, the first of these two is Loheed Martin, ticker symbol LMT. We've already mentioned this. It's not just tied to Golden Dome. It's actually building the backbone of it. Again, it's one of the prime companies on the Trunch 3 tracking layer satellite contracts and its PAC 3 and THAAD interceptor systems are already the foundation the whole layer defense architecture is being built around. So, if Golden Dome has a face, it's probably locked, honestly. And the forward-looking numbers here are outstanding. Earnings jumped 52.58% year-over-year with the last quarter up 23.4% from the one before it. And the stock is already moving with it, up 40.24% 24% over the past year and nearly 17% in just the last 3 months and Wall Street is on board too with consensus landing at a buy. Now, I should note that as this catalyst unfolds, we may see some updated recommendations and upgrades. Analyst commentary is updated daily on Wall Street Zen. So, make sure to visit the site frequently to see the latest information. Now, also worth noting here, Loheed's been raising its dividend for 10 straight years, now yielding 2.67%. So shareholders get paid while this actually plays out and the Zen rating agrees here. Loheed earns an A grade, a strong buy recommendation, and it's actually one of the rare cases where our system is possibly even more bullish than Wall Street's own consensus. It stands out with an understated roster of above average component grades. Value, safety, and financials all grade out as B's. Now, the one thing worth watching is growth is currently at a C. Longerterm earnings and revenue growth have actually trailed the industry average over the past 5 years, even with this year's explosion higher. But again, with fresh Golden Dome contracts still landing, a stock that's already up over 40% over the last year and one of the best Zen ratings on our entire list, Loheed Martin is exactly the kind of stock this whole video is building toward. Now, before we get to the last pick, if you like stock talk just like this, I once again remind you to check out Wall Street Zen's nocost live training sessions. You can join our editor-inchief, Steve Wrightmeister, as he goes live every Monday. He doesn't just talk about what he's buying either. He talks about how he's finding these stocks, so you can also do the same in the days ahead. And he shares his trade of the week, which combines the best of Zen ratings with his 40 plus years of investing experience. So again, if you're liking this content, I strongly recommend just pause the video for a minute, scan the QR code on the screen if you got a phone on you, or just go to wall streetzen.com/live and sign up for the next live session. Now, the final name on the list you probably won't see coming here. It's actually Moog, ticker symbol mog.a. Now, they make precision motion control systems that guide, steer, and control missiles, satellites, military aircraft, and other advanced aerospace and defense equipment. So in short, this is the stock that's practically built around this exact story that's unfolding. Moog makes the guidance, actuation, and steering systems inside missile interceptors and satellites. And it markets itself directly as a Golden Dome partner. So this isn't a company that's just adjacent to the theme. This is the theme. And the numbers here honestly are the best on the entire list. Earnings are up 76.55% over the past year. And the latest quarter up 85.8%. 8% from the one before it. And the stock has already returned 122.2% over the last 12 months and is up 33.23% in just the last 3 months alone. And despite limited coverage, Wall Street isn't hedging at all. All three analysts covering Moog rate it as a strong buy recommendation with price targets running as high as roughly 25% of where it trades today. And by the way, I do want to acknowledge that this pick and the last one haven't had some of the insane upside targets of stocks like IONQ does. That's not a bad thing because analyst recommendations are only a piece of the puzzle. If a stock doesn't have the fundamentals to actually back up the bullish analyst sentiment, it becomes a much riskier proposition. So, this is exactly why I consider all factors, but ultimately lean on the Zen ratings for a less emotional pick. And again, these Zen ratings are very pumped about this specific stock. Moog earns in a a strong buy recommendation and it's the highest rated stock on the entire list and ranking in the top 1.8% of all stocks and are greater than 4600 stock database thanks to rock solid fundamentals here. As you might expect, the component grades are strong as well. Sentiment is an outright A. Growth, momentum, safety, and financials are all B's. Now, the one thing to watch here, this stock has run pretty high recently, and it's reflected in the value rating of a C. But with real golden dome contracts, tripledigit earnings growth, and a unanimous strong buy from Wall Street and the Zen ratings alike, Moog is the strongest stock that we found in this entire buildout, which is exactly why it's our top pick in this video. So, out of the six Golden Dome stocks we just covered, only two came out the other side as strong buy rated stocks using our proven quant rating system. This is a trillionoll spending wave that's just getting started. And the gap between hype and fundamentals is only going to get more obvious as more shield contracts get awarded. And keep a close eye on upcoming earnings. That's when we're going to see exactly how much of this spending is actually hitting the bottom line. Now, I want to hear from you. Are you following the Golden Dome buildout? Are you bullish on any of the stocks that I've mentioned today? Or maybe you have another one to add to the list. Your comments below help our community. So, drop them in there. And if you want to check out another ongoing defense catalyst that has real legs behind it, check out my recent video on the government's $54 billion drone bet. You can see all the details in this video right here.