World 4/2/2026
$1.4T In NATO Defense Spending Is Just The Beginning: 5 Stocks Positioned For The Buildup
NATO defense spending surged past $1.4 trillion in 2025, largely driven by a significant 20% year-over-year increase from European allies and Canada, totaling $574 billion. All member states finally met the long-standing 2% of GDP target, with the 2025 Hague Summit establishing an ambitious new baseline: 5% of GDP by 2035 (3.5% core defense, 1.5% resilience). This commitment is creating a structural tailwind for prime defense contractors, with Lockheed Martin, RTX Corp, and Northrop Grumman holding over $557 billion in combined backlogs, while L3Harris Technologies and Palantir Technologies actively capture high-margin modernization spend.
