US Defense Firms Are Cashing In on the Iran War. The Numbers Show It.

The conflict in the Middle East has been painful for a lot of industries, but for America’s biggest defense contractors, business has rarely been better. First-quarter earnings reports out Tuesday made that clear, with RTX, Northrop Grumman, and GE Aerospace all posting stronger order books as governments around the world scramble to restock weapons and shore up their defenses.

It is not just the Iran war driving this. The broader backdrop matters too. Ukraine is still fighting. Russian aircraft have been pushing into European airspace. Tensions around Taiwan have not eased. All of that together has pushed more governments to open their checkbooks for military hardware, and US defense companies are the ones filling most of those orders.

RTX is moving fast to keep up. CEO Chris Calio said the company is working with the Pentagon to speed up production of munitions, and pointed to five recent contracts with the Defense Department covering Tomahawk, Patriot, and GEM-T missiles, among other systems. The company has already put nearly $900 million into expanding its production capacity. Calio was straightforward about what is fueling demand: the threat environment is driving a need for more munitions, better missile defense, and more advanced capabilities. He also said international demand has been especially strong.

Northrop Grumman has been adding facilities to keep pace, opening 20 new manufacturing sites across the US over the past two years. CEO Kathy Warden did not mince words about why. The conflict with Iran has put a new urgency behind everything they do, she said.

GE Aerospace, which builds engines for Boeing and Airbus as well as military platforms, posted a 25% jump in revenues for the quarter. CEO Larry Culp said the Middle East war and its ripple effects are expected to last through the summer. The company did flag one downside: the slowdown in regional air travel has taken a bite out of its commercial maintenance business.

On the government side, Pentagon official Jules Hurst confirmed that Trump’s fiscal 2027 budget request comes in at $1.5 trillion, a 42% increase over current levels. The administration is framing it as a once-in-a-generation commitment to rebuilding the US military and the industrial base behind it.

Boeing and Lockheed Martin are both due to report earnings later this week.