Wells Fargo: Iran conflict accelerates opportunities in defense stocks, with missile production capacity potentially increasing up to fivefold

LootboxPhobia · 2026-03-18T03:04:54+00:00

Wells Fargo analysts point out that three defense contractors have signed long-term large contracts with the United States, with production capacity expected to increase 2 to 5 times by the end of 2020. These deals were announced before the Iran conflict and may promote missile defense demand for the United States and its allies. Recently, aerospace and defense stocks have performed well, with Karman Holdings seeing the largest gains at 37.33%.

LootboxPhobia

2026-03-18 03:04:54

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Wall Street Journal APP learns that Lawrence Pfeffer, a stock industry analyst at Wells Fargo, pointed out that since early 2026, three leading national defense contractors have signed multi-model missile series long-term contracts with the U.S. Department of Defense. It is expected that by the end of this decade, related production capacity will increase by 2 to 5 times compared to current levels.

The analyst mentioned that these major deals were announced before the outbreak of the Iran conflict. This conflict is likely to cause the U.S., Israel, and Gulf Cooperation Council countries to heavily consume interceptor ammunition.

According to Wells Fargo’s strategic report, Pfeffer believes that “the strategic experience continuously summarized from the Ukraine and Middle East conflicts further highlights the importance of missile defense.” He stated that this not only provides visibility for potential growth beyond recent contract renewals but also creates opportunities to increase foreign military sales.

In view of this, here is a list of the top ten aerospace and defense stocks ranked by performance over the past 30 trading days. The list covers companies of different market values and is sorted by their one-month stock price increase:

At the top is Karman Holdings (KRMN.US), with a stock price increase of 37.33%, and a Seeking Alpha quantitative rating of “Strong Buy” at 4.68 points. Elbit Systems (ESLT.US) and Firefly Aerospace (FLY.US) follow closely, with gains of 29.28% and 23.99%, ranking second and third.

Leonardo DRS, Inc. (DRS.US) and Axon Enterprise (AXON.US) each recorded increases of 18.80% and 13.96%, ranking in the top five. Most of the stocks toward the bottom of the list, including Intuitive Machines (LUNR.US), L3Harris Technologies (LHX.US), Rocket Lab (RKLB.US), Northrop Grumman (NOC.US), and Raytheon Technologies (RTX.US), currently hold a “Hold” quantitative rating.

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