Published on 24 May 2024 on InvestorPlace via Yahoo Finance

Bulletproof Your Portfolio: 3 Defense Stocks to Own Now

With two significant wars at the moment, you would think the question of which defense stocks to buy would be a topic of interest for investors. However, according to Barron’s, the top five defense stocks: Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT), Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC), Boeing (NYSE:BA), General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) and RTX (NYSE:RTX) have only gained an average of 30% over the past five years, significantly less than the index itself. That could explain some of the investor reluctance.

Moreover, the industry feels inadvertently unpredictable to many investors, with the potential for government spending priorities to shift based on the administration. Nevertheless, defense stocks, if selected correctly, can be exceptionally defensive for a portfolio. That’s because not all defense stocks rely on large government spending packages to remain competitive, due to the critical nature of the products they sell, like ammo or aircraft maintenance parts.