Boeing and Huntington-Ingalls ride defence spending surge to record growth
Boeing (BA) and Huntington-Ingalls (HII) have multiple ways to benefit from the war against Iran. Further, both companies are well-positioned to be boosted by significantly higher global defense spending in general and by the U.S. in particular in the medium-to-long term. Also importantly, the valuations of both stocks are attractive, given the firms' multiple, positive catalysts, and strong growth outlooks.
Boeing specializes in making planes for both airlines and militaries. Last quarter, its revenue jumped 57% versus the same period a year earlier to $23.95 billion, while its core operating earnings surged to $8.5 billion, compared with a loss of $4 billion.
HII specializes in building and repairing military ships. The company reported full year revenue advance of 8.2% year-over-year (YOY) to $12.5 billion, while its Q4 2025 EPS came in at $4.04, versus $3.15 YOY.
The company has a forward price-earnings ratio of 24.92 times and a market capitalization of $16.42 billion.
Multiple Means of Benefiting From the War and Its Consequences
With Iran, Russia, and China sparking intense fear among U.S. allies in the Mideast, Europe, and the Far East, these allies' defense spending is generally headed significantly higher. In the wake of Iran's recent attacks on multiple Persian Gulf countries, these nations are likely to meaningfully increase their expenditures on their militaries, while many European countries are raising the funds that they spend on defense by large amounts. Among the East Asian nations planning to spend significantly more on their militaries are Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan.
Since Boeing and HII are both major international defense contractors, they should be able to get significant boosts from the latter developments.
The Bottom Line on BA and HII
Analysts on average expect Boeing's earnings per share to reach $0.57 this year, versus a per share loss of $10.64 in 2025, and the mean estimate calls for a 654% surge of the company's EPS to $4.30 in 2027. As for Huntington, its EPS is expected to climb 11.6% and 16.8% in 2026 and 2027, respectively.
These high expected growth rates, combined with the firms' relatively low valuations and strong, positive catalysts, make their stocks a buy for value investors and growth-at-a-reasonable-price investors.
