The company said it would lift its control of ITA Airways to 90%.
Strong Q1 earnings momentum continues as S&P 500 firms beat estimates. Tech, Energy lead growth; full-year 2026 outlook stays robust.
Cinthia Murphy, VettaFi director of research, and Paul Baiocchi, SS&C Technologies head of fund sales & strategy, sit down with CNBC's Kristina Partsinevelos to discuss the increased spending in defense amid the Middle East conflict and how other areas that stand to benefit in the near and medium term.
The White House just proposed a $1.5 trillion defense budget for fiscal year 2027, a roughly 44% increase over current Pentagon spending.
Rising geopolitical tensions and Trump's defense push are fueling a long-term rearmament trend. One can explore ETFs to benefit from this outlook.
US President Donald Trump has proposed a huge increase in defence spending, alongside a 10% cut in non-defence spending, for the 2027 fiscal year.
Aerospace and defense stocks, including SHLD and ITA, have declined since the Iran conflict despite heightened geopolitical risk. ITA underperformed due to higher commercial exposure and lack of European defense holdings, while SHLD's diversified defense focus limited losses. Macroeconomic concerns, inflation, and fixed-price contract risks are pressuring near-term profitability and valuations across the sector.
Defense ETFs gain appeal as geopolitical tensions and rising global military spending boost the sector's outlook and reinforce a long-term rearmament trend.
The iShares U.S. Aerospace & Defense ETF (ITA) was launched on May 1, 2006, and is a passively managed exchange traded fund designed to offer broad exposure to the Industrials - Aerospace & Defense segment of the equity market.
Beyond operations, unforeseen costs—like the friendly fire incident last week that resulted in Kuwait shooting down three U.S. F-15s—have added to those woes. The replacement costs for just those three U.S. Air Force jets are estimated to be around $100 million each.
iShares U.S. Aerospace & Defense ETF remains a buy, benefiting from escalating global defense spending and geopolitical instability. ITA's top holdings—GE Aerospace, RTX, Boeing, and Lockheed Martin—are poised to capture significant upside from U.S. Air Force modernization and broader defense budget expansion. ITA offers lower expenses (0.38%) versus peers and a strong track record, with a 3-year annualized return of 25% and a 1-year return of 48%.
Defense ETFs draw attention as rising global tensions, record budgets and fourth-quarter 2025 earnings shape 2026 outlook.