Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass) said defense contractors should stop buybacks and dividends, after the five largest U.S. defense firms spent more than $100 billion on shareholder payouts since 2020.
Who’s Behind the $100 Billion
“If taxpayers are giving you billions to build military equipment, why are you buying back your own stock?” Warren said on X, adding that “This needs to stop.”
The five biggest defense contractors spent more than $100B on buybacks and dividends since 2020.
— Elizabeth Warren (@ewarren) August 17, 2026
I have a simple question for defense contractors:
If taxpayers are giving you billions to build military equipment, why are you buying back your own stock?
This needs to stop.
The top five defense contractors driving the figure are Lockheed Martin Corp. (NYSE:LMT), RTX Corp. (NYSE:RTX), GE Aerospace (NYSE:GE), Northrop Grumman Corp. (NYSE:NOC), and General Dynamics Corp. (NYSE:GD).
In January, President Donald Trump vowed to block defense contractors from paying dividends or buying back shares until they speed up weapons production.
Some Contractors Have Already Cut Back
Earlier this month, Warren and Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) released a bipartisan analysis finding that the four largest defense contractors, Lockheed Martin, RTX, Northrop Grumman and General Dynamics, cut combined buybacks and dividends by roughly 36% in the first quarter of 2026 compared with a year earlier, dropping from $4.2 billion to $2.7 billion.
Not every contractor followed suit, the senators said in a letter, pointing to GE Aerospace, which increased stock buybacks by 21% year-over-year to $2.3 billion in the same quarter, a gap the lawmakers cited as they urged Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to support legislation codifying Trump’s executive order into law.
Defense Spending Has Surged Under Trump
NATO allies have committed more than $1.21 trillion in additional defense spending since Trump’s first term, including over $120 billion in new spending last year alone.
Contractors have benefited directly, with RTX landing a $22.9 billion Navy award to expand Tomahawk missile production.
Price Action: RTX closed 0.6% lower on Monday at $221.64 and fell 0.35% in early pre-market trading on Tuesday.
Benzinga edge rankings show RTX’s stock has a Momentum score in the 82nd percentile and a Growth score in the 43rd percentile.
Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
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