Defense and tech companies

Screening Filters

1. Market Cap ≥ $2,000,000,000

   • Purpose: Focus on established, mid‑ to large‑cap companies.
   • Rationale:
     • “Defense and tech companies” usually implies more mature, well‑known names rather than tiny, speculative firms.
     • A $2B+ market cap threshold helps capture major U.S. defense contractors and mainstream tech companies while filtering out microcaps that are riskier and less researched.

2. Price ≥ $5

   • Purpose: Exclude penny stocks and very low‑priced shares.
   • Rationale:
     • Low‑priced stocks often have higher volatility, weaker fundamentals, and lower institutional interest.
     • For someone asking broadly about “defense and tech companies,” this filter keeps the results to more conventional, institutionally investable stocks.

3. Monthly Average Dollar Volume ≥ $500,000

   • Purpose: Ensure sufficient liquidity (ease of entering/exiting positions).
   • Rationale:
     • Defense and tech names of interest are typically reasonably liquid.
     • Requiring at least $500k in average traded value per month reduces the chance of illiquid names with wide bid–ask spreads, making the list more practical for real trading or investing.

4. Industry in: Aerospace & Defense; Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment; Software & IT Services; Communications & Networking

   • Purpose: Restrict results specifically to sectors that match “defense” and “tech.”

   • Rationale:

     • Aerospace & Defense: Directly targets defense contractors (weapons systems, military hardware, defense services). This is the core “defense” exposure.
     • Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment: Chips and chip‑equipment are foundational to technology and defense (radar, communications, AI, guidance systems, etc.).
     • Software & IT Services: Captures classic tech companies (enterprise software, cloud, IT consulting) that represent much of the “tech” universe.
     • Communications & Networking: Covers networking hardware, telecom equipment, and data‑com infrastructure — also central to the tech ecosystem and military communications.

     Together, these industries map cleanly onto both parts of your request: defense (aerospace/defense) and broader technology (semis, software, networking).

5. Themes in: AI Beneficiary; Cloud Computing; Cybersecurity; Semiconductor Equipment & Materials; Software as a Service; Technology

   • Purpose: Tighten the focus to stocks clearly identified as technology‑linked or tech‑enabled.
   • Rationale:
     • These themes ensure the list consists of companies participating in modern tech growth areas (AI, cloud, SaaS, cybersecurity, semis).
     • Many defense names now overlap with these themes (e.g., cybersecurity for defense systems, AI for targeting and surveillance, advanced semiconductors for military tech).
     • It reinforces the “tech companies” aspect even within defense‑oriented firms and filters out aerospace names that might be more traditional and less tech‑driven.

6. Region: United States

   • Purpose: Limit results strictly to U.S. companies/primary listings.
   • Rationale:
     • You specified “in the US stock market.”
     • This avoids non‑U.S. defense and tech firms that might list abroad or as foreign ADRs and keeps the universe clearly U.S.-focused.

7. Exchange in: XNYS (NYSE), XNAS (NASDAQ), XASE (AMEX)

   • Purpose: Restrict to major U.S. stock exchanges.
   • Rationale:
     • Most U.S. defense and tech leaders trade on NYSE or NASDAQ; AMEX adds a smaller set of U.S. listings.
     • This excludes OTC and pink‑sheet names, which are generally less regulated and less liquid, aligning with a focus on mainstream U.S. listed companies.

Why Results Match Your Request

• The industry filter directly captures defense (Aerospace & Defense) and multiple core tech sectors (Semiconductors, Software, Communications & Networking).
• The theme filter reinforces the technology angle, especially modern tech (AI, cloud, cybersecurity, SaaS, semis).
• The region and exchange filters ensure the companies are truly part of the U.S. stock market on major exchanges.
• The market cap, price, and liquidity filters shape the list toward established, tradable defense and tech names that are more likely to be the types of companies investors usually mean when they say “defense and tech companies in the US stock market.”