Top defence stocks

Screening Filters

1. Market Cap ≥ $10,000,000,000 (Large-Cap Only)

   • Purpose: Focus on established, major defense companies.
   • Rationale: When someone asks for “top defense stocks,” they usually mean the larger, more dominant players in the industry (like Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, etc.), not small speculative names. A minimum market cap of $10B restricts the list to large, well-capitalized companies that are typically more stable, better known, and central to the U.S. defense sector.

2. Industry = Aerospace & Defense

   • Purpose: Ensure all results are directly tied to the defense sector.
   • Rationale: “Defense stocks” in the U.S. are predominantly categorized under the Aerospace & Defense industry (military aircraft, missiles, defense electronics, space & defense systems, etc.). This filter aligns exactly with your request by removing unrelated sectors and keeping only companies whose core business is defense-related.

3. Exchange = XNYS (NYSE) and XNAS (NASDAQ)

   • Purpose: Limit results to major U.S. stock exchanges.
   • Rationale: You asked for defense stocks in the U.S. market. NYSE and NASDAQ are the primary U.S. exchanges for large, liquid stocks. This filter excludes OTC listings and foreign exchanges, ensuring that the results are U.S.-listed and easily tradable for most investors.

4. Index Component = GSPC (S&P 500) or NDX (Nasdaq-100)

   • Purpose: Highlight the most significant, widely followed U.S. defense names.
   • Rationale: The S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 include the largest and most important companies in the U.S. market. Requiring membership in one of these indices further tightens “top” to mean:
     • Well-established,
     • Highly liquid,
     • Institutionally followed companies.
       That’s consistent with what most people have in mind when they say “top defense stocks,” rather than smaller niche contractors.

5. Revenue 5-Year CAGR ≥ 5%

   • Purpose: Focus on defense companies with solid, sustained revenue growth.
   • Rationale: “Top” can also imply companies that are not only big, but also growing. A minimum 5-year revenue growth rate of 5% ensures the companies have shown real business expansion over time, rather than stagnation. For defense, where contracts and budgets can be lumpy, consistently positive multi-year growth is a sign of strong positioning and demand.

6. Analyst Consensus = Strong Buy or Moderate Buy

   • Purpose: Incorporate the current professional sentiment into the definition of “top.”
   • Rationale: By keeping only stocks with Strong Buy or Moderate Buy analyst ratings, the screener adds a quality filter from the perspective of Wall Street research. This doesn’t guarantee performance, but it:
     • Screens out widely disliked or downgraded names, and
     • Emphasizes those currently favored by analysts on fundamentals, valuation, or outlook.

Why Results Match Your Request

• The industry and exchange filters ensure you see U.S.-listed defense companies only.
• The market cap and index membership filters narrow that list to the large, prominent names that most investors would consider the “top” of the sector.
• The revenue growth and analyst consensus filters refine it further to companies that are not just big, but also growing and generally well-regarded by analysts right now.

Together, these filters are designed to surface a focused list of leading U.S. defense stocks that are sizable, central to the industry, and currently viewed positively from a growth and analyst perspective.