Industrial and Commercial Bank of China: Iran conflict catalyzes opportunities in national defense stocks, missile production capacity will increase by up to 5 times.

Wells Fargo & Company analyst Lawrence Pfeffer pointed out that since the beginning of 2026, three top defense contractors have signed large multi-year contracts with the US Department of Defense for multiple missile series, and it is expected that by the end of this decade, the relevant production capacity will increase by 2 to 5 times compared to the current level. The analyst mentioned that these major deals were announced before the outbreak of the conflict in Iran. This conflict is likely to lead to a significant consumption of interceptor ammunition by the United States, Israel, and members of the Gulf Cooperation Council. According to Wells Fargo & Company's strategic report, Pfeffer believes that the "strategic experience continuously drawn from conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East further highlights the importance of missile defense." He stated that this not only provides visibility for potential growth beyond recent contract renewals, but also brings opportunities to increase foreign military sales. Therefore, here are the top ten performers in the aerospace and defense stocks list in the past 30 trading days. The list covers companies with different market values and is ranked based on their one-month stock price performance: Topping the list is Karman Holdings (KRMN.US), with a price increase of up to 37.33%, and receiving a "strong buy" quantitative rating of 4.68 from Seeking Alpha. Elbit Systems (ESLT.US) and Firefly Aerospace (FLY.US) follow closely, occupying the second and third positions with increases of 29.28% and 23.99% respectively. Leonardo DRS, Inc. (DRS.US) and Axon Enterprise (AXON.US) recorded increases of 18.80% and 13.96% respectively, ranking in the top five. Most of the stocks in the bottom of the list, including Intuitive Machines (LUNR.US), L3Harris Technologies (LHX.US), Rocket Lab (RKLB.US), Northrop Grumman Corp. (NOC.US), and Raytheon Technologies (RTX.US), currently hold a "hold" quantitative rating.