... and thought i'd share it here:
Given the current news, I'm considering on investing into the European and I saw multiple posts regarding European defense and what stocks to buy. However it seems there is no real ETF for this topic.
So I asked chatGPT to give me the top 5 defense companies, their product and the countries that buy from them. (I later asked for 2 more including Scandinavia).
I got this list:
# 1. BAE Systems (United Kingdom)
**Exchange:** London Stock Exchange (Ticker: BA.)
**Key Defense Products:**
1. **Eurofighter Typhoon**
* **Operators/Buyers**: United Kingdom (Royal Air Force), Germany, Italy, Spain, Saudi Arabia, Austria, Oman, Qatar (on order)
2. **M2 Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicle** (through its U.S. subsidiary)
* **Operators/Buyers**: United States Army, Saudi Arabia
# 2. Airbus SE (Pan-European)
**Exchanges:** Euronext Paris, Frankfurt Stock Exchange (Ticker: AIR)
**Key Defense Products (Airbus Defence and Space):**
1. **A400M Atlas** (tactical/strategic airlifter)
* **Operators/Buyers**: France, Germany, UK, Spain, Turkey, Belgium, Luxembourg, Malaysia
2. **Eurofighter Typhoon** (Airbus is a major partner in the consortium)
* **Operators/Buyers**: Germany, Spain, UK, Italy, Saudi Arabia, Austria, Oman, Qatar
# 3. Leonardo S.p.A. (Italy)
**Exchange:** Borsa Italiana (Ticker: LDO)
**Key Defense Products:**
1. **M-346 Master** (advanced jet trainer/light combat aircraft)
* **Operators/Buyers**: Italy, Israel, Poland, Singapore
2. **AW101 Helicopter** (medium-lift helicopter, formerly known as the EH101)
* **Operators/Buyers**: Italy, UK, Canada, Portugal, Norway, Denmark
# 4. Thales Group (France)
**Exchange:** Euronext Paris (Ticker: HO)
**Key Defense Products:**
1. **Watchkeeper WK450 Unmanned Aerial Vehicle** (UAV)
* **Operator**: British Army (United Kingdom)
2. **Ground Master 400 (GM400) Radar**
* **Operators/Buyers**: France, Germany, Estonia, Finland, Malaysia
# 5. Rheinmetall AG (Germany)
**Exchange:** Frankfurt Stock Exchange (Ticker: RHM)
**Key Defense Products:**
1. **Puma Infantry Fighting Vehicle** (co-developed with Krauss-Maffei Wegmann)
* **Operator**: German Army
2. **Lynx Infantry Fighting Vehicle**
* **Buyers**: Hungary (major contract), interest from other nations (e.g., Czech Republic under consideration)
# 6. Saab AB (Sweden)
* **Exchange**: Nasdaq Stockholm (Ticker: SAAB-B)
* **Overview**: Saab is known for advanced aeronautics, missile systems, radars, and marine solutions. They derive a significant portion of revenue from defense.
**Key Defense Products**
1. **JAS 39 Gripen Fighter Jet**
* **Operators/Buyers**: Sweden, Czech Republic, Hungary, South Africa, Thailand, and Brazil (Gripen E/F on order).
* Known for advanced avionics, low operating costs, and agility.
2. **GlobalEye Airborne Early Warning & Control** (AEW&C)
* **Operators/Buyers**: United Arab Emirates (launch customer) and Sweden (upgraded Erieye AEW systems).
* Combines Erieye radar with a business jet platform for surveillance of air, sea, and land targets.
# 7. Kongsberg Gruppen ASA (Norway)
* **Exchange**: Oslo Stock Exchange (Ticker: KOG)
* **Overview**: Kongsberg specializes in maritime systems, missiles, and aerospace components. It also has a large civilian business (maritime technology).
**Key Defense Products**
1. **Naval Strike Missile (NSM)**
* **Operators/Buyers**: Royal Norwegian Navy, U.S. Navy (on Littoral Combat Ships and future Constellation-class frigates), Poland, Malaysia, Germany, Canada.
* A stealthy, long-range, precision anti-ship/land-attack missile.
2. **Joint Strike Missile (JSM)**
* Designed for the F-35 Lightning II.
* **Operators/Buyers**: Norway (primary developer with the U.S.), interest from other F-35 operators.
I asked for a weighting for each one and put it all together into a G-Sheet.
Additionally I went to simplywall.st and google finance to the PE and potential target price.
This is the result:
https://preview.redd.it/38rurfbdboke1.png?width=2144&format=png&auto=webp&s=c9c5df3b6ca11cd90dd254c980357bcc971c46bc
I'll keep an eye on all of them, but I think BAE and Airbus are quite the save bet. Airbus alone because of Boeings bad reputation the last years.
Let me know what you guys think.