Results contrast with the confirmation of the problem in the United States, where Donald Trump has already called for production to be accelerated
As soon as the war broke out in Ukraine, Europe was warned: it is necessary to invest in Defense, it is necessary to speed up production. Some more in favor, others more unwillingly, the governments of the Old Continent heard the call, ending up doubly forced to spend money due to threats coming from the other side of the Atlantic as soon as Donald Trump took office as president of the United States.
And if the shares of Europe’s largest Defense companies already showed a trend – Rheinmetall, for example, has risen in value by more than 1,600% since 2022 -, the results expected for this year confirm it.
The largest companies in the sector are expected to return around 4.2 billion euros to their shareholders in 2025, confirming that the investment is paying off.
According to analysis carried out by Vertical Research Partners for , the eight largest Defense companies in Europe are expected to have their best year in the space of a decade.
The analysis leaves out Airbus, but includes companies such as the German Rheinmetall or the Italian Leonardo, two of the largest in Europe and two of those that have increased their commercial operations the most, greatly helping the sector’s results.
Interestingly, and by contrast, the United States is not experiencing exactly the same moment. According to the same analysis, companies like Lockheed Martin are falling, after the peak reached in 2023.
Perhaps this confirms Donald Trump’s urgency in asking for investment in Defense. A request that he initially made to Europe, but which he is now also demanding internally, announcing major projects such as the most recent renovation of the Navy.
Furthermore, the feeling that the North American industry is behind expectations had already become clear in October, when Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent criticized the sector for being “horribly behind in terms of deliveries”.
