Dec 18, 2025 8 min read

Largest U.S. Weapons & Defense Manufacturers

By AI ChatGPT5-T.Chr.-Human Synthesis-17 December 2025

Largest U.S. Weapons & Defense Manufacturers (Overall). These companies dominate heavy weapons, missiles, aircraft, naval systems, and advanced munitions.

Weapons & Defense Equipment

1. Lockheed Martin

Largest defense contractor in the world. Produces:F-35 fighter jets. HIMARS rocket systems. Javelin missiles (with Raytheon). Trident nuclear missiles. Major focus: missiles, aircraft, space systems

2. RTX (formerly Raytheon Technologies)

Specializes in:Patriot missile systems. Tomahawk cruise missiles. Air defense and radar. One of the world’s biggest missile producers.

3. Boeing Defense, Space & Security

4. Northrop Grumman

Known for:B-21 stealth bomber. Nuclear weapons systems. Advanced munitions and electronics

5. General Dynamics

Produces: Abrams tanks. Armored vehicles. Submarines. Owns General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems (major ammo producer)

Largest U.S. Ammunition Producers.

These companies focus on bullets, artillery shells, and explosives:

1. General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical SystemsLargest U.S. ammunition producer. Produces: Artillery shells. Tank ammunition. Medium- and large-caliber rounds. Major supplier for NATO and Ukraine.

2. Northrop Grumman (Ammunition Division)Produces:Medium- and large-caliber ammo. Advanced explosives.

3. Olin Corporation (Winchester) Largest small-arms ammunition producer in the U.S. Produces:Rifle and handgun ammo. Military, law enforcement, and civilian markets

4. Vista Outdoor (brands like Federal, CCI, Speer)Major producer of:Small-caliber ammunition. Civilian and law enforcement ammo

5. ATK (formerly Alliant Techsystems) Now integrated into Northrop Grumman. Historically a major U.S. military ammo supplier

Key PointHeavy weapons & missiles → dominated by Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, BoeingArtillery & military ammunition → led by General Dynamics. How much revenue U.S. investors earn from the U.S. weapons and ammunition industry (e.g., through stocks, dividends, and investment income. And :Annual revenue of U.S. weapons & ammo companies overall,Profit or earnings paid out to U.S. investors (like dividends + capital gains),Market value of the industry (total stock market cap),Tax revenue the U.S. government collects from these companies.

Right now the question isn’t specific enough to give an accurate number — there’s no single public statistic for “revenue made by U.S. investors from the defense industry” because that depends on:Which investors you count (individual, institutional, foreign),What type of income (dividends, capital gains, interest, etc.),Time period (annual? cumulative over years?),Which companies (only public ones? all defense contractors? ammunition makers? supply chain?). Here is some useful context instead:

1. Total annual revenue of major U.S. defense companiesAs mentioned earlier, the largest U.S. weapons makers generate hundreds of billions of dollars in revenue per year (Lockheed Martin, Raytheon/RTX, Northrop Grumman, Boeing Defense, General Dynamics). Combined U.S. arms & defense revenue in the SIPRI Top 100 is around $330+ billion annually.But that is revenue to the companies, not directly revenue to investors. That total includes what the companies collect from government and export contracts, not investor profit.

2. Profit & dividends (money that goes to investors)Investors earn returns in two main ways:A) Dividends — cash paid to shareholders Many large defense stocks pay dividends. For example:Lockheed Martin has a dividend yield around ~2.5–3%. Raytheon (RTX) has a dividend yield around ~2–2.5%. General Dynamics, Northrop Grumman, L3Harris also pay dividends, If a company has:$60 billion in revenue~10% profit margin → ~$6 billion in net profit. Then pays ~50% of profit in dividends → ~$3 billion to shareholders. This is the rough scale — defense companies collectively likely pay several billion dollars per year in dividends to all their shareholders worldwide, including U.S. investors. Capital gains — stock price growth Investors also earn when stock prices rise. There’s no single number for this — it depends on market performance. For example, if a defense stock goes up 10% in a year, and someone holds $100,000 in it, that person makes $10,000 that year (unrealized until sold).

3. Market value of the industry. The total stock market capitalization (value of all shares) of major U.S. defense companies gives a sense of scale:Lockheed Martin: ~$100+ billion market cap. RTX: ~$120+ billion. Northrop Grumman: ~$70+ billion. General Dynamics: ~$50+ billion. L3Harris: ~$40+ billion(Estimates — actual values fluctuate daily)So the total market cap of major U.S. defense stocks is on the order of hundreds of billions of dollars. U.S and global investors collectively own those shares.

Annual dividends distributed by major U.S. defense companies — likely in the low single-digit billions USD each year (e.g., ~$5–10 billion combined), much of which goes to U.S. institutional and individual shareholders.

Capital gains — vary widely with the stock market, but over the long term defense stocks have tended to grow, so investors could be earning tens of billions annually in unrealized gains, depending on market conditions. But there’s no official published total because investor earnings depend on who holds the shares and when they buy/sell. How much revenue U.S. investors earn from the U.S. weapons and ammunition industry (e.g., through stocks, dividends, and investment income)? Or: Annual revenue of U.S. weapons & ammo companies overall.

Profit or earnings paid out to U.S. investors (like dividends + capital gains). Market value of the industry (total stock market cap). Tax revenue the U.S. government collects from these companies,Or something else?Right now the question isn’t specific enough to give an accurate number — there’s no single public statistic for “revenue made by U.S. investors from the defense industry” because that depends on:Which investors you count (individual, institutional, foreign),What type of income (dividends, capital gains, interest, etc.),Time period (annual? cumulative over years?),Which companies (only public ones? all defense contractors? ammunition makers? supply chain?). To give you some useful context instead:

1. Total annual revenue of major U.S. defense companiesAs mentioned earlier, the largest U.S. weapons makers generate hundreds of billions of dollars in revenue per year (Lockheed Martin, Raytheon/RTX, Northrop Grumman, Boeing Defense, General Dynamics). Combined U.S. arms & defense revenue in the SIPRI Top 100 is around $330+ billion annually. But that is revenue to the companies, not directly revenue to investors. That total includes what the companies collect from government and export contracts, not investor profit.

This is the rough scale — defense companies collectively likely pay several billion dollars per year in dividends to all their shareholders worldwide, including U.S. investors. Capital gains — stock price growth Investors also earn when stock prices rise. There’s no single number for this — it depends on market performance. For example, if a defense stock goes up 10% in a year, and someone holds $100,000 in it, that person makes $10,000 that year (unrealized until sold).

3. Market value of the industryThe total stock market capitalization (value of all shares) of major U.S. defense companies gives a sense of scale:Lockheed Martin: ~$100+ billion market capRTX: ~$120+ billionNorthrop Grumman: ~$70+ billionGeneral Dynamics: ~$50+ billionL3Harris: ~$40+ billion(Estimates — actual values fluctuate daily)So the total market cap of major U.S. defense stocks is on the order of hundreds of billions of dollars. U.S and global investors collectively own those shares.

Capital gains — vary widely with the stock market, but over the long term defense stocks have tended to grow, so investors could be earning tens of billions annually in unrealized gains, depending on market conditions.But there’s no official published total because investor earnings depend on who holds the shares and when they buy/sell..Do you mean how much revenue U.S. investors earn from the U.S. weapons and ammunition industry (e.g., through stocks, dividends, and investment income)? Or: revenue of U.S. weapons & ammo companies overall. Profit or earnings paid out to U.S. investors (like dividends + capital gains).

Market value of the industry (total stock market cap). Tax revenue the U.S. government collects from these companies. Or something else? Right now the question isn’t specific enough to give an accurate number — there’s no single public statistic for “revenue made by U.S. investors from the defense industry” because that depends on: Which investors you count (individual, institutional, foreign). What type of income (dividends, capital gains, interest, etc.). Time period (annual? cumulative over years?). Which companies (only public ones? all defense contractors? ammunition makers? supply chain?).

1. Total annual revenue of major U.S. defense companies. As mentioned earlier, the largest U.S. weapons makers generate hundreds of billions of dollars in revenue per year (Lockheed Martin, Raytheon/RTX, Northrop Grumman, Boeing Defense, General Dynamics). Combined U.S. arms & defense revenue in the SIPRI Top 100 is around $330+ billion annually.But that is revenue to the companies, not directly revenue to investors. That total includes what the companies collect from government and export contracts, not investor profit.

This is the rough scale — defense companies collectively likely pay several billion dollars per year in dividends to all their shareholders worldwide, including U.S. investors. B) Capital gains — stock price growth Investors also earn when stock prices rise. There’s no single number for this — it depends on market performance. For example, if a defense stock goes up 10% in a year, and someone holds $100,000 in it, that person makes $10,000 that year (unrealized until sold).

Short answer: Yes — President Donald Trump does have investment holdings in some of these companies, but he is not primarily known as a “big investor” in the sense of being a major institutional or venture capital investor like Warren Buffett or big hedge-fund managers. His wealth and investments are a mix of business assets, stocks, crypto ventures, and other holdings.

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