10 Defense and Aerospace Stocks To Benefit From Trump’s Peace Through Strength Policy

4. Woodward Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD)

Woodward Inc. is a Colorado-based company leading in energy conversion and control solutions for the aerospace and industrial sectors. Recently, the company announced a 12% rise in its quarterly dividend, from $0.25 to $0.28. While this assures commitment to shareholders, many analysts believe that the giant is prioritizing short-term shareholder returns. This view particularly stems from the management’s statement regarding potential risks surrounding future revenue projections.

Although the CEO of Woodward, Chip Blankenship, has highlighted major lean transformation, operational improvements, and automation investments, the success of these initiatives is limited by ongoing supplier challenges and labor issues. Moreover, analysts are also wary of the declining industrial segment sales due to shrinking China on-highway sales.

The leadership still finds supply chain issues as the reason behind not achieving pre-COVID normalcy. Despite the Safran acquisition improving electromechanical actuation, without a proper supply system, the company is unable to reap complete benefits from the M&A. Despite these issues, the company is a solid bet on increased defense spending globally.