Applied Aerospace & Defense's record $1.13B backlog and sole-supplier role on 87% of its business make it much stronger than its chart looks. Q2 adjusted EBITDA rose 38.5%, and customers include SpaceX and Anduril. Jefferies named it one of its top small/mid-cap cyclical ideas with a Buy rating and $20 target, more than 80% above Wednesday's close. The falling-wedge trigger is $11.54. x.com 

Ondas is scaling fast in autonomous drones and counter-drone systems. Q2 revenue hit a record $83.8 million, more than 13x a year earlier, and 2026 guidance is $525–550 million. Pro forma backlog is $757 million, it has captured over $240 million under the Army's $982 million loitering-munitions IDIQ, and in September it bought five more defense tech businesses. x.com 

A US military-budget increase would be well-timed for defense stocks as most appear to be bottoming or sitting on support. If history repeats, one will probably be announced soon. Since the earlier sell signals, Amprius is down about 42%, AeroVironment about 60% and Ondas about 54%; many other names also look oversold. x.com 

Drone stocks fell in 2026 even as backlogs hit records: Ukraine turned aircraft into ammunition, and the Pentagon's 2027 request holds nearly $75B for drones and counter-drone. AeroVironment's reordered loitering munitions and Kratos's jet drones are highest conviction. Counter-drone names Ondas, Axon, Motorola Solutions, Safe Pro, DroneShield and Rheinmetall gain as threats grow, Unusual Machines from Chinese-parts bans. Primes bury drone exposure; pure plays may not convert backlog. x.com  … Show more

Rocket Lab's defense contracts and backlog position it to benefit from national-security spending. Its $2.36B backlog includes over 100 booked launches, with an $816M SDA satellite deal and a $266M Space Force HASTE deal for hypersonic testing. Despite the Neutron delay, its $36B valuation offers one of the space sector's best risk-reward setups: exposure to the same defense and space-infrastructure trend as SpaceX at a fraction of its valuation. Rocket Lab is headed above $100. x.com 

Rocket Lab is set up for a breakout as its technicals and fundamentals align. A W-bottom is forming, with price bouncing off $64.6 support. Q2 revenue hit a record $234 million, up 62% year over year, and backlog rose 137% to an all-time high of $2.36 billion. It won a $397 million Space Force SB-AMTI contract to build and launch Flatellites on Neutron and joined the $981 million NITE-STAR contract ceiling, showing it is a vertically integrated space company, not just a launch provider. x.com 

Public defense stocks look mispriced because demand and private valuations are rising while their shares fall 20%. Anduril raised $5 billion at $61 billion, about 28x sales, while Ondas trades near 5x with a comparable counter-drone stack. The five primes' backlog rose 23.7% to $1.36 trillion, and the Pentagon's FY2027 request has $75 billion for drones and counter-drone tech. Peace rotates spending rather than ending it, and as in the 1990s, a bear market should spur small-cap consolidation. … Show more

AeroVironment, Kratos, Axon, Lockheed Martin and Palantir win as the FY2027 defense budget is projected at $1.5 trillion, about $400 billion above this year. AeroVironment's revenue rose 143% with a record $1.1B funded backlog as the Pentagon orders Switchblade drones by the thousands. Kratos has a record $2B backlog for low-cost autonomous jets. Axon's revenue rose 34% with $14.3B in future bookings. Lockheed's backlog hit $186.4B. Palantir is the AI software layer under autonomous warfare. … Show more

Electro Optic Systems, nLIGHT and LightPath are defense stocks to own as forward multiples may compress with no high-profile conflicts in sight. US and European rearmament is unchanged and earnings should grow solidly for two to three years, but upside may take patience. Well-managed, profitable firms with backlog growth in the fastest-growing niches should hold up better than cash-burning drone makers. EOS's UAE joint venture, laser contract and $124 million RWS contract add optionality. x.com 

Swarmer is positioned for the Pentagon's push into cheap, autonomous drone swarms and domestic drone supply chains, with a $2.86M Department of Defense contract to arm its SkyKnight platform serving as official military validation. Jim Cramer named it a prime military drone pick on Mad Money, sending shares up nearly 38%. Revenue is minimal, but analysts project 79% annual growth over three years as defense contracts roll out, and a small float fuels squeeze-style rallies. x.com