Four Aerospace Stocks to Buy for Profiting from NATO and Tariffs

07/15/2025

Four aerospace stocks to buy for profiting from NATO and tariffs feature companies that also benefit from increased defense spending due to continuing wars around the world.
The four aerospace stocks to buy for profiting from NATO and tariffs should benefit significantly from the 32-member bloc's recent decision to increase spending to 5% of gross domestic products GDP by 2035 for each of them, with a floor of 3.5% earmarked for “core military needs.” That decision by members of NATO, the acronym for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, more than doubles the previous 2% target set in 2014.
The heightened defense spending could become a growth engine for aerospace and defense companies worldwide. NATO’s plan to increase defense spending is reminiscent of President Reagan more than doubling the U.S. military budget from below $150 billion in 1980 to $300 billion-plus by 1985.
Four Aerospace Stocks to Buy for Profiting from NATO and Tariffs: Remembering Reagan
In the Reagan administration, the U.S. government invested heavily in B-1 bombers, missiles and an expanded Navy fleet, as well as the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), called “Star Wars” by skeptics, intended to create a space-based missile defense system. As the 40th U.S. president, Reagan said that peace needed to be achieved through strength, and history proved him right, wrote Frank Holmes, the CEO and chief investment officer of U.S. Global Investors (NASDAQ: GROW).
"The Americans outspent the Soviets and proved to be more innovative… ultimately outlasting them," Holmes continued. President Reagan’s strategy played out on the international stage recently at the NATO summit in The Hague.
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte praised U.S. President Donald Trump during the summit for pushing America’s allies to commit to a boost in spending. The "breakthrough" would not have happened without Trump, Rutte said.
Trump, echoing Reagan’s "peace through strength”" strategy, recently said it is vital for the additional money to be spent on "very serious military hardware"… and hopefully made in America, where the "best" is manufactured.
Four Aerospace Stocks to Buy for Profiting from NATO and Tariffs: PLTR
Denver-based Palantir Technologies (PLTR) is a recommendation of the Investing Edge newsletter led by Jim Woods, a former Army officer. He expects further gains ahead.
"PLTR continues to deliver," Woods told me.
Jim Woods heads the Investing Edge newsletter and Bullseye Stock Trader.
Palantir's partnership with the U.S. Army began in 2008 to design and deploy modern mission software with improved capabilities. The company’s solutions are used across nearly every Army mission, ensuring data is accessible for fast decision-making that allows the warfighter to out-think and out-pace the adversary, Palantir officials said.
Palantir seeks to operate as the “connective tissue” between Army personnel, data and resources by delivering critical information to the key decision-makers when needed, company officials stated. It enhances the preparedness of soldiers who use wearable sensor and mobile technologies in the battlefield.
However, the immense amount of data produced risks overwhelming both the individual soldiers and the battlefield decision-makers who lead them. Palantir tries to harness hardware solutions, reduce system complexity and provide improved human-machine interfaces to aid soldiers in the field and commanders at a forward-operating base (FOB). Situational awareness powered by visual augmentation, sensor optimization and secure capabilities helps to reduce cognitive challenges, as well as to protect and to connect warfighters.
Those who remember the U.S. special forces locating al-Qaeda founder Osama bin Laden's compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, where he was killed on May 2, 2011, may be interested to know that a Palantir software product called "Gotham," was rumored to have been used by counterterrorism analysts at U.S. government agencies to integrate and analyze data. The information could have included intelligence reports, surveillance and reconnaissance.
Four Aerospace Stocks to Buy for Profiting from NATO and Tariffs: Ground Support
Woods, who launched the Investing Edge newsletter early this year, is a former Army paratrooper and combat veteran who tracks the defense industry closely. When it comes to military operations, aggression, manpower and firepower still require the right intelligence to win battles, Woods said. Palantir is star performer in the Top 10 Growth Accelerators portfolio of Investing Edge.
"What Palantir does so well is provide the right intel," Woods continued.
Intelligent ground systems are at the heart of the Army’s realization of a multi-domain operations concept, Palantir officials said. To empower commanders to make sense of a complex battlefield, ground systems are key to aid understanding.
Palantir is investing in bringing software to the core of critical command and control nodes by connecting them to assets across space, high altitude, aerial and terrestrial layers to improve targeting, situational awareness and understanding, the officials added.
Chart courtesy of www.StockCharts.com.

Four Aerospace Stocks to Buy for Profiting from NATO and Tariffs: Airborne AI Advances
New aviation modernization efforts extend the reach of Army intelligence, manpower and equipment to deter threats at extended range. Palantir deploys artificial intelligence (AI)/machine learning-enabled solutions onto airborne platforms to let users see farther, generate insights faster and react quickly, the company reported.
Its technologies are helping to advance aviation capabilities for the United States and its allies by fielding and managing on-platform software solutions, as well as advancing distributed Command and Control (C2) through teaming and collaboration across platforms. The military emphasizes decentralized command and control structures to improve resilience and survivability in complex operational environments.
As more sensors are deployed to an expanded battlefield, networks must adapt to physical and environmental challenges, company officials said. Palantir Edge AI aids users in maintaining uninterrupted access to data.
Palantir's AI is designed to scale and operate in austere environments and in situations where time and efficiency matter. The company operates in low-bandwidth and low-power conditions, including on drones, aircraft, ships, robots, buildings and satellites.
Four Aerospace Stocks to Buy for Profiting from NATO and Tariffs: RTX
Bryan Perry, who heads the Cash Machine investment newsletter and Hi-Tech Trader advisory service, recommended a fund in his newsletter on Friday, July 11, that includes Arlington, Virginia-based RTX (NYSE: RTX). RTX is a traditional aerospace and defense company.
In addition, the White House recently proposed a $1 trillion defense budget for fiscal year 2026, said Michelle Connell, a charter financial analyst who heads Portia Capital Management in Dallas. NATO countries enhanced the investment story by agreeing early this month to increase their defense spending, she added.
"RTX is supposed to benefit from the recently announced arms agreement with Saudi Arabia," Connell said. "This and other opportunities bode well for strong defense companies like RTX."
Michelle Connell heads Portia Capital Management.
There also has been further good news for RTX, Connell continued. First, Pratt & Whitney, an RTX subsidiary that builds commercial and military aircraft engines, announced an agreement with its labor union. Second, RTX announced a new U.S. Navy contract for AIM-9X Sidewinder missile systems on May 22.
"I would expect that we will see many such announcements," Connell counseled. "And given the current geo-political environment, the announcement pace will also pick up."
Strong advantages for RTX, Connell commented, include:

Four Aerospace Stocks to Buy for Profiting from NATO and Tariffs: New Partnership
A new partnership between Iridium and Syniverse was announced on May 29 to support the rollout of Iridium NTN Direct service with mobile network operators (MNOs) worldwide. The partnership would allow Iridium NTN Direct to integrate with Syniverse’s global platform, facilitating MNOs keeping their customers continuously connected everywhere on the planet.
Iridium is putting the infrastructure in place to allow mobile network operators (MNOs) around the world to roam onto the company’s network with the authentication, billing and related functions, said an Iridium spokesman. According to GSMA’s 2025 Industry Survey, 85% of MNOs plan to pursue non-terrestrial network (NTN) service with a Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) solution that extends their coverage worldwide. As part of 3GPP Release 19, Iridium NTN Direct will provide truly global, standards-based direct-to-device (D2D) and narrow-band Internet of Things (NB-IoT) messaging and SOS for consumer devices, automobiles and industrial applications in agriculture, transportation, logistics, energy and utilities.
The combination of MNO requirements and Iridium NTN Direct capabilities gives their customers access to a fully deployed, owned and operated satellite constellation, rare global coverage, coordinated mobile satellite services (MSS) spectrum and a history of providing reliable safety of life services.
“The integration of Syniverse’s system with the Iridium network will give MNOs a simple path to expand their footprint to the entire planet,” said Matt Desch, Iridium’s CEO.
Four Aerospace Stocks to Buy for Profiting from NATO and Tariffs: GILT
Israel-based Gilat Satellite Networks Ltd. (NASDAQ: GILT) is rated "outperform" by Chicago-based investment firm William Blair & Co.'s Louie DiPalma, an aerospace and defense analyst. DiPalma wrote that Gilat reported strong defense growth of 34% and progress with its Boeing (NYSE: BA) Sidewinder line-fit agreement, but revenue was negatively impacted by temporary renewal delays for operations in Peru.
"Profitability was also depressed due to low initial margins for Stellar Blu during its scaling phase," DiPalma wrote in a recent research note.
Gilat is pursuing multiple large Sidewinder orders to add to its existing backlog, DiPalma wrote. On Jan. 7, Gilat successfully closed the acquisition of Stellar Blu Solutions LLC, a U.S.-based provider of next-generation satellite communications terminal solutions. The acquirer's guidance indicated that annual revenues from Stellar Blu should range between $120 and $150 million in 2025, based on a “robust backlog” from the business.
“In addition, the acquisition is expected to be accretive on non-GAAP results for 2025,” DiPalma wrote.
Furthermore, once Stellar Blu reaches its target manufacturing capacity, which Gilat projects will occur in the second half of 2025, the earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) of the acquired business would have margins above 10%.

Chart courtesy of www.StockCharts.com.
"This acquisition is a pivotal step in our strategy to expand Gilat’s presence in the growing In-Flight Connectivity (IFC) market," said Adi Sfadia, Gilat’s CEO, at the time of the purchase.
Stellar Blu is positioned to win a supplier partnership with Airbus over the next two years, DiPalma wrote. Gilat is one of the key global providers of modems, antennas and solid state power amplifiers (SSPAs) in the $3 billion satellite communications infrastructure market, he added.
"Shares of Gilat trade four times our 2025 adjusted EBITDA estimate," DiPalma said. "We believe this valuation presents a buying opportunity given the dynamic growth potential made possible by its recent acquisitions of DataPath and Stellar Blu and the potential to further penetrate the IFC market. We see potential for both long-term organic growth acceleration and margin expansion after integration."
Four Aerospace Stocks to Buy for Profiting from NATO and Tariffs: Russia Raises Risk
President Trump criticized Russia's President Vladimir Putin for continuing to send his own soldiers off to die and keeps killing their counterparts from the Ukraine. Trump has attempted to help the two sides negotiate a ceasefire, but he complained in the past week that Putin has refused to do so as the death toll mounts on both sides.
Trump criticized Putin in the past week for sounding nice in conversations, but typically ignoring calls to reach a peace agreement. Instead, Putin keeps sending his own troops into high-casualty count combat, while also killing Ukrainian soldiers and civilians, including women and children. Russia recently has engaged in its biggest aerial attacks since its invasion more than three years ago on February 24, 2022.
The fierce bombing campaign further has hurt the optimistic prospects for peace that Trump had aspired to achieve quickly upon him taking office on January 20, 2025. He recently allowed the shipment of additional defensive weapons to Ukraine, after Russia stepped up its attacks on its neighboring nation.
The world also is less one month past the United States bombing three nuclear development sights in Iran in an attempt to thwart progress in enriching uranium that could be used to deploy nuclear weapons. The Republican-led U.S. Senate rejected a Democrat-driven plan to block President Donald Trump from using further military force against Iran, hours after the June 27 remarks of the president that he would not rule out further bombing. The vote defeated a war powers resolution that would have required congressional approval for more military action against Iran.
Paul Dykewicz, www.pauldykewicz.com, is an accomplished, award-winning journalist who has written for Dow Jones, the Wall Street Journal, Investor’s Business Daily, USA Today, the Journal of Commerce, Seeking Alpha, GuruFocus and other publications and websites. Paul, who can be followed on Twitter @PaulDykewicz, is the editor of StockInvestor.com and DividendInvestor.com, a writer for both websites and a columnist. He further is editorial director of Eagle Financial Publications in Washington, D.C., where he edits monthly investment newsletters, time-sensitive trading alerts, free e-letters and other investment reports. Paul previously served as business editor of Baltimore’s Daily Record newspaper. Paul also is the author of an inspirational book, “Holy Smokes! Golden Guidance from Notre Dame’s Championship Chaplain,” with a foreword by former national championship-winning football coach Lou Holtz. The book is great as a gift and is endorsed by Joe Montana, Joe Theismann, Ara Parseghian, “Rocket” Ismail, Reggie Brooks, Dick Vitale and many others. Call 202-677-4457 for multiple-book pricing.

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