Defense spending heading higher under Trump administration, says Citi

Citi analyst Jason Gursky says defense spending looks to be headed higher during the Trump administration. The administration introduced its fiscal 2026 budget on Friday, including a 13% year-over-year increase for national security that creates a $1 trillion topline number, the analyst tells investors in a research note. Citi estimates the plan would spend roughly $70B more than that proposed by the Biden administration through fiscal 2029. The firm believes the proposal demonstrates the Trump administration’s prioritization of defense spending, and it provides a roadmap to sustained growth for contractors. It keeps Buy ratings on Curtiss-Wright (CW), General Dynamics (GD), HII (HII), Karman (KRMN), Leidos (LDOS), L3Harris Technologies (LHX), Lockheed Martin (LMT), Northrop Grumman (NOC), RTX (RTX), and SAIC (SAIC).