JPMorgan’s $1.5 Trillion Initiative to Finance U.S. Shipbuilding and Defense Could Be a Tailwind for Industrial and Defense Stocks
JPMorgan Chase (JPM +0.34%) has launched a 10-year, $1.5 trillion Security and Resilience Initiative to finance and invest in industries crucial to U.S. national security, supply chain independence, and infrastructure. The bank looks to invest in a range of industries, including critical minerals, robotics, energy, and defense.
JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon stated, “It has become painfully clear that the United States has allowed itself to become too reliant on unreliable sources of critical minerals, products, and manufacturing — all of which are essential for our national security.” With financial support from JPMorgan Chase as a tailwind, here are two stocks that stand to benefit.
JPMorgan Chase chairman and CEO Jamie Dimon. Image source: JPMorgan Chase.
Rising shipbuilding budgets are fueling strong growth for General Dynamics
General Dynamics (GD +1.33%) is one of the top prime defense contractors in the U.S. and stands out because of its strong moat in naval shipbuilding and military technology. General Dynamics, alongside Huntington Ingalls (HII +0.84%), together form a duopoly that builds every nuclear-powered ship for the U.S. Navy.
The company is the prime contractor on the $100 billion Columbia-class nuclear ballistic missile submarine. These massive submarines sit hidden in the ocean for months at a time and serve one hugely important job: nuclear deterrence.
Today’s Change
(1.33%) $5.13
Current Price
$392.05
Key Data Points
Market Cap
Day’s Range
$383.26 – $392.14
52wk Range
$306.77 – $400.00
Volume
1.1M
Avg Vol
1.2M
Gross Margin
15.38%
Dividend Yield
1.58%
In addition, the company also builds the Virginia-class attack submarines. These are fast, agile, nuclear-powered attack submarines that can track down and neutralize enemy submarines, launch Tomahawk cruise missiles hundreds of miles inland, and conduct reconnaissance and intelligence operations.
General Dynamics’ Marine segment has been a powerful growth engine, posting double-digit growth in 11 of the past 13 quarters. With investments from the U.S. government and JPMorgan Chase serving as a strong tailwind, General Dynamics is a top shipbuilder and defense stock to invest in today.
Huntington Ingalls holds a monopoly on U.S. aircraft carriers
Huntington Ingalls works alongside General Dynamics to build every nuclear-powered ship for the U.S. Navy. Unlike General Dynamics, Huntington’s business relies heavily on shipbuilding, and it’s the U.S.’s largest military shipbuilder today.
Huntington Ingalls Industries
Today’s Change
(0.84%) $2.72
Current Price
$324.48
Key Data Points
Market Cap
Day’s Range
$320.50 – $325.19
52wk Range
$262.66 – $460.00
Volume
292.8K
Avg Vol
527.5K
Gross Margin
12.40%
Dividend Yield
1.69%
In addition to its work on the Virginia-class and Columbia-class submarines, Huntington Ingalls is the sole designer and builder of nuclear-powered aircraft carriers for the U.S. Navy and the only facility capable of refueling them. In fact, the company has a total monopoly on aircraft carriers and is developing the next generation of $13 billion nuclear supercarriers, such as the USS Gerald R. Ford.
Huntington Ingalls has a near-monopoly on these various military ships, which must undergo rigorous certification and require security clearances, as well as highly specialized labor. And because ships can take three to seven years to build, their backlog can be huge, providing visibility into future earnings years in advance.
For Huntington Ingalls, JPMorgan’s $1.5 trillion commitment serves as a structural tailwind, bringing discipline and private-sector investment to a defense supply chain that has suffered from decades of underinvestment. As supply chains shore up, the investment should help address bottlenecks and boost Huntington’s business and supplier network, enabling it to convert its order backlog into actual revenue and reduce costly delays.
