Lutnick Sparks Rally in Defense Stocks After Ownership Comment

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick sparked a minor rally in shares of defense contractors with his suggestion that the US might take ownership stakes in some of them, even as industry analysts warned the idea poses serious conflict-of-interest concerns.

“Oh, there’s a monstrous discussion about defense,” Lutnick said Tuesday on CNBC. He singled out Lockheed Martin Corp., saying the company gets 97% of its revenue from federal contracts. “They are basically an arm of the US government,” he said.

Lutnick wasn’t quite correct — Lockheed said it got 73% of net sales from the US government in 2024 — but ...