iShares US Aerospace & Defense ETF

ITA

Market cap $14.6B

Q4 revenue growth looks strong across construction, tech, aerospace, finance & utilities. Play the trend via PAVE, XLK, ITA, VFH & XLU.

Solid Q4 earnings trends put sector ETFs in focus as growth broadens beyond Tech. ETFs ITA, XLK, VFH stand out.

Designed to provide broad exposure to the Industrials - Aerospace & Defense segment of the equity market, the iShares U.S. Aerospace & Defense ETF (ITA) is a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on May 1, 2006.

The iShares U.S. Aerospace & Defense ETF (NYSEARCA:ITA) has surged 61% over the past year, and President Trump's aggressive military posture suggests the rally may continue.

Defense ETFs like ITA rally as Trump eyes a $500B spending hike, geopolitics intensify and earnings surge despite stretched valuations.

Trump's $1.5T military budget and rising global tensions could lift defense ETFs and spill over into cybersecurity, AI, manufacturing and space ETFs.

A German contractor, Italian aerospace name, and British defense company.

The defense sector faces volatility from geopolitical tensions, executive orders on contractor capital allocation, and a proposed surge in US military spending. Trump's executive order targets underperforming contractors, potentially restricting dividends and buybacks, but calls for a $1.5 trillion 2027 defense budget could offset near-term negatives. Major contractors like LMT, NOC, GD, BA, and RTX returned $80.25B to shareholders versus $29.57B in capex from 2022 to 2025, raising efficiency concerns.

Growth investing has changed monumentally over the past 4 years, because the bulk of the gains are being driven by AI.

The recent U.S. military operation in Venezuela reignited global attention on geopolitical risks. While this supports an eventual ramp-up of government defense budgets, investors are increasingly viewing aerospace and defense ETFs as a way to hedge potential geopolitical volatility.