Global X Defense Tech ETF

SHLD

Market cap $7.99B

Defense drone stocks are surging at midday Thursday after a Wall Street Journal and CNBC report indicated the Pentagon is in talks with drone manufacturers about funding deals that could include direct federal equity stakes.

Registered investment advisors did not pull back on exchange-traded funds in the first quarter of 2026. They kept adding them, according to AdvizorPro's Q1 2026 Quarterly RIA ETF Trends Report.

Exchange traded fund inflows have topped $750 billion in 2026. This puts the industry on pace to challenge the $1.5 trillion annual record set last year, Todd Rosenbluth, head of research at VettaFi, told host Nate Geraci on this week's ETF Prime.

The Department of Defense is aggressively reallocating capital away from legacy manned platforms in favor of autonomous artificial intelligence-driven tactical networks and high-altitude hypersonic tracking systems. Multi-hundred-million-dollar contract awards for next-generation uncrewed assets, combined with immediate software and hardware integration between legacy defense contractors and disruptive venture-backed defense technology firms, signal the onset of a structural procurement supercycle.

The Global X Defense Tech ETF (NASDAQ:SHLD | SHLD Price Prediction) has done something unusual for a defense fund in a year when NATO is rewriting its spending playbook.

Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are rarely identical, and drone ETFs are no exception. Though a relatively new entry into the burgeoning drone ETF space, the REX Drone ETF (DRNZ) is already outflying the Global X Defense Tech ETF (SHLD) in a total return dogfight this year.

Divergent Technologies CEO Lukas Czinger joins 'Mornings with Maria' to detail how AI and 3D printing are slashing missile costs and accelerating U.S. military production.

Palantir beats Q1 estimates on strong U.S. demand, lifts outlook. AI strength lifts ETFs like PLTW, IGV, SHLD despite valuation concerns.

After a tough few weeks, analyst John Godyn sees an opportunity to buy the dip.

Cinthia Murphy, VettaFi director of research, and Paul Baiocchi, SS&C Technologies head of fund sales & strategy, sit down with CNBC's Kristina Partsinevelos to discuss the increased spending in defense amid the Middle East conflict and how other areas that stand to benefit in the near and medium term.