Guy Anderson and Keri Wagstaff-Smith consider the impact of global spending pressures on the fortunes of the world's top defence companies The world's top 10 defence companies shed almost USD180 billion of their combined market value from the peaks to the troughs of the last 12 months. The decline across the board of more than 48 per cent has challenged the conventional wisdom that the aerospace and defence (A&D) sectors provide a safe haven during turbulent times. The market capitalisation of the leaders by defence revenue - Lockheed Martin, Boeing, BAE Systems, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon, General Dynamics, EADS, L-3 Communications, Finmeccanica and United Technologies - had plunged from 12-month highs to reach a combined USD244 billion on 5 November: a sum roughly equivalent to their combined defence revenues.
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