The top U.S. defense firms are scheduled to report second-quarter results this week, giving investors a glimpse into how the war in Iran continues to drive up sales in the short term.

The Pentagon has unleashed a massive wave of spending under Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth that has flowed directly to the industry's biggest players as well as defense-tech startups that have previously been excluded from the government's weapons procurement.

Missile demand has been a particularly bright spot for the sector, and that demand is unlikely to slow given how high of a priority missiles have been to the Defense Department, according to BNP Paribas Equity Research analyst Matt Akers.

That said, recent industry discussions indicate that contracts are largely going to end up being short term, possibly around one to two years in length rather than five- to -seven-year deals that may have been previously expected, the analyst said.

Full contracting authority for multiyear missile contracts requires approval from Congress in some cases, which likely can't come through until the 2027 defense bill is signed. Akers doesn't expect that to happen before Election Day in November.

RTX, one of the biggest defense players by market capitalization, may be one of the best positioned firms heading into the defense sector's earnings season. The company is seeing strong munitions demand and an ongoing aircraft production ramp for its Collins Aerospace subsidiary, Akers said.

Northrop Grumman is expected to say on Tuesday that sales rose 4.4% to $10.8 billion in the second quarter, according to analysts polled by FactSet. They project the company will post quarter earnings of $6.82 a share, down from $8.15 a share a year earlier.

Later in the week, RTX is due to report a 6% jump in revenue to $22.89 billion, with earnings rising to $1.66 a share from $1.56 a share last year, according to analyst forecasts.

Lockheed Martin follows on Thursday morning. Analysts are expecting its sales to be up 6.5% year over year at $19.33 billion, according to FactSet. Earnings should jump sharply to $7.20 a share from $1.46 a share in the year-earlier quarter, during which it was rocked by $1.7 billion in special charges for classified programs and helicopter programs.

Write to Dean Seal at dean.seal@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 20, 2026 15:17 ET (19:17 GMT)

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