A look at Trump's comments and how they relate to U.S. defense contractors. Trump on Truth Social: “While we make the best Military Equipment in the World (No other Country is even close!), Defense Contractors are currently issuing massive Dividends to their Shareholders and massive Stock Buybacks,

The biggest US defense companies spent twice as much on stock buybacks and dividends than they did on capital expenditures the past five years, a mismatch that has drawn the ire of President Donald Trump as he demands a reversal.

President Donald Trump took aim at defense contractors on Wednesday in an executive order.

The "troubled and dangerous" state of the world required a massive hike in the amount the America spends on defense, President Donald Trump said.

President Donald Trump’s suggestion that he will request a roughly 50% increase in the US military budget has fueled a global rally in weaponry makers, the latest leg of a strong start to a year that looks set to be dominated by geopolitical conflict.

Trump's executive order "Prioritizing the Warfighter in Defense Contracting," signed on Tuesday, ​may be hard to enforce but could chill major buybacks and bonuses as firms seek to avoid falling out with the administration,

President Donald Trump caused some commotion for investors in U.S. defense contractors this week. First, Trump criticized the companies for taking too long to produce military equipment and also failing to maintain it while at the same time paying out billions in dividends and stock buybacks to investors.

But on Thursday, investors were signaling renewed optimism about prospects for earnings of aerospace and defense companies in particular. ETFs focused on such stocks were adding t