Defense Stocks Are Surging and This ETF Lets You Collect Dividends From the Global Arms Race

Defense stocks have been one of the most compelling stories in the market over the past year, and the iShares U.S. Aerospace & Defense ETF (NYSEARCA:ITA) has reflected that. The fund is up 52.34% over the past year and 7.87% year-to-date through March 18. With geopolitical pressure driving defense budgets higher globally, income investors are right to ask whether ITA’s distributions are reliable enough to hold for yield.

ITA is an ETF, not a single company, so the traditional dividend safety framework shifts. What matters is the quality and consistency of distributions passed through from the underlying portfolio, the strength of the holdings generating them, and the structural tailwinds supporting defense sector cash flows.

The Distribution at a Glance

The yield is modest. ITA is a growth vehicle first and an income vehicle second. Defense primes reinvest heavily in R&D and production capacity, compressing dividend yields across the sector. Investors collecting ITA’s distributions are really receiving a small but growing pass-through stream while capital appreciation does the heavy lifting.

A 20-Year Distribution Record That Held Through COVID

ITA has maintained a consistent quarterly distribution schedule since its inception in 2006, a 20-year track record that includes the 2020 COVID disruption. The fund continued paying distributions every quarter through that period, with a March 2020 distribution of $0.787 per share ranking among the higher quarterly payouts in the fund’s history. Even when defense stocks sold off sharply in the initial COVID panic, underlying companies kept paying dividends and ITA kept passing them through.

Annual distributions have grown steadily from $1.17 in 2023 to $1.23 in 2024 to $1.33 in 2025, driven by dividend growth at the underlying holdings. The September 2025 quarter was notably elevated at $0.75 per share, likely reflecting special or elevated dividends from one or more top holdings.

The Holdings Are the Safety Story

ITA’s top three holdings, GE Aerospace (NYSE:GE | GE Price Prediction), RTX Corp (NYSE:RTX), and Boeing (NYSE:BA), represent approximately 44% of the portfolio. GE Aerospace is up 50.68% over the past year. RTX is up 56.78% over the same period. Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) is up 40.62% year-over-year and 33.47% year-to-date alone. Expanding order backlogs and rising defense budgets are translating into stronger cash flows, which support ITA’s distributions.

The Polymarket prediction market on whether Trump would cut military spending resolved to “No,” with the market indicating the FY2026 defense budget would meet or exceed the $895.2 billion FY2025 baseline.

This Distribution Is Safe, but Yield-Seekers Should Calibrate Expectations

Distribution Safety Rating: Safe

The modest yield makes ITA a poor fit for investors who need income now. For those wanting exposure to a structurally growing sector while collecting a modest and growing distribution, the safety picture is solid. The fund’s $16 billion in AUM provides deep liquidity, the 0.38% expense ratio is competitive for a sector-focused fund, and underlying holdings are generating strong cash flows in a favorable spending environment. The distribution trend is moving in the right direction.