20 Companies Profiting the Most from War

CSGC, short for China South Industries Group Corporation, is one of the 20 companies profiting the most from war, selling nearly $5.4 billion in arms and military services in 2020. It is one of five Chinese companies to rank on this list.

The state-owned military and defense technology enterprise, CSGC is headquartered in Beijing. It designs and manufactures weapons, ammunition, rockets, vehicles, and more for use by military and police in more than 170 countries and regions, according to China’s state media.

Ten of the 20 companies profiting the most from war are American, including Booz Allen Hamilton. Of the company’s $7.9 billion in sales in 2020, 70% came from arms and military services sales.

Booz Allen Hamilton’s arms sales increased by 5.4% from 2019 to 2020. The company said it plans to acquire other companies to pad its health care technology and cybersecurity capabilities.

American defense contractor Honeywell International sold $5.8 billion-worth of arms and military services in 2020. The company manufactures and sells ground vehicles, planes, and helicopters as well as weapons systems and other technology.

Though Honewyell’s $5.8 billion in arms sales was among the world’s 20 highest totals in 2020, it accounted for just 18% of the company’s total annual sales. The company is also involved in health care, chemical and industrial manufacturing, and retail goods.

Though the COVID-19 pandemic threw much of the world economy into disarray in 2020, arms sales by the world’s largest defense contractors remained relatively flat, only increasing or decreasing by a few percentage points. This was not the case with Yet Russian defense contractor Almaz-Antey. The company’s arms sales declined by a 31% decline in arms sales, according to SIPRI.

As the Russian economy was severely impacted by the steep drop in oil prices worldwide, the country’s Finance Ministry proposed a multi-billion dollar cut in its military appropriations plan, which hit Almaz-Antey particularly hard. As much as 92% of the company’s total sales in 2020 were in arms and military services.

Leidos is a science and engineering company headquartered in Reston, Virginia. Though it also operates in the civil and health sectors, most of its business comes from its defense and intelligence divisions. Out of its $12.3 billion total sales, $7.3 billion were in arms and military services.

In May 2021, Leidos completed its acquisition of ship design company Gibbs & Cox, Inc. to enhance its maritime and naval operations and capabilities.