20 Companies Profiting the Most from War

Huntington Ingalls Industries bills itself as “America’s largest military shipbuilding company,” having made more than 70% of the Navy’s warship fleet.

From 2019 to 2020, the company’s arms sales increased by nearly 5%, from less than $7.9 billion to more than $8.2 billion, according to SIPRI. Just 12% of Huntington Ingalls Industries’ 2020 sales came from sources other than the military.

Thales is the only French company to rank among the 20 companies with the highest arms sales in 2020. The company’s $9.1 billion in arms sales in 2020 were 5.8% lower from its 2019 sales, a drop that the company attributed to COVID-19 interrupting its operations. Thales announced in 2021 the French military had selected the company to expand the satellite communications capabilities of several military branches.

Arms and military services sales accounted for nearly half of Thales’ sales in 2020. The company also operates in the digital security, aerospace, transit, and other technology industries, posting more than $10 billion through these business segments in 2020.

Leonardo is by far Italy’s largest arms maker, generating $11.2 billion in arms and military services sales in 2020. Headquartered in Rome, Leonardo also has offices in the U.S., U.K., Canada, Australia, and several other countries.

Leonardo sells products to multiple branches of defense, including land and naval electronics, information systems, helicopters, jet aircraft, and unmanned aerial vehicles. The company also manufactures weapons systems, torpedoes, and ammunition for naval and land artillery.

China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation, or CASIC, is one of the world’s largest military services providers. The company is controlled by China’s central government and is the nation’s largest missile manufacturer. It sold an estimated $12 billion-worth of arms and military services in 2020. SIPRI notes that this figure is an estimate with “a high degree of uncertainty,” due to the secrecy with which companies in China operate.

In June 2021, President Joe Biden issued an executive order barring Americans from investing in dozens of Chinese companies, including CASIC. Biden’s order expanded on President Donald Trump’s order, which also listed companies operating in the U.S. with ties to China’s military.

With $12 billion in arms sales and military service, aeronautics company Airbus ranks as one of the companies profiting the most from war. The company moved up to the 11th largest arms and military services provider in 2020 after coming in 13th the year before, as its arms and services sales increased by 5.7%, a larger increase than most.

Airbus primarily provides planes and aeronautics equipment to private businesses, including airlines like Delta, American, easyJet, JetBlue. Just 21% of the company’s $56.9 billion in sales came from arms and military services.