Military spending: 20 companies profiting the most from war
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Textron
• Country: United States
• Arms sales: $4.1 billion
• Total sales: $14.2 billion
• Profit: $1.2 billion
• Employees: 35,000
Textron, based in Providence, Rhode Island, is one of 11 American companies to rank among the world's largest defense contractors. The company ranks 20th among companies profiting the most from war in 2017 with $4 billion in arms sales through its subsidiaries, which include Bell Helicopter and Textron Systems.Though the majority of Textron's revenue comes from deals in the United States and Canada, the company also does business in the Middle East, Asia, and Europe. Textron defense products include armored vehicles, unmanned aircraft, and attack helicopters.
While it is one of the largest defense companies in the world, over 70 percent of Textron's revenue comes from commercial deals. The company's non-military subsidiary aircraft brands include Cessna and Beechcraft.
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Naval Group
• Country: France
• Arms sales: $4.1 billion
• Total sales: $4.2 billion
• Profit: $36.5 million
• Employees: 13,429
French industrial conglomerate Naval Group sold $4.1 billion worth of arms in 2017, among the most of any company worldwide. One of the oldest companies on this list, Naval Group's business activities date back to the early 17th century, when the group built the French Navy's Mediterranean and Atlantic fleets. Today, Naval Group is the leading provider of naval defense systems in Europe.
Some of the major innovations throughout the company's history include the launch of La Gloire, the first ironclad steam frigate, in 1858, and the launch of Le Redoutable, the first ballistic nuclear submarine, in 1967. In recent years, some of the company's most lucrative contract work has included the delivery of the FREMM Tahya Misr frigate to the Egyptian Navy, completed in 2015, and a commitment to build 12 submarines for the Royal Australian Navy, awarded in 2016.
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Leidos
• Country: United States
• Arms sales: $4.4 billion
• Total sales: $10.2 billion
• Profit: $242.0 million
• Employees: 31,000
Nearly half of the $10.2 billion in revenue of Virginia-based technology company Leidos in 2017 came from its defense and intelligence division. The company's services include IT infrastructure, data analytics, cyber security, logistics, surveillance vehicle and equipment development and maintenance, and consulting. Its defense clients include the U.S. Air Force, Army, Navy, and NATO.
Though the majority of the company's revenue comes from contracts outside of the defense industry, the company's history with the federal government goes back almost to its founding in 1969. The following year, Leidos won a contract with the Defense Nuclear Agency, now known as the Defense Threat Reduction Agency.
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Rolls-Royce
• Country: United Kingdom
• Arms sales: $4.4 billion
• Total sales: $19.3 billion
• Profit: $5.3 billion
• Employees: 50,000
Rolls-Royce Holdings is separate from Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, the luxury automobile manufacturer, having sold the Rolls-Royce brand name and logo to German group BMW in 1998. While Rolls-Royce Holdings sold $4.4 billion worth of military products and services in 2017 – making it the 17th largest defense contractor in the world – weapons manufacturing accounts for a relatively small share of the company's total revenue. Today, the largest share Rolls-Royce Holdings' revenue comes from civil aerospace, followed by power systems, defense aerospace, marine, and nuclear technology.
Some of Rolls-Royce's major defense contracts in 2017 included renewals with the U.S. Department of Defense for supporting approximately 3,000 engines on aircraft such as the C-130 Hercules and T-45 Goshawk, and engine orders from the Japanese Self-Defense Force for its new V-22 Osprey fleet.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2019/02/21/military-spending-defense-contractors-profiting-from-war-weapons-sales/39092315/
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