US Arms Dealers Yield ‘Record Profits’ from Israel’s Wars in Gaza, Lebanon: Report

Thursday, 10 October 2024 11:19 AM

A US C-17 sits at the Nevatim Air Base in the desert in Israel, October 13, 2023 with crates of American munitions for the regime. (Photo by AP)

American arms dealers have gathered “record profits” from Israel’s wars on the besieged Gaza Strip and Lebanon, according to a new report. 

In a report released on Wednesday, the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, an American think tank focused on US foreign policy, revealed that US arms manufacturers have outperformed major stock indexes this year, driven by increased arms sales to Israel for its Gaza war and the newly escalated aggression against Lebanon.

According to the report, stock funds invested in the US aerospace and defense industry, including companies like Boeing, Lockheed Martin, RTX, General Dynamics, Northrop Grumman, and L3Harris, saw profits exceed expectations this year, outperforming the S&P 500 index.

“That handout of taxpayer funds to Israel coupled with Israel’s, and global, demand increasing for weapons in a period of instability, has been jet fuel for stock prices,” Responsible Statecraft added.

Findings of the think tank also revealed that Lockheed Martin, the manufacturer of the F-35 aircraft utilized by Israel to continuously bombard Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, and Yemen, achieved a total return of 54.86 percent from October 7, 2023, to the same date in 2024, exceeding the S&P 500 by approximately 18 percent.

RTX, the manufacturer of 2,000-pound “bunker buster” bombs that have reduced much of Gaza to rubble and are currently being deployed in the Lebanese capital Beirut, reported a total return of 82.69 percent for investors over the past year, surpassing the S&P 500 by approximately 46 percent.

The United States has sent 50,000 tons of arms and ammunition to the Israeli regime since October 7.

According to the US financial publication, both Lockheed Martin and RTX shares booked all-time highs Tuesday, while L3Harris and Northrop Grumman tallied their top share price since 2022.

General Dynamics, known for producing bunker busters and the BLU-109 bombs used by Israel to demolish several apartment buildings in southern Beirut during the assassination of Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, gained a total return of 37 percent for investors, exceeding the S&P 500 by just over 3 percent, the report added.

Additionally, the iShares US Aerospace and Defense fund, managed by BlackRock and tracking the aerospace and defense sector, reached a new all-time high last week, increasing its 12-month gain to 43 percent and outperforming the S&P 500 by 33 percent.

The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) reports that from 2019 to 2023, Israel represented 2.1 percent of total global arms imports. During this timeframe, the US supplied 69 percent of Israel's arms imports, while Germany provided 30 percent.

While Washington continues to be the dominant player in the global arms market, accounting for 42 percent of sales, it has also markedly increased its military expenditures to support Israel, exceeding $23 billion within a single year.