Tesla CEO Elon Musk, co-head of President-elect Donald Trump's Department of Government Efficiency, ridiculed F-35 fighter jets on his social site X. That hit shares of Lockheed Martin and key F-35 contractors Northrop Grumman and RTX.
Elon Musk, in a Sunday post, showed a video of drone swarms, writing, "Meanwhile, some idiots are still building manned fighter jets like the F-35."
Lockheed stock fell 3.75% to 521.89, a four-month low. Northrop stock declined 2.3%, also setting a four-month low and testing the 200-day moving average. RTX sank 1.8%, after hitting resistance at the 50-day line on Friday.
Given his role at the nongovernment advisory board DOGE, Musk's comments about government spending are having a big impact on stocks.
Still, Bernstein analyst Douglas Harned expects defense stocks to do well under Trump.
"We expect Trump to seek a strong defense as he did in his first term, even if he seeks to avoid involvement in overseas conflicts," Harned wrote in a Nov. 25 report.
Please follow Ed Carson on Threads at @edcarson1971 and X/Twitter at @IBD_ECarson for stock market updates and more.
