Overview
- In a Truth Social post, the president said he will not permit dividends or stock buybacks at defense firms until production and maintenance improve.
- He proposed capping executive compensation at $5 million until companies build new, modern production capacity.
- Shares of major contractors fell after the announcement, with reported declines of roughly 4%–5% at Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, General Dynamics and RTX.
- Multiple outlets report the White House is weighing an executive order to enforce the restrictions, while analysts caution that legal and regulatory hurdles would be significant.
- Trump singled out Raytheon/RTX as the “least responsive” and warned future Pentagon business could be at risk without rapid investment in plants and equipment.