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Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, August 27th. The Financial Times of the United Kingdom reported on the 26th that the protracted geopolitical conflicts such as the Ukrainian crisis may enable many military-industrial giants in the United States and Europe to obtain record cash income in the next three years.

This is a photo of Euro (above) and US dollar banknotes taken in Brussels, the capital of Belgium, on July 7, 2022. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Zheng Huansong

According to data analysis conducted by Stereo Research, a US company commissioned by the Financial Times, major US military giants such as Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, and Northrop Grumman are expected to receive $26 billion in cash by the end of 2026. The combined cash inflows of British company Bayer Systems, German company Rheinmetall, and Swedish company Saab are also expected to surge by more than 40%.

The report said that because many Western governments have significantly increased military spending to cope with the escalating crisis in Ukraine and tense situations in the Middle East and the Asia-Pacific region, many US and European military-industrial giants have made considerable profits and have begun to figure out how to spend the large amounts of cash on hand.

Some military companies choose to buy back their shares. In fact, Bank of America data shows that 2023 was the most active year for stock buybacks by US and European aerospace and defense companies in the past five years. Lockheed Martin and Raytheon bought back nearly $19 billion in shares last year. Bayer ended a three-year £1.5 billion (about $1.98 billion) stock buyback program this summer and immediately launched a new round of £1.5 billion buybacks.