Secretary of DefenseDepartment of Defense contract obligations and defense-related presidential actions since Hegseth was sworn in on January 25, 2025, and how defense stocks traded after each action.
For every executive order or proclamation since Pete Hegseth became Secretary of Defense (January 25, 2025) whose title names defense, the military, missiles, shipbuilding, drones or aircraft, buy the iShares U.S. Aerospace & Defense ETF (ITA) at the close of the first trading day after Federal Register publication. Sell 20 trading days later.
9 completed trades · Feb 4, 2025 – Sep 18, 2026
Simulated with historical prices, equal weight across open positions, 5 bps commission and 10 bps slippage per side. These are not actual trades and not realized profits. Past results do not predict future returns. Not investment advice.
| Signal | Public | Entry | Exit | Net | SPY | Excess | P/L on $10,000 | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ITAProclamation: Adjusting Imports of Unmanned Aircraft Systems and Unmanned Aircraft Systems Components Into the United States → Aerospace & defense |
| Aug 19, 2026 |
| Aug 20, 2026$237.28 |
| Sep 18, 2026$213.84 |
| −10.2% |
| +0.1% |
| −10.3% |
| −$1,015 |
| Filing |
| ITAProclamation: Adjusting Imports of Commercial Aircraft, Jet Engines, and Aircraft and Engine Parts Into the United States → Aerospace & defense | Jul 15, 2026 | Jul 16, 2026$230.62 | Aug 13, 2026$249.40 | +7.8% | +3.6% | +4.2% | $782 | Filing |
| ITAExecutive Order 14391: Adjusting Certain Delegations Under the Defense Production Act → Aerospace & defense | Mar 18, 2026 | Mar 19, 2026$226.90 | Apr 17, 2026$231.51 | +1.7% | +7.9% | −6.2% | $173 | Filing |
| ITAExecutive Order 14386: Strengthening United States National Defense With America's Beautiful Clean Coal Power Generation Fleet → Aerospace & defense | Feb 17, 2026 | Feb 18, 2026$239.72 | Mar 18, 2026$231.00 | −3.9% | −3.6% | −0.3% | −$393 | Filing |
| ITAExecutive Order 14372: Prioritizing the Warfighter in Defense Contracting → Aerospace & defense | Jan 13, 2026 | Jan 14, 2026$238.56 | Feb 12, 2026$231.95 | −3.1% | −1.3% | −1.7% | −$306 | Filing |
| ITAExecutive Order 14347: Restoring the United States Department of War → Aerospace & defense | Sep 10, 2025 | Sep 11, 2025$198.83 | Oct 9, 2025$210.71 | +5.7% | +2.3% | +3.3% | $566 | Filing |
| ITAExecutive Order 14307: Unleashing American Drone Dominance → Aerospace & defense | Jun 11, 2025 | Jun 12, 2025$178.18 | Jul 14, 2025$192.44 | +7.7% | +3.8% | +3.9% | $768 | Filing |
| ITAExecutive Order 14265: Modernizing Defense Acquisitions and Spurring Innovation in the Defense Industrial Base → Aerospace & defense | Apr 15, 2025 | Apr 16, 2025$148.59 | May 15, 2025$169.45 | +13.7% | +12.3% | +1.4% | $1,370 | Filing |
| ITAExecutive Order 14183: Prioritizing Military Excellence and Readiness → Aerospace & defense | Feb 3, 2025 | Feb 4, 2025$154.46 | Mar 5, 2025$151.18 | −2.4% | −3.1% | +0.7% | −$242 | Filing |
Open positions are marked at the latest close and are excluded from every statistic above.
Obligations Jan 25, 2025 – Nov 5, 2026, as published (90-day delay)
Obligations are commitments, not cash paid, and not revenue.