Christopher Johnson: European governments are upping their defence spend amid increased geopolitical tension, and defence valuations have shot up in response.
In the UK all eyes are on dividend aristocrat BAE Systems after it released its full year results for 2024, which shows it has benefited from increased military spending. The company’s underlying earnings rose by 14% to over £3 billion, with revenues totalling £26.3 billion.
BAE Systems won a total of £33.7 billion worth of orders in 2024 increasing its backlog to a record £78 billion due to strong government demand. Orders were driven by a range of contract wins, from warships for Australia, to deliveries of its pan-European Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft in Spain and Italy.
So, should income seekers add BAE Systems to their portfolios?
The aerospace and defence company is currently yielding over 2%. Its final dividend for 2024 is 20.6p and will be paid on June 2nd, 2025.
Altogether, its total dividend for 2024 is 33p, a substantial increase from the 30p paid in 2023 and the 27p paid in 2022. BAE Systems is up over 14% so far this year, and is trading at £13.24 pence per share.
Morningstar analyst Loredana Muharremi who covers the stock views BAE Systems as undervalued, with the stocks share price sitting below Morningstar’s Fair Value Estimate of £15.50.
Read Morningstar’s Industry Defense Landscape for more information on the global defense sector.
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