Lockheed, RTX, Other Defense Stocks Gain. Watch This Trump-Backed Drone Company. -- Barrons.com

Dow Jones03-09

By Adam Clark

Defense stocks were rising early Monday as fighting continues in Iran and across the wider Middle East. Investors looking to play the trend will soon have a newly public company to look at, one backed by President Donald Trump's sons.

Lockheed Martin, RTX, Northrop Grumman, and more defense stocks were edging up in Monday's premarket. The appointment of Mojtaba Khamenei as Iran's new supreme leader suggests there will be no quick peace in the Middle East and therefore demand will continue to boom for equipment including drones, missiles, interceptors, manned fighter jets, and refueling planes.

Drones are a particularly hot category of military equipment and Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr., the president's sons, are backing a new company aiming to meet rising demand from the Pentagon.

Drone company Powerus plans to merge with Aureus Greenway Holdings, a publicly traded golf-course company linked to the Trumps, according to filings released Monday. The reverse merger will result in Powerus trading on the Nasdaq stock exchange in the coming months.

Aureus shares were up 39% in premarket trading on Monday.

Aureus's shareholders include American Ventures and Dominari Securities, two investment companies with ties to the Trumps, according to The Wall Street Journal. Unusual Machines, a drone components company of which Donald Trump Jr. is a shareholder and advisory board member, will also invest in the deal, according to the Journal.

Unusual Machines shares were up 9.8% in premarket trading.

Powerus sells aerial and maritime drones and is aiming to build more than 10,000 drones each month, more than almost any other U.S. drone manufacturer, while also looking at deals to acquire or license technology from Ukrainian drone companies, the Journal reported.

Write to Adam Clark at adam.clark@barrons.com

This content was created by Barron's, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. Barron's is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.

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March 09, 2026 07:19 ET (11:19 GMT)

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