NEW YORK, Jan 3, 2026, 17:54 ET — Market closed
RTX Corp (NYSE: RTX) shares rose 2.1% on Friday to close at $187.25, up $3.83. The aerospace-and-defense contractor traded between $182.20 and $187.68, with about 3.3 million shares changing hands.
The move matters now because the first full trading week of 2026 opens with geopolitical risk back on traders’ screens. Weekend headlines can set the tone for defense names when U.S. markets reopen.
RTX sits at the crossroads of military demand and commercial aerospace cycles through its Raytheon defense unit, Pratt & Whitney jet engines and Collins Aerospace components. That mix can amplify swings when investors rotate between “risk-on” growth bets and safer, cash-flow industrials.
The stock’s rise tracked the broader defense group. Lockheed Martin gained about 2.8% and Northrop Grumman rose about 2.7% in the same session, according to MarketWatch data. 1
Geopolitical headlines helped keep the sector in focus. President Donald Trump said on Friday the United States would intervene if Iran violently suppressed peaceful protesters, Reuters reported.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei responded on Saturday, saying the Islamic Republic would not yield as protests simmered, Reuters said. 2
For investors, the question is whether such tensions translate into higher defense budgets and faster orders, or simply add headline risk to an already crowded trade in prime contractors.
RTX also carries a key commercial-aerospace watchpoint. Reuters has reported that a powder-metal defect disclosed in 2023 triggered accelerated inspections and repairs of Pratt & Whitney’s geared turbofan (GTF) engines — a fuel-saving engine design used on many Airbus A320neo-family jets — tightening spare-engine availability and lengthening maintenance queues.
Before Monday’s session, investors face a busy January calendar, with the U.S. monthly jobs report due Jan. 9 and consumer price data due Jan. 13, while fourth-quarter earnings season ramps up. Traders are also waiting on a U.S. Supreme Court decision on President Trump’s tariffs and his pick for the next Federal Reserve chair. Matthew Maley, chief market strategist at Miller Tabak, said “The market is looking for direction,” as investors watch whether indexes break out of recent ranges.
For RTX specifically, the next major catalyst is quarterly results, which Nasdaq’s earnings calendar estimates for Jan. 27, though the company has yet to confirm a date. Traders will look for updates on cash flow, defense backlog and the pace of engine shop visits and repairs. 3
Technically, the stock enters the new week near the top of Friday’s range. A push above that session’s high or a slip below its low often attracts short-term momentum trading.
Until earnings arrive, RTX’s direction is likely to hinge on the same forces driving the wider industrial and defense complex: geopolitical headlines, interest-rate expectations and any shift in Washington’s policy tone.
