New York, January 8, 2026, 12:05 EST — Regular session
- Leonardo DRS shares rose sharply in midday trade, tracking a broader rally in defense names
- Trump floated a $1.5 trillion U.S. military budget for 2027, reviving spending bets but also fresh policy risk
- Recent filings detailed a new COO appointment and an amended disclosure tied to an executive trading plan
Shares of Leonardo DRS jumped 9.4% to $40.68 in midday trading on Thursday. The stock has traded between $37.42 and $40.74, after closing at $37.20 in the prior session.
The move came as defense stocks climbed after President Donald Trump called for a $1.5 trillion U.S. military budget for 2027, well above the $901 billion approved for 2026. RBC Capital Markets analysts led by Ken Herbert wrote that “there is significant uncertainty associated with a final defense budget,” while Morgan Stanley analysts led by Kristine Liwag said, “A limit on capital return is an incremental negative, but the size is manageable.” 1
For Leonardo DRS, the read-through is straightforward: more Pentagon money can mean more demand for sensors, networks and power systems that sit inside bigger weapons programs. In a Jan. 6 filing, the company said it appointed long-time executive Sally A. Wallace as chief operating officer effective Jan. 1, and set her compensation; CEO John Baylouny called her “a strong leader and a trusted partner.” 2
Another filing a day later showed the company amended its third-quarter report to add an omitted disclosure about a Rule 10b5-1 plan — a pre-set trading plan that can allow stock sales on a schedule. The amendment said Wallace adopted the plan on Aug. 6, 2025, covering up to 38,987 shares, with a scheduled expiration on Oct. 30, 2026. 3
Traders are watching whether Thursday’s defense bid turns into a longer rotation, or fades once budget math and politics return to the foreground. For DRS, the next leg typically comes from orders and margins, not slogans — investors will look for signs that higher spending would translate into funded programs, and when.
But the budget headline is not a budget, and it still needs Congress. Byron Callan, a defense analyst at Capital Alpha Partners, said Trump’s post “raised questions about where the funds would be directed and whether they could even be absorbed by the defense sector.” 4
