There’s been plenty of concern about the effects of sequestration on the defense industry — which is, obviously, of huge concern in Virginia, particularly in the Hampton Roads area.
Big cuts in pay for civilian employees has already translated into at least anecdotal evidence of a real estate market slowdown.
But here’s a bit of good news: Military contractors seem to be doing pretty well since the sequester took effect on March 1. Here’s how nine of the top 10 contractors’ stock prices have fared. (The 10th, BAE Systems, is based outside the US.)
- Lockheed Martin +5%
- Boeing +10%
- General Dynamics (headquartered in Fairfax) +3%
- Raytheon +5%
- United Technologies +3.4%
- SAIC (headquartered in Tysons Corner) +5%
- L-3 Communications +3%
- Oshkosh Corp +5.7%
- McKesson Corp +4.2%
So while military employees are being hurt, at the moment it appears that the people working for major contractors are doing OK.
