WASHINGTON — The Pentagon has completed its initial review of defense contractors it believes are falling short of the department’s expectations, but needs more time to assess before finalizing a so-called naughty list that could halt stock buybacks or investor dividends, according to the department’s top spokesman.
“Defense contractors have been notified and made aware that today marks the start of an extended review period in which we will make noncompliance determinations,” Chief Pentagon Spokesman Sean Parnell wrote in a statement Monday. “We are engaged in detailed negotiations with many companies and going into great depth to analyze their performance.”
In early January, President Donald Trump issued an executive order prohibiting defense companies from repurchasing shares and paying dividends to shareholders, as well as placing restrictions on executive compensation, unless companies invest in modernizing their weapons production facilities.
That order gave Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth until Feb. 6 to review contractor performance and identify any companies that are falling short, be it “underperforming” on relevant contracts, to failing to invest in production capacity, to “not sufficiently prioritizing United States government contracts.”
Hegseth and his team were then directed to work with each company to remediate the issues and, if that failed, “initiate immediate actions to secure remedies” through a number of legal and regulatory channels, such as the Defense Production Act.
Parnell said the Pentagon has assessed whether defense contractors were investing in their own production capacity back into the company or funneling their profits into stock buybacks and dividend payments. However, he added, more work on that list and with contractors is needed.
“Many companies have taken steps to comply, and there will be a continuous evaluation of their activity,” Parnell said without naming specific firms.
One company, RTX, was specifically called out by Trump in January as being the “least responsive” to the Pentagon’s needs. It has since inked a deal with the Pentagon to ramp up production of five munitions, including the Tomahawk cruise missile and AMRAAM air-to-air missile.
Since the EO dropped, leaders at large defense firms have tried to walk a fine line, promising to meet the administration’s demand for more investments while also pledging to not abandon shareholder perks.
For example, executives from RTX, General Dynamics, Northrop Grumman and L3Harris all affirmed their commitment to dividends as they rolled out their financial expectations for 2026.
“The amount of cash that these companies expect to generate should leave them with an ability to pay their dividend and invest more in the business,” said Seth Seifman of JP Morgan. “And to the extent that something has to give, it’s going to be in share repurchases, because that’s considered more discretionary.”
Valerie Insinna contributed to this report.
