Catenaa, Tuesday, August 26, 2025- US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick implied that the government is looking at the defense sector and other industries for potential stakes in companies after a 10% stake deal with Intel.
“Oh, there’s a monstrous discussion about defense,” Lutnick said Tuesday on CNBC when pressed on whether the administration was considering similar arrangements with companies that benefit from government policies, including in defense.
Lutnick singled out Lockheed Martin, claiming the company makes much of its revenue because of the US government. “They are basically an arm of the US government,” he said.
“They make exquisite munitions,” Lutnick said, before asking: “What’s the economics of that?”
“I’m going to leave that to my Secretary of Defense and the Deputy Secretary of Defense. These guys are on it, and they’re thinking about it,” he added. “But I tell you what, there’s a lot of talking that needs to be had about how do we finance our munitions acquisitions?”
The US government accounted for about 73% of Lockheed Martin’s net sales last year, according to a securities filing. The security and aerospace firm is a major supplier to the US military, including the F-35 and F-22 fighter jets.
“As we did in his first term, we are continuing our strong working relationship with President Trump and his administration to strengthen our national defense,” Lockheed Martin said in an emailed statement.
Shares of US defense contractors jumped after Lutnick’s remarks. Lockheed Martin shares advanced as much as 1.7% for their biggest intraday gain in almost two weeks.
His comments follow a deal finalized last Friday in which the US government obtained a stake in Intel in a bid to turn around the beleaguered chipmaker.
Under the agreement, the US will receive 433.3 million shares of common stocks, representing nearly 10% of the fully diluted common shares in Intel.
