Arms salesGlobal Arms Sales Up 4.6 Percent Worldwide; U.S. Companies Dominate

Published 10 December 2019

Sales of arms and military services by the sector’s largest 100 companies (excluding those in China) totalled $420 billion in 2018, marking an increase of 4.6 percent compared with the previous year. The new data from SIPRI’s Arms Industry Database shows that sales of arms and military services by companies listed in the Top 100 arms-manufacturing companies have increased by 47 percent since 2002. The database excludes Chinese companies due to the lack of data to make a reliable estimate.

Sales of arms and military services by the sector’s largest 100 companies (excluding those in China) totalled $420 billion in 2018, marking an increase of 4.6 percent compared with the previous year. This is according to new data released today by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) in the SIPRI Top 100 ranking.

The new data from SIPRI’s Arms Industry Database shows that sales of arms and military services by companies listed in the Top 100 have increased by 47 percent since 2002 (the year from which comparable data is first available). The database excludes Chinese companies due to the lack of data to make a reliable estimate.

U.S. CompaniesDominate the Top 100, with Large Mergers Becoming a Visible Trend
SIPRI says that for the first time since 2002, the top five spots in the ranking are held exclusively by arms companies based in the United States: Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon and General Dynamics. These five companies alone accounted for $148 billion and 35 percent of total Top 100 arms sales in 2018. Total arms sales of U.S. companies in the ranking amounted to $246 billion, equivalent to 59 percent of all arms sales by the Top 100. This is an increase of 7.2 percent compared with 2017.

A key development in the U.S. arms industry in 2018 was the growing trend in consolidations among some of the largest arms producers. For example, two of the top five, Northrop Grumman and General Dynamics, made multibillion-dollar acquisitions in 2018.

U.S. companies are preparing for the new arms modernization programme that was announced in 2017 by President Trump,’ says Aude Fleurant, Director of SIPRI’s Arms and Military Expenditure Programme. ‘Large U.S. companies are merging to be able to produce the new generation of weapon systems and therefore be in a better position to win contracts from the U.S. government.’

Russian Companies’ Arms Sales Remain Stable
The combined arms sales of the 10 Russian companies in the 2018 ranking were $36.2 billion—a marginal decrease of 0.4 percent on 2017. Their share of total Top 100 arms sales fell from 9.7 percent in 2017 to 8.6 percent in 2018. This can be explained by the higher Top 100 total in 2018 due to the substantial growth in the combined arms sales of U.S. and European companies.