Warren, Lee Urge Permanent Buyback Curbs After Defense Payouts Fall $2 Billion
Updated
Updated · Fox News · Aug 11
Warren, Lee Urge Permanent Buyback Curbs After Defense Payouts Fall $2 Billion
2 articles · Updated · Fox News · Aug 11
Summary
Warren and Lee asked War Secretary Pete Hegseth to back legislation that would permanently codify Trump’s January limits on stock buybacks and dividends for underperforming defense contractors.
Their letter says the top 20 publicly traded U.S. defense contractors cut buybacks and dividends by $2 billion in the first quarter from a year earlier, while capital spending rose by $1.2 billion.
The bill would also lock in rules tying executive incentives to on-time delivery and production gains, and would let the Pentagon cap base pay at underperforming contractors where law allows.
Among Lockheed Martin, RTX, Northrop Grumman and General Dynamics, combined shareholder payouts fell to about $2.7 billion from $4.2 billion, though RTX and GE Aerospace showed the executive order alone has limits.
The push comes as Trump presses contractors to speed munitions output during the Iran war and after years of Pentagon cost overruns, delays and strong industry profits.