President Trump is expected to meet with top executives from the largest U.S. defense contractors on Wednesday, according to multiple sources familiar with the meeting. The meeting comes as his administration is engaged in ongoing peace talks with Iran.
Wednesday’s gathering follows up on a March 6 White House meeting with the leaders of Lockheed Martin, Raytheon parent RTX, BAE Systems, Boeing, Honeywell Aerospace, L3Harris and Northrop Grumman.
The Trump administration has been ratcheting up pressure on defense contractors to prioritize production and American manufacturing capabilities over shareholder payouts.
Most of the defense industry received the message loud and clear from the president to deliver on existing contracts and increase and speed production to support the Department of War, said a source familiar with the meetings.
Mr. Trump issued an executive order in January that sought to curtail defense contractor dividend payments and stock buybacks. Congress is considering codifying a similar provision into law.
Northrop Grumman and RTX increased their shareholder dividends by about 7% in May. Though RTX and Lockheed Martin have halted stock buybacks, Northrop Grumman offered investors a relatively small buyback earlier this year. Boeing hasn’t participated in share buybacks or issued a dividend since 2020.
The source familiar with the meetings said the president will want answers from Northrop on Wednesday.
Earlier this month, President Trump invoked the Defense Production Act to ramp up weapons production due to “systemic constraints in the munitions industrial base, including limited production capacity, fragile supply chains, long-lead dependencies, and related production bottlenecks.”
Such shortfalls, the president wrote in a June 11 memo to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, “may impair the ability of the United States to produce, sustain, and expand the availability of munitions, missiles, and equipment required for the national defense.”
