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Aerospace & Defense

Leader: RTX — 9.5% S1 · 25.7% CR3

S1
9.5%
leader
CR3
25.7%
top 3 combined
HHI
230
Unconcentrated
MARKET SIZE
$450B
Global

How this is calculated

FORMULA
S1 = RTX revenue / total revenue = 9.5%
CR3 = RTX + Lockheed Martin + Boeing = 25.7%
HHI = Σ(share²) = 230 (Unconcentrated (HHI < 1,500))
DENOMINATOR
Revenue — $450B (Global)
Global aerospace and defense contractor revenue.
Size from: SIPRI Arms Industry Database
TOP 3 PLAYERS
#1RTX9.5%
#2Lockheed Martin8.4%
#3Boeing7.8%
METHODOLOGY NOTE
RTX 2024 revenue $80.7B leads global aerospace & defense, ahead of Lockheed Martin ($71B) and Boeing ($66.5B). Lockheed dominates US Pentagon prime contracts (F-35) but at the broader A&D revenue level — the Aggregation Theory frame — RTX is larger because it spans Pratt & Whitney engines, Collins avionics, and Raytheon defense electronics. Boeing's commercial troubles (737 MAX, strike, deliveries) keep it at #3 despite historic dominance. Denominator: global A&D revenue ~$850B (Aviation Week + SIPRI).
SOURCES
Year: 2025
Geo: Global
Firms: ~50 globally (RTX, LMT, Boeing, BAE, Northrop, GD, Airbus...)

Historical S1 / CR3 trajectory

1990S1: 7%CR3: 20%Pre-consolidation era
1995S1: 10%CR3: 25%Lockheed Martin merger
2005S1: 11%CR3: 28%Post-9/11 defense spending
2015S1: 10.5%CR3: 28%F-35 program dominant
2025S1: 10%CR3: 27.5%Stable oligopoly

Labor economics

REV / EMPLOYEE (leader)
$0.6M
industry avg $0.5M
SG&A % (leader)
7%
of revenue

Lockheed doesn't disclose separate SG&A under defense contract accounting (CAS) — using RTX 7.2% as comparable

See full Labor & AI analysis →

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Source Quality Hierarchy

Every market has a primary source plus 1–3 validation sources. Revenue numerators come from SEC 10-K filings; denominators validated against the Economic Census where available.

TIER 1Authoritative anchorsGovernment data + SEC filings
US Economic Census (data.census.gov) · SEC EDGAR / Company 10-Ks · BEA Industry Value-Added (FRED) · BLS QCEW · USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries · EIA Refinery Capacity Report · FDA device listings
TIER 2Leading commercial trackersIndustry-standard paid trackers
IDC Semiannual Software Tracker · Gartner Market Share & Magic Quadrant · IBISWorld NAICS reports · StatCounter Global Stats · eMarketer / Insider Intelligence · Synergy Research Group
TIER 3Category specialistsBest-in-class niche authorities
SIPRI (aerospace & defense) · IQVIA (pharma) · TrendForce (semiconductors) · CIMdata (CAD/PLM) · Nilson Report (payments) · Am Law 100 (legal) · ENR Top 500 (A&E) · AM Best (insurance) · SIA (staffing) · Ad Age (agencies) · Barron's / Cerulli (wealth) · Evaluate MedTech · Nielsen Gauge (streaming) · Gridwise (ride-hail) · Bloomberg Second Measure (delivery) · RC Top 100 (roofing) · SDM Top 100 (fire/safety) · Big 4 annual reports · ALM Intelligence (consulting)

Data vintage: Q2 2025 research compilation. Labels updated 2026-Q2. Tier 1 sources refreshed from FY2025 SEC filings where available. For full methodology see the Methodology page.