0655 GMT - European military budgets will grow at least at a high-single-digit until 2035, in parallel with a push by regional governments to order European defense equipment over U.S. kit, boosting European defense stocks, Berenberg analysts say. They note that Britain's commitment to raise U.K. defense spending to 2.5% of its gross domestic product by 2027 was higher than they anticipated, and will benefit QinetiQ and Babcock International in particular, which get more than half of their revenue from the U.K. Ministry of Defence. Berenberg upgraded Babcock International to buy from hold, saying consensus growth estimates are too low, and downgraded BAE Systems and Chemring to hold from buy due to defense budget uncertainty in the U.S., which provides the highest share of their revenue. Its top pick is German arms maker Rheinmetall. (cristina.gallardo@wsj.com)
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
March 10, 2025 02:57 ET (06:57 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2025 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.