ETF Explainer: PPA

Each month, we look at an ETF selected by ETF.com based on its performance and importance to investors. This month, we consider the performance of the $1.2 billion Invesco Aerospace & Defense ETF (PPA), which covers U.S. companies operating in the defense, military, homeland security and space industries. All the companies mentioned below are holdings in PPA, unless otherwise noted (*).

FEB 5 TransDigm beats earnings expectations by a wide margin and records its fourth consecutive quarter of increasing revenue growth.

APR 23 Lockheed Martin reports first-quarter earnings that are nearly 50% higher than those of the prior year and raises its forecast for 2019 results.

JUN 11 After United Technologies announces it will buy Raytheon to form Raytheon Technologies, United Technologies’ stock sees a multiday decline, while Raytheon’s rises.

AUG 8 J.P. Morgan* releases a report saying aerospace and defense stocks are at an attractive entry point and are less sensitive to macroeconomic risks than other stocks.

OCT 18 Boeing’s stock plunges after the Federal Aviation Administration reveals the company withheld evidence about a potentially faulty flight control system associated with two fatal crashes.

JAN 3 Aerospace and defense stocks rise after the U.S. assassination of Iranian Major General Qasem Soleimani, with Northrup Grumman up more than 5%.

Source: Bloomberg. Data for 1/31/2019 to 1/31/2020.