GRSE, MTAR Tech, Paras Defence: 18 defence stocks add Rs 1.5L cr in 2025; outlook for 2026

Eighteen constituents of the Nifty India Defence index together witnessed nearly a Rs 1.5 lakh crore increase in market capitalisation (m-cap) in 2025, with stocks such as Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL), Solar Industries India Ltd, Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL), Bharat Dynamics Ltd (BDL) and Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Ltd contributing the most to the market value gains.

Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers Ltd (GRSE), MTAR Technologies Ltd, and Paras Defence and Space Technologies Ltd led the gainers’ list in percentage terms, data compiled from corporate database AceEquity showed.

The m-cap of these 18 defence stocks climbed by Rs 1,46,807.40 crore to Rs 10,74,851 crore from Rs 9,28,043 crore at the end of December 2024.

BEL climbed 34 per cent and added Rs 73,354 crore to its m-cap. It was followed by Solar Industries India Ltd (Rs 22,893 crore), HAL (Rs 13,409 crore), BDL, and Mazagon Dock (Rs 12,508.81 crore).

Over the past few months, the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) has accorded acceptance of necessity (AoN) aggregating Rs 3.3 lakh crore across the Army, Navy and Air Force, spanning missiles and air defence, electronic warfare and sensors, unmanned and autonomous systems, naval platforms, mobility solutions, and lifecycle upgrades.

PL Capital said the steady cadence of approvals underscored a structural defence capex upcycle and the government’s continued push towards indigenisation under Atmanirbhar Bharat.

“We believe these AoNs provide strong multi-year order visibility, support higher localisation and private-sector participation, and improve execution and earnings visibility for domestic defence manufacturers, particularly across missiles, electronics, unmanned systems, naval shipbuilding and sustainment services,” PL Capital said.

MOFSL said the AoN approvals did not immediately translate into order inflows, but the breadth and scale of the approvals materially de-risked order inflows for key defence PSUs and select private players over the next two to four years.

“With project approvals worth Rs 3.3 lakh crore in YTDFY26, we believe defence PSUs have strong growth opportunities in the foreseeable timeframe. Hence, we maintained a BUY rating on these stocks: PTC Industries with a target price of Rs 23,005, BEL at Rs 502, BDL at Rs 1,667, HAL at Rs 6,346, BEML at Rs 2,453, Solar Industries at Rs 16,600, ZEN at Rs 1,745, and Mazagon Dock at Rs 3,858,” Antique Stock Broking said.

PL Capital added that its defence coverage included HAL, BEL and BEML, with HAL being its current top pick.

Meanwhile, Zen Technologies Ltd, Unimech Aerospace and Manufacturing Ltd and BEML Ltd gave negative returns, falling 8-43 per cent this Calendar.

The defence budget for FY25-26 is pegged at Rs 6.8 lakh crore, accounting for 14 per cent of the Union Budget, marking a 10 per cent YoY increase. Of this, Rs 1.8 lakh crore (28 per cent) is allocated for capital acquisitions and 45 per cent towards revenue expenditure. Antique Stock Broking said its interactions with industry indicate that budget will not be a constraint for acquisition of weapon systems and double-digit growth in defence capex can be expected in the coming year.