11 Best Performing Defense Stocks to Buy Now

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8. Planet Labs PBC (NYSE:PL)

YTD Gains as of August 28: 81.61%

Planet Labs PBC (NYSE:PL) is among the 11 Best Performing Defense Stocks to Buy Now. On August 26, the company announced that it had launched two additional Pelican satellites into orbit.

The high-resolution, AI-enabled Pelican-3 and Pelican-4 satellites were launched from California on SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket. Planet Labs PBC (NYSE:PL) said it had begun the commissioning process after successfully making contact with the satellites.

The latest additions of the satellites build on Planet Labs PBC (NYSE:PL)’s fleet of next-generation tasking satellites. The Pelican-3 and Pelican-4 can offer up to 40 cm class resolution imagery across six multispectral bands optimized for cross-sensor analysis. These are also equipped with NVIDIA’s Jetson AI platforms, enabling swift on-orbit computing and insights delivery.

Planet Labs PBC (NYSE:PL) provides global daily satellite imagery and geospatial solutions. The stock has had impressive returns in 2025, gaining over 80% year-to-date as of August 28.

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