In this article, ChatGPT Stock Advice: Top 8 Defense Stocks, we discuss the top defense stocks highlighted by ChatGPT.
According to new data released by Intuit Credit Karma in September of this year, 66% of Americans surveyed who had previously used generative AI reported using it for financial advice, with the percentage rising to 82% for Gen Z and Millennials.
Those turning to generative AI for financial guidance use it for a wide range of topics, from financial education and personal finance to complex areas such as investing and filing tax returns. Approximately 32% of those surveyed reported using the technology for stock market investing.
Approximately 85% of the respondents said that they put the financial recommendation into practice. Among them, 81% said they felt more confident about financial decision-making due to generative AI, and 80% said that their financial positions had improved due to the advice.
However, it does not come without risk; approximately 52% of the respondents who acted on the suggestion report having made a poor financial decision or mistake based on the information provided.
Earlier in the year, a report by Investing in the Web, a website that helps investors select online investment platforms, stated that a group of researchers had asked 100 finance-related questions to ChatGPT, with the platform responding to 35% of the questions incorrectly and one-third of the answers being hallucinations.
In a YouTube interview with MIT OpenCourseWare in April of this year, American economist Andrew W. Lo cited hallucination problems with large language models and stated that these models were not yet ready to assist investors in making financial decisions.
However, he added that platforms like ChatGPT are still useful for helping users think through general financial issues more seriously, such as asking the tool about areas to focus on for retirement, products and services that could be best utilized for financial information, and more.
Before shifting focus to ChatGPT’s stock advice for defense stocks, it is worth noting that several stocks in the sector have surged over the last couple of weeks, following their upward revisions to 2025 outlooks amid higher demand, despite tariffs and ongoing economic uncertainty.
Military spending has soared worldwide, with wars in Ukraine and Gaza intensifying and luring investors towards the sector. Another critical driver of the ongoing momentum has been the rising defense budgets of European countries, particularly after President Trump took office in January, prompting Europe to increase its defense spending.
While traditional contractors continue to gain, smaller firms have also emerged as standout performers this year, with surging demand for next-generation, low-cost military technology as nations modernize their militaries with AI-powered drones and unmanned vehicles that are cheap and cut dependence on ground forces.
Jon Siegmann, who covers the aerospace and defense industry for Stifel, told Reuters in September that winners in the new market, shaped by agile and adaptable combat systems, will be firms that invest in affordable, upgradable, and software-backed systems.
Let’s now head over and discuss what ChatGPT suggests are the top 8 defense stocks to invest in right now.
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Our Methodology
We prompted ChatGPT to identify the top 8 defense stocks to invest in right now and to explain the reasoning behind each stock’s selection. According to the platform, its selection was based on rankings of several factors, including exposure to defense budgets, growth prospects, market positioning, valuation, shareholder return profile, and relative risk. The stocks in this article are ranked in the same order as provided by ChatGPT on October 28, 2025.
Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 427.7% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 264 percentage points (see more details here).
ChatGPT Stock Advice: Top 8 Defense Stocks
8. AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 31
AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) is among the top 8 defense stocks based on ChatGPT’s advice. On October 23, BofA lifted its price target for the stock to $450 from $300, while maintaining a Buy rating for its shares.
The adjustment followed the firm’s meeting with both the management and customers at the 2025 AUSA conference, where the company unveiled Switchblade 400, a new loitering munition, which is attracting interest from customers worldwide. It was put on display alongside new variants of existing drones, including the Switchblade 300 Block 20 and the Switchblade 600 Block 2.
Separately, a report in the defense magazine, Janes, on October 13 said that AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) submitted the new munition in response to a request for proposal (RFP) by the U.S. Army for an unmanned anti-tank weapon for its Low Altitude Stalking and Strike Ordnance (LASSO) program.
According to TheFly, BofA also visited the company’s Space, Cyber, and Directed Energy facility recently. The firm has reassured an earlier positive assessment of the BlueHalo acquisition, stated that the price target increase was based on higher growth and a stronger multiple.
Earlier in the month, on October 7, Canaccord Genuity also raised AeroVironment, Inc.’s (NASDAQ:AVAV) price target to $430 from $305 and kept a Buy rating for its shares. The revision came after the firm attended the company’s Investor Open House, where the management estimated $75 billion in total addressable market (TAM) by FY 2030 across its product catalog.
Overall, Wall Street analysts have a consensus Buy rating for the stock and a one-year average share price target of $409, representing a 7% upside potential from the close on October 29.
AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) designs and manufactures unmanned aerial vehicles, ground robot systems, and loitering munition systems.
7. Booz Allen Hamilton Holding Corporation (NYSE:BAH)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 47
Booz Allen Hamilton Holding Corporation (NYSE:BAH) is among the top 8 defense stocks based on ChatGPT’s advice. On October 24, the company posted weak financial results for the second quarter of fiscal 2026, which resulted in several firms slashing their price targets for the stock.
Top and bottom-line performance both came in below forecast, due to what the company described as a ‘continued funding slowdown’. Revenue declined 8.1% year-over-year to $2.9 billion, while net income was down 55.1% from the prior year’s period to total $175 million. Booz Allen also announced that it was trimming its full-year outlook.
Following the earnings call, Stifel lowered its price target to $106 from $119 and maintained a Hold rating on its shares. According to TheFly, the analyst noted that this was the second instance in three months that the management’s outlook for the year was worse than anticipated.
The firm added that, although the environment was not worsening, it was still far from normalizing for the company. Considering the volatility and uncertainty around the market environment for government services, Stifel told investors that it favors stocks that are not encountering the same level of market declines.
Goldman Sachs’ Noah Poponak, on October 27, cut Booz Allen Hamilton Holding Corporation (NYSE:BAH)’s price target to $80 from $93, while keeping a Sell rating for its shares. In a research note to investors, the analyst noted the weak financial performance and discussed how government funding re-prioritization was adversely affecting the company.
Poponak further added that Goldman continues to anticipate risk to margins as customers consider shifting greater risk to companies through contract terms. On the same day, UBS also reduced its price target for the stock to $93 from $115, while maintaining a Neutral rating for the company’s shares.
Booz Allen Hamilton Holding Corp. (NYSE: BAH) provides solutions in artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, analytics, digital engineering, and mission-critical IT services to the U.S. government.
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