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Anduril targets $100 billion valuation. American defence technology company Anduril is in talks with investors over a new fundraising round that could value the company at around $100 billion, putting it on par with defence giants Northrop Grumman and Lockheed Martin, according to a Reuters report. The fundraising and valuation have not yet been finalized. In May, Anduril, which develops drones, autonomous systems, and military robotics, raised $5 billion at a $61 billion valuation. The round was led by Andreessen Horowitz and Thrive Capital, the venture capital firm founded by Josh Kushner. The company was founded in 2017 by Palmer Luckey, who previously founded virtual reality company Oculus and sold it to Facebook in 2014 for $2 billion. Anduril is considered one of the few startups, alongside Palantir, to have successfully broken into the U.S. defence market at scale, securing major contracts with the Pentagon and allied governments. In June, Calcalist reported that the company had begun exploring the establishment of operations in Israel. According to Reuters, one structure under consideration is a two-stage fundraising process in which investors would commit upfront to participating in a second financing round at a higher valuation, potentially within a year. The second-stage valuation would depend on Anduril achieving certain financial targets. The financing discussions come amid heightened global demand for defense technologies following the recent conflict with Iran. If the company reaches the reported $100 billion valuation, California-based Anduril would be worth roughly as much as Lockheed Martin, one of the world's largest defence contractors and the manufacturer of fighter jets including the F-35, F-22, and F-16. Anduril reported $2.2 billion in revenue in 2025 and has doubled its workforce over the past year. In February, Luckey, who has previously described himself as a "radical Zionist," visited Israel. The trip, organized by Josh Wolfe, founder of venture capital firm Lux Capital and one of Anduril's earliest investors, included a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. During the visit, Luckey was also introduced to Israel's defence-tech startup ecosystem through DDR&D, which arranged meetings with 10 Israeli defence startups, including Smart Shooter, which has since gone public on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, as well as Kela, Oz, Skana Robotics, Regulus, Magnus Metal, eyesAtop and AriEV. Anduril has already signed agreements with several Israeli companies, including ASIO, which is expected to supply components for the company's unmanned aerial systems. In addition, Anduril has expressed interest in security startup LiteVision, a portfolio company of venture capital firm Kinetica. The startup develops camera systems for drones and has already received investment from venture capital firm 8VC, an early investor in Palantir that also backs Anduril. In a statement, a spokesperson for Anduril said no decisions had been made about any future financing. "As a private company, we regularly evaluate opportunities to fund the growth of the business," the spokesperson said.

NOC is down 32% from its high. The backlog just hit $105B. Northrop Grumman just delivered its strongest earnings beat in recent memory. The stock is still down about 32% from its March 2026 peak of $774. That gap is the entire debate in one sentence. On July 21, before the market opened, Northrop Grumman reported Q2 2026 sales of $10.9 billion, up 5% year-over-year, with net earnings of $1.09 billion and diluted EPS of $7.68. The EPS number beat consensus of about $6.82 by roughly 12.6% - a meaningful surprise for a defense name. Management raised full-year sales guidance to a midpoint of $44.0 billion and lifted the adjusted EPS outlook by $1.20 to a range of $28.60 to $29.10. The company also disclosed a record backlog, now at $105 billion, driven by what management described as a robust global demand environment. The stock moved higher after the report. But the chart still shows a name that traded as high as $774 in early March and was sitting around $525 the week before earnings. Northrop Grumman shares remain well below their 52-week high of $774.00 and trade beneath both the 50-day simple moving average of roughly $538 and the 200-day SMA of approximately $624, indicating lingering technical pressure despite strong fundamental underpinnings. What drove the selloff from the peak. Two things pulled NOC from its highs. Aeronautics led growth, with operating results improving from the prior year as certain B-21 charges recorded previously did not recur in the same way. However, the B-21 remains a key execution risk, and the program's loss position is still a critical investor overhang. Second, the broader defense sector saw institutional rotation as rate expectations shifted and some of the geopolitical premium baked into early 2026 faded. The stock's sideways price action reflects a tug-of-war between bullish contract wins and cautious analyst recalibrations. Here's where it gets interesting. Northrop Grumman is heading into its post-earnings period with an average analyst price target of $670.48, compared to a current share price near $525. That is a 27% gap between where the Street thinks it belongs and where it is actually trading. The stock sits roughly 32% below its 52-week high. The defense budget tailwind is real. The broader defense sector has benefited from expectations of robust U.S. military spending, including a proposed $1.5 trillion U.S. defense-budget request. Northrop Grumman's earnings have benefited from solid demand, supported by one of the strongest backlogs in the defense industry. It offers strong visibility into near-term revenue streams. Continued geopolitical tensions, increasing U.S. and allied defense spending, and demand for advanced aircraft, missile defense, space systems, and autonomous technologies have continued to support new contract awards and program execution. That backlog number is worth pausing on. A $105 billion contracted book against roughly $44 billion in annual revenue is nearly 2.4 years of forward sales visibility. Most of the revenue for the next two-plus years is already under contract. That is not a company guessing at its demand line. Slight tangent that matters: the Mission Systems segment - sensors, radar, C4ISR - is guiding to high $12 billion in full-year sales with approximately 15% operating margins. That is a quietly high-margin business inside a defense company being valued almost entirely on a troubled bomber program. The market tends to collapse NOC into one story. The actual business is four different ones. Options market analysis. With Q2 earnings now behind it, implied volatility on NOC has settled back toward baseline. Ahead of the July 21 report, the options market had priced an implied move of roughly plus or minus 9.18% for NOC. The actual reaction came in smaller, which means anyone who sold premium into the event collected a favorable crush. The next hard catalyst is Q3 earnings, expected in October. Between now and then, the trade is about whether the guidance raise and record backlog close the valuation gap to the Street's targets over multiple weeks. Bull case: For traders expecting the $105B backlog and raised EPS guidance to pull institutional capital back into NOC, a defined-risk call spread targeting $560-$590 into late Q3 captures the re-rating while limiting downside. The company reaffirmed adjusted free cash flow guidance of $3.1 billion to $3.5 billion for 2026 and said it still expects $1.85 billion of capital expenditures this year. That cash flow underpins the valuation floor. Bear case: For traders expecting additional B-21 charges or program execution delays to surface before October, a put spread anchored below the $496-$500 zone defines the risk. Neutral case: For traders expecting NOC to consolidate in the $510-$550 range while the backlog-to-valuation gap closes slowly, a short put at a discount to current levels collects premium while the fundamental case builds toward the October report. Risk analysis. Q2 2026 sales came in at $10.9 billion, up 5%, with operating margin at 10.1%, versus 13.8% a year earlier, mainly due to a prior-year divestiture gain and lower pension adjustment. The underlying business did not deteriorate - comparisons did. But margin trajectory matters for re-rating, and any further B-21 related charges would extend the compression. Execution on the B-21 Raider and Sentinel programs remains paramount, as these represent both the largest growth opportunities and the most significant cost-overrun risks. Programs of this complexity have historically produced surprises. Forward outlook. Year to date, Northrop Grumman's sales rose 5% to $20.8 billion, while net earnings increased 19% to about $2.0 billion and diluted EPS reached $13.83, helped by stronger segment operating income and a sharply lower effective tax rate of 10.4% versus 17.5%, driven by research tax credits and remeasurement of uncertain tax positions. At roughly $525, NOC trades at approximately 18x the midpoint of its raised 2026 EPS guidance. The analyst average target near $670 implies the stock should trade closer to 23x. The gap between those two multiples is the entire NOC investment debate right now. The Q2 beat is done. The backlog is on the record. The guidance is raised. What is not resolved is whether the B-21 program overhang and the margin compression from prior-year comparisons are already fully priced into a 32% discount to the year's high - or whether there is more to work through before the recovery gains traction. That answer will not come until October.