Trump issued a serious threat to the defense industry, saying everything is bad. "Beware!"
The U.S. President Donald Trump said today that he "will not allow" defense companies to pay dividends or repurchase their own stocks until these companies accelerate the production of military equipment and address other objections from his government toward the industry.
In a long article on the social media platform Truth Social, Trump also harshly criticized the compensation of defense sector executives, calling it "unreasonably high."
"Production is slow, and no executive's income should exceed $5 million."
Trump wrote, "Defense companies are not producing our powerful military equipment fast enough, and even when they do produce it, they are not maintaining these assets in a timely or proper manner."
He stated that "no director's annual income should exceed $5 million before these companies build new production facilities."
Trump complained in his post that paying "massive" dividends and repurchasing shares was done "at the expense of investments in factories and equipment."
"Beware"
"This situation must no longer be allowed or tolerated!" Trump wrote in a post and warned the defense industry: "Beware!"
"Therefore, I will not allow defense companies to pay dividends or repurchase shares—this also applies to management compensation," he wrote.
Trump added, "Now, military equipment must be built using dividends, stock buybacks, and excessive management fees, rather than borrowing from financial institutions or asking the country for money."
Stocks of major defense companies immediately fell
It was initially unclear what impact Trump's statement would have on the financial performance of major defense companies, let alone its legal validity or whether it was binding. The White House has not yet commented on this.
After these statements, the stock prices of giants such as General Dynamics, Lockheed Martin, and Northrop Grumman fell by about 2%.
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Original: toutiao.com/article/1853691327030275/
Statement: This article represents the personal views of the author.