Rheinmetall is Rearming Europe But Possibly For the Wrong War
The German defense conglomerate is a key manufacturer of armored vehicles. Higher defense spending will boost production, but it remains unclear if the lessons of modern warfare have been learned.
Rheinmetall is the largest and most valuable German defense conglomerate, with a market capitalization of nearly $80 billion (RHM.DE) as of May 2026.1 Although it has a recently-acquired shipbuilding arm and has expanded into large-scale ammunition production, it is primarily a designer and manufacturer of armored vehicles and related weapons systems, which are key to moving infantry around the battlefield. In 2024, Rheinmetall was the world’s twentieth-largest defense company by total arms sales revenues and the third largest dedicated defense company in Europe after French firm Thales and Italian manufacturer Leonardo.2 Due to rapidly increasing European defense spending since the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Rheinmetall’s revenues have risen by over 50% in the last five years, from over €6 billion in 2019 to almost €10 billion in 2025, driving its share price up over 1700% in the same time period and making it one of the best-performing stocks in Europe.3 The company’s CEO was reportedly targeted for assassination by the Russian security services for its assistance to Ukraine.4 The company has approximately 44,000 employees, of which approximately half are based in Germany.5