Morgan Stanley Asia Themes, Economics and Equity Research: Defense Trends — Restocking, Deterrence and Autonomy
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This Morgan Stanley publication belongs to its Asia themes, economics and equity research series and examines regional defense trends under the three pillars signalled by its title: restocking, deterrence and autonomy. The note is concise and chart-driven, built around two exhibits. The first presents scenario projections for Asia defense spending as a share of GDP, setting out alternative trajectories for how defense budgets across the region could evolve relative to economic output under different assumptions. The second maps Asia-Pacific defense sub-theme opportunities among stocks rated Overweight by Morgan Stanley, classifying each company's relevance to the defense theme as core, significant or moderate. Together the two charts connect a top-down view of regional defense budgets with a bottom-up screen of rated equities, offering a framework for assessing how alternative spending scenarios might translate into equity exposure of differing thematic intensity. The pillars of restocking, deterrence and autonomy serve as the organizing lens for identifying which sub-themes and companies fit within each relevance tier.
Key exhibits
Exhibit 1
Exhibit 2
