Handicapping stocks isn't exactly easy right now. The echoes of the federal government's infrastructure spending plan unveiling still are ringing, and investors are trying to determine whether early February's correction was just a short-term hiccup. Even if the tide does continue to rise, it may not lift all boats in 2018 the way it did in 2017.

One group should shine regardless of what the future holds, however: defense stocks. Joe Quinlan, Managing Director and Chief Market Strategist at U. S. Trust, Bank of America Private Wealth Management, recently said, "The global demand for weapons has never been stronger, in our opinion. Global military spending is on a secular upswing, and expected to hit $1.67 trillion in 2018 - a 3.3% rise from the prior year and a level of spending not seen since the Cold War era."

Moreover, President Donald Trump has made expanding and upgrading the country's military a priority. Next fiscal year's proposed defense spending is 10% greater than recent annual spending allocations - a massive increase by military standards.

The government's spending plan and projected demand bode well for all makers of military hardware and providers of military logistics services. However, there are a handful of defense stocks that are better-positioned than others to capitalize on the planned spending growth.

Harris

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Market value: $18.9 billion

Dividend yield: 1.4%

The average investor would be hard-pressed to name just one product made, $159.54). However, the world would miss the company tremendously if it went away.