Rheinmetall's Twin NATO Wins Mask a Stock Still Digging Out of a Deep Hole

Rheinmetall wins US autonomous vehicle contract and UK howitzer order, but shares remain 43% below highs despite weekly rally.

The Düsseldorf-based defense group closed out the week with a pair of transatlantic contract announcements that underscore just how deeply it has embedded itself in NATO supply chains — yet the market's reaction tells a more complicated story about where the shares go from here.

American Rheinmetall, the group's US subsidiary, has secured an 18-month award from the US Army under the "Project Sustainment" initiative, delivered through the National Advanced Mobility Consortium. The company will act as prime contractor for autonomous, hybrid-powered unmanned ground vehicles built on the Harbinger platform, designed to handle resupply missions at company level and in forward operating areas. The autonomy stack comes from Forterra, while voice-command control is handled by Primordial Labs' Anura system. Jim Schirmer, who heads up sales at American Rheinmetall, framed the win as a deliberate push to deepen the group's stateside footprint, and follow-on orders are already written into the arrangement as an option.

That US momentum has been building for some time. Rheinmetall had already beaten market expectations with its second-quarter numbers, and the group continues to position its Lynx KF41 infantry fighting vehicle for the Army's OMFV modernization program. The Lynx carries an XM913 50mm cannon, an AI-assisted targeting suite, and the Trophy APS active protection system, with production slated for Redford, Michigan.

The second announcement came from across the Atlantic. Rheinmetall is supplying 72 units of its 155mm L/52 RC weapon systems for the British Army's RCH 155 wheeled howitzers. The order, placed back in May and booked into the second-quarter intake, carries a value in the low triple-digit millions of euros. Production will run through a new gun-manufacturing facility in Telford, England. The RCH 155 itself is a product of ARTEC, the joint venture Rheinmetall runs with KNDS — it mates a Boxer drive module with an unmanned turret capable of firing on the move, a capability that sets it apart from conventional towed or tracked artillery. Germany's own procurement of the same system gives Rheinmetall additional production scale.

Taken together, the two contracts trace the arc of Rheinmetall's NATO strategy: autonomous logistics in North America on one end, conventional artillery in the UK on the other.

The share price, however, remains a study in contrasts. The stock closed the week at €1,145.00, essentially flat on the day but up 10.74 percent over the five sessions — one of the strongest weekly moves in the DAX. That rally reflects investors warming to the steady drip of order news, but it barely dents the damage done over the past year. The shares still sit 22.32 percent below their 200-day moving average, and they remain 42.95 percent off the 52-week high of €2,007.00 set on October 3, 2025. Year-to-date, the stock is still firmly in the red.

UBS analysts have described the current phase as critical, with price action trending sideways rather than establishing a clear direction. The debate among strategists, they note, centers on where a durable support level might actually form — a question that remains unresolved. The broader demand backdrop for defense names, meanwhile, stays intact: geopolitical tensions and rising European and US military budgets continue to underpin the sector's long-term thesis.

There is also a potential corporate development percolating in the background. Leonardo, the Italian defense group, is weighing options for Iveco Defence Vehicles following its takeover of the commercial vehicle maker Iveco. The defense unit carries an order backlog of €6 billion, and while a sale to Rheinmetall is floated as one possibility, other suitors are also said to be circling — meaning any outcome remains speculative at this stage.

With the sector's first-half earnings due in the coming week, investors have plenty to chew on. The operational story at Rheinmetall keeps getting broader — but the chart suggests the market is still waiting for proof that the worst of the drawdown is truly behind it.