PERFECT Act of 2026

1) What happened and its current status: On May 21, 2026, Representative Warren Davidson (R-OH) introduced HR8962, the PERFECT Act of 2026, which was referred to the House Armed Services Committee. This is a standard first step for any authorization bill in the House. The bill has three cosponsors and is classified under the Armed Forces and National Security policy area. No committee hearings or markups have been scheduled. 2) The money trail: The bill is an authorization bill, not an appropriations bill. It does not allocate money directly. Authorization bills set policy and spending ceilings for programs within the committee's jurisdiction. Actual funding requires a separate appropriations bill. At this stage, no specific dollar amounts have been assigned to any programs or contracts. 3) Structural winners and losers: Since no specific program language or funding levels are yet available, all major defense prime contractors are equally unaffected. Companies like Lockheed Martin ($LMT), Northrop Grumman ($NOC), General Dynamics ($GD), RTX Corp ($RTX), and their peers will see no revenue changes from this referral. However, the direction of the bill—whether it increases, decreases, or redirects defense spending—will be critical once details emerge. 4) If REAL MARKET DATA is provided: No real market data was provided in the enrichment data for stock prices. All financial data provided are the FY2025 annual revenue and net income figures from SEC filings. Based on those, defense contractors range from LMT's 10.2% margin to BA's -2.9% loss. The bill's referral does not alter these fundamentals. 5) Timeline: The bill must pass the House Armed Services Committee, then the full House, then the Senate (likely as a companion bill), then a conference committee, then be signed by the President. The 119th Congress runs through 2027, so this could move this year or next. No immediate deadlines.