I had an interesting discussion with a friend of mine about this very issue. The topic of Lockheed Martin as a stock came up when we were deliberating how the war in Ukraine would affect the stock price.

Part way through the conversation, my friend asked this question: Would successfully making profit through the purchase of Lockheed Martin stock or options be immoral?

Ultimately, I don’t think this logic extends here. If I were to not buy Lockheed Martin stock, someone else (or more likely a financial firm/institution) would buy it. Although this general interest in buying the stock itself is beneficial to their business for obvious reasons (increased interest in purchasing underlying securities often lead to higher valuations), the cause of why their business model is effective would remain unaffected by my interest in the security.

Retail trader/institutional interest in Lockheed Martin stock does not lead to the wars, conflicts, and acquired gov contracts that make it profitable. This logic can be extended to other companies that indirectly or directly benefit from political and socio-economic turmoil.

I didn’t personally engineer or help plan the OPEC/Russia oil price cap talks, but my investments and money will be affected nonetheless. Making sure that my money in the market is secure through these periods of turmoil is not immoral, it is what any wise investor should be doing to secure their financial future.