This Unknown Stock is Up 600%, Has a $1.6B Defense Backlog, and You Don’t Know It

There is a new class of up-and-coming businesses that are delivering multibagger gains month after month, and you don’t know many of them. TTM Technologies (NASDAQ:TTMI) is one of them, and it is up 600% in the past year. The stock has only been accelerating due to orders from multiple industries. TTM Technologies makes RF/microwave products, mission systems, and is the largest PCB Manufacturer in North America. The company is the largest supplier of circuit boards to the U.S. military.

It is a company that supplies both the AI megatrend and the military buildout. You won’t find many other companies that give you a similar mix, especially not one based in the U.S. But before we look deeper into this business, let’s look at the megatrends themselves.

A military buildout paired with a data center boom

The AI rally has essentially turned into the data center rally in the past few months, as AI software companies have not done too well. Hardware is where the action is, and it only looks to be getting better due to hyperscalers planning to spend even more.

Over half of all data centers are either cancelled or delayed due to a lack of data center components. I believe this isn’t catastrophic for data center spending and will instead stretch out the AI rally.

On the military side, the Pentagon is asking for a $1.5 billion budget. This does not account for additional money pouring into the military industry due to orders from Europe and the Gulf region.

Both the military and the data center boom are now turning into a windfall for TTM Technologies.

Why you’re likely still early

You’ll find dozens of other niche data center supplies that have delivered explosive gains in the past few months. Those gains are similar to what TTM Technologies has delivered, but I don’t think it’s as durable. This company makes components for the defense sector, which is very sticky. And if you look at data center orders, they’re sticky too. Previous assessments of a data center slowdown have not panned out too well.

We could be looking at years before orders start running dry because hyperscalers have plenty of cash flow to throw at this buildout. And while I did say that AI companies on the software side have been weaker than expected, this does not apply to private AI companies. Anthropic has hit a $1 trillion valuation, and OpenAI is worth $852 billion. These companies are raising hundreds of billions easily.

TTM’s Data Center Computing segment is now forecasted to grow 66% year-over-year in Q1 2026 alone.

On the defense side, TTM has an A&D program backlog of $1.61 billion and just landed a multi-year contract with Raytheon (NYSE:RTX | RTX Price Prediction) worth up to $200 million for components in the LTAMDS radar system.

Should you buy or sell the stock now?

It’s a niche under-the-radar stock, but not all of them are worth buying hand over fist. TTM Technologies is special since you get exposure to the data center boom and the reliability of recurring defense orders.

The 3-year revenue growth rate was just 4.7% annually, and this growth rate is expected to be over 15% in the coming years. That does seem underwhelming, but I believe the true sales growth will outperform expectations if management can increase capacity faster. It’s not a demand issue, and the higher margin expectations prove it.

Future EPS growth rate is expected to be at nearly 33% annually, which is ~3x more than the growth in the past three years.

You’re paying 43 times forward earnings for TTMI stock today. It’s expensive when you compare it to giants, but still cheap compared to many other data center suppliers of this size that are trading in the triple digits already.

Companies of this size only need a few large orders to deliver explosive gains. A $1.5 billion contract would be peanuts for a large defense contractor, but it would double the backlog here. The market is likely betting on further contracts like the $200 million Raytheon one as component supplies dwindle and contractors start securing supplies directly.

With that in mind, I see this stock going a lot higher in the coming years. As long as the data center boom continues in tandem with increased defense spending worldwide, it’s hard to believe Wall Street will pay less for TTMI stock.