Capital Conversion Friction in Europe’s Defense Boom: Why Order Book Backlogs Threaten Equity Valuation Multiples

The multi-year rally in European defense equities is entering a critical execution phase that shifts investor focus from structural demand to factory floor throughput. Following a period marked by surging sovereign military budgets, emergency defense appropriations, and expanding valuation multiples, the continental defense industrial base must now demonstrate its capacity to convert hundreds of billions of euros in backlogs into tangible military hardware and revenue. With core European NATO defense spending projected to hit 800 billion euros by 2030, the primary risk vector for asset managers has evolved. The core constraint is no longer political will or procurement funding, but rather the severe industrial bottlenecks, acute labor shortages, and capital constraints binding Tier-2 and Tier-3 supply chains. Investors must recognize that current equity valuations assume seamless production scaling; any widespread delivery delays or program cancellations will trigger severe multiples compression across the entire defense tech sector.