AeroVironment soars 28% on earnings beat, backlog grows to $1.2 billion
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- AeroVironment stock jumped 28% in premarket trading Tuesday after Q4 earnings beat expectations at $1.84 per share versus the $1.46 LSEG estimate, while revenue more than doubled to $642 million against a $559 million estimate.
- Funded backlog climbed 65% year-over-year to $1.2 billion, slightly above the $1.1 billion reported in the prior period, and autonomous systems revenue of $492 million topped the $402 million StreetAccount expectation.
- Q4 net income reached $63.17 million ($1.25 per share), up from $16.66 million (59 cents) a year earlier.
- CEO Wahid Nawabi told CNBC during a tour of the company's Simi Valley facility that conflicts in Ukraine and Iran have shifted the fundamentals of warfare, adding: "these last couple of conflicts that have become globally well known has essentially brought this thing to the forefront."
- FY2027 guidance projects revenue of $2.13 billion to $2.23 billion (LSEG expected $2.17 billion) but adjusted EPS of $3.02 to $3.34, falling short of the $3.94 LSEG estimate.
- Shares had been down more than 40% year-to-date through Monday's close, even as the U.S. Department of War's drone budget is set to possibly top $75 billion next year.
- Nawabi said the U.S. military and its allies are "behind the eight ball" on drone adoption and "playing catch-up in a very fast pace."
Why it matters: AeroVironment's beat-and-pop validates that rising global drone demand is translating into revenue, not just headlines, and positions the company as a prime beneficiary of a potential $75 billion-plus U.S. drone budget next year. But FY2027 EPS guidance of $3.02-$3.34 came in well below the $3.94 consensus, giving the 28% rally limited runway once investors process the full print.
