AeroVironment stock soars above profits as order backlog rises to $1.2 billion

aviation environment Shares rose 19% after the bell on Monday as the drone maker reported fourth-quarter profit that beat sales and bottom line.

Analysts surveyed by LSEG had expected $1.46 per share, but the company beat expectations and reported earnings of $1.84 per share. Sales also exceeded expectations, more than doubling the $559 million expected by analysts to $642 million.

CEO Wahid Nawabi said in a release that AeroVironment is well-positioned to benefit from the growing global demand for drone, anti-drone and space technologies.

AeroVironment’s funding balance of $1.2 billion is up 65% from last year, but only slightly higher than the $1.1 billion balance reported in the prior period. Autonomous Systems’ revenue was $492 million, easily beating StreetAccount’s estimate of $402 million.

Nawabi told CNBC’s Morgan Brennan during a recent exclusive tour of the company’s facility in Simi Valley, Calif., that the recent conflict between Ukraine and Iran has changed the fundamentals of war.

“We knew that sooner or later this tipping point would come, and the last few conflicts that have become well-known around the world have essentially brought this issue to the forefront,” he said.

AeroVironment reported net income of $63.17 million, or $1.25 per share, in the fourth quarter of 2026. A year ago, the company posted net income of $16.66 million, or 59 cents per share.

The drone maker expects fiscal 2027 revenue to be in the range of $2.13 billion to $2.23 billion, while LSEG expects it to be $2.17 billion. The company’s adjusted EPS guidance for 2027 is in the range of $3.02 to $3.34, compared to LSEG’s estimate of $3.94 per share.

The company’s stock price has fallen more than 40% this year, but with the Pentagon’s drone budget alone likely to exceed $75 billion next year, there is a huge opportunity ahead.

“Not just the U.S. Department of the Army, but all of our allies support Eight Ball in terms of recruitment and deployment,” Niwabi told CNBC.

“Now we are playing catch-up. Our military is playing catch-up at a very fast pace,” he added.