AeroVironment (AVAV) Q4 2026 earnings summary

Executive summary

• Achieved record Q4 and full-year 2026 results, with revenue of nearly $2B and strong adjusted EBITDA of $286M, both above guidance.

• Organic revenue growth was 31% for Q4 and 30% for the full year, driven by demand for lethal and non-lethal drones, counter-UAS, and new product launches.

• Bookings reached $2.7B for the year, with a funded backlog of $1.2B and a book-to-bill ratio of 1.4, positioning for continued growth.

• Completed transformational BlueHalo acquisition, nearly doubling company size and expanding into space, cyber, and advanced solutions.

• Major contract wins in uncrewed aircraft, space, and cyber segments contributed to growth.

Financial highlights

• Q4 revenue: $642M (31% organic growth YoY); full-year revenue: nearly $2B; Q4 adjusted EBITDA: $140M (22% margin); full-year adjusted EBITDA: $286M (14% margin), both above guidance.

• Q4 adjusted EPS: $1.84; full-year adjusted EPS: $3.31, exceeding guidance.

• Q4 gross margin: 34% (down from 40% YoY); product gross margin: 44%; service gross margin: 2%.

• Cash and investments: $713M; total debt: $747.5M; net leverage ratio: 1.2x adjusted EBITDA.

• GAAP net income for Q4: $63.2M; full-year GAAP net loss: ($265.1M).

Outlook and guidance

• FY 2027 revenue guidance: $2.125B–$2.225B (10% growth at midpoint); adjusted EBITDA: $305M–$325M; adjusted EPS: $3.02–$3.34.

• FY27 GAAP net income forecast: $8M–$24M; GAAP EPS: $0.16–$0.48.

• Revenue and EBITDA expected to be weighted toward the second half of FY 2027 due to order timing and government funding delays.

• R&D investment planned at 7–9% of revenue; CapEx at 12–14% of revenue, focused on production capacity expansion.

• Free cash flow not expected to be positive in FY 2027 due to high CapEx.