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AeroVironment Fiscal Fourth-Quarter Results Top Views; Issues Upbeat Revenue Outlook

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AeroVironment Fiscal Fourth-Quarter Results Top Views; Issues Upbeat Revenue Outlook

AeroVironment (AVAV) shares spiked early Tuesday after the drone maker reported stronger-than-expected fiscal fourth-quarter results and issued an upbeat full-year revenue outlook at the midpoint.

Adjusted earnings came in at $1.84 a share for the quarter ended April, up from $1.61 the year before, the company said late Monday. The consensus on FactSet was for non-GAAP EPS of $1.46. Revenue soared 133% to $641.6 million, exceeding the Street's view for $556 million.

The stock rose 30% in the most recent premarket activity.

"I'm pleased to report record fourth quarter results across several key financial performance metrics," Chief Executive Wahid Nawabi said during an earnings call, according to a FactSet transcript. "With demand for our solutions continuing to rise, our work over the past year has positioned (AeroVironment) as a stronger, more resilient and diversified company."

For fiscal 2027, the firm anticipates revenue to come in between $2.13 billion and $2.23 billion. The guidance's midpoint of $2.18 billion is ahead of the average analyst estimate of $2.17 billion. In the previous fiscal year, revenue surged 141% to $1.98 billion.

AeroVironment is encouraged by the strong level of funding opportunities and priorities in the defense budget, though the timing of that funding remains uncertain, Nawabi said on the call. "As a result, our revenue guidance reflects that we're not assuming funding arrives early in the government fiscal year 2027," the CEO added.

Adjusted EPS is pegged at $3.02 to $3.34 for the ongoing fiscal year, while the Street is looking for $3.52.

"We're accelerating commercialization across our product portfolio, expanding international sales capacity, and building production infrastructure to meet rising global demand for autonomous systems," Nawabi told analysts. "We expect that these investments will drive revenue and (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) growth of approximately 10% year-over-year."

By segment, autonomous systems recorded revenue of $492.4 million in the fourth quarter, up from $275.1 million in the prior-year period. The space, cyber and directed energy division contributed revenue of $149.2 million, "down 8% pro forma year-over-year, reflecting the (Satellite Communications Augmentation Resource) termination in March and the US government funding delays," Chief Financial Officer Sean Woodward said on the call.

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