ARLINGTON, VA, September 9, 2026 — AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ: AVAV) (“AeroVironment” or the “Company”) reported today financial results for the fiscal first quarter ended August 1, 2026.
First Quarter Highlights:
- Record revenue for the first quarter of $480.5 million, up 6% year-over-year
- Bookings of $0.7 billion and book-to-bill ratio of 1.4 for the quarter
- Record funded backlog of $1.5 billion, up 37% year-over-year
“AV’s fiscal year 2027 is off to a strong start, with record first-quarter revenue and funded backlog and landmark strategic wins,” said Wahid Nawabi, AeroVironment chairman, president and chief executive officer. “Our team is united in our mission to execute with discipline and capture demand for the key franchise programs that matter most to our customers, and that is exactly what we did in the first quarter.”
“Our customers are continuing to field autonomous capabilities at increasing scale, and our priority is expanding manufacturing capacity across our sites and strengthening our supply chain so we can deliver for our customers at the speed their missions require. We are excited for the opportunities ahead as we extend our track record of value creation for shareholders, customers and all stakeholders that rely on AV.”
FISCAL 2027 FIRST QUARTER RESULTS
Revenue for the first quarter of fiscal 2027 was $480.5 million, an increase of 6% as compared to $454.7 million for the first quarter of fiscal 2026, due to higher product sales of $15.5 million and higher service revenue of $10.3 million. From a segment standpoint, Autonomous Systems (“AxS”) recorded revenue of $346.0 million and Space, Cyber and Directed Energy (“SCDE”) recorded revenue of $134.5 million.
Gross margin for the first quarter of fiscal 2027 was $124.6 million, an increase of 31% as compared to $95.1 million for the first quarter of fiscal 2026, reflecting higher product margin of $32.6 million, partially offset by lower service margin of $(3.2) million. Fiscal 2027 first quarter gross margin was negatively impacted by $18.5 million of intangible amortization expense and other related non-cash purchase accounting expenses, as compared to $37.4 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2026. As a percentage of revenue, gross margin rose to 26% from 21%, primarily due to a decrease in intangible amortization and other non-cash purchasing accounting expenses.
Loss from operations for the first quarter of fiscal 2027 was $(10.9) million as compared to $(69.3) million for the first quarter of last fiscal year. The current quarter was negatively impacted by $43.4 million of intangible amortization and other related non-cash purchase accounting expenses as compared to $79.7 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2026. The decreased year-over-year loss was primarily due to an increase in gross margin of $29.5 million; a decrease in selling, general and administrative expense of $19.8 million, which includes a decrease of $17.4 million of intangible amortization expense and a decrease of $22.5 million in acquisition related expenses, partially offset by an increase in employee related costs associated with incremental headcount; and a decrease in research and development (“R&D”) expense of $9.2 million.
Other income, net for the first quarter of fiscal 2027 was $3.5 million, as compared to other loss, net of $(15.1) million for the first quarter of fiscal 2026. The increase year-over-year was primarily due a decrease in interest expense related to the term and revolver facility loans obtained in conjunction with the BlueHalo acquisition in the prior year and subsequently settled with proceeds from the issuances of convertible notes and equity in July 2025.
Benefit from income taxes for the first quarter of fiscal 2027 was $(0.4) million, as compared to $(15.2) million for the first quarter of last fiscal year. The decrease in tax benefit was primarily attributable to the decrease in net loss before income taxes.
Net loss for the first quarter of fiscal 2027 was $(5.1) million, or $(0.10) per diluted share, as compared to $(67.4) million, or $(1.44) per diluted share, in the prior year period, respectively. The current quarter was negatively impacted by $43.4 million, or $0.69 per diluted share, of intangible amortization and other related non-cash purchase accounting expenses as compared to $79.7 million, or $1.34 per diluted share, in the first quarter of fiscal 2026.
Non-GAAP adjusted EBITDA for the first quarter of fiscal 2027 was $53.4 million and non-GAAP earnings per diluted share were $0.59, as compared to $56.6 million and $0.32, respectively, for the first quarter of fiscal 2026.
BACKLOG
As of August 1, 2026, funded backlog (defined as remaining performance obligations under firm orders for which funding is currently appropriated to us under a customer contract) was $1.5 billion, as compared to $1.2 billion as of April 30, 2026.
FISCAL 2027 — OUTLOOK FOR THE FULL YEAR
For fiscal year 2027, the Company continues to expect revenue of between $2.125 billion and $2.225 billion, net income of between $10 million and $27 million, non-GAAP adjusted EBITDA of between $305 million and $325 million, earnings per diluted share of between $0.21 and $0.53 and non-GAAP earnings per diluted share, which excludes amortization of intangible assets and other non-cash purchase accounting expenses, of between $3.02 and $3.34.
The foregoing estimates are forward-looking and reflect management’s view of current and future market conditions, subject to certain risks and uncertainties, including certain assumptions with respect to our ability to efficiently and on a timely basis integrate acquisitions, obtain and retain government contracts, changes in the timing and/or amount of government spending, react to changes in the demand for our products and services, activities of competitors, changes in the regulatory environment, and general economic and business conditions in the United States and elsewhere in the world. Investors are reminded that actual results may differ materially from these estimates and investors should review all risks related to achievement of the guidance reflected under “forward-looking statements” below and in the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
CONFERENCE CALL AND PRESENTATION
In conjunction with this release, AeroVironment, Inc. will host a conference call today, Wednesday, September 9, 2026, at 4:30 pm Eastern Time that will be webcast live. Wahid Nawabi, chairman, president and chief executive officer, Sean T. Woodward, executive vice president and chief financial officer, and Denise Pacioni, investor relations director, will host the call.
Investors may access the call by registering via the following participant registration link up to ten minutes prior to the start time.
Participant registration URL:
https://register-conf.mediaserver.com/register/BId4b51029829c4cc2bf060cb73f3e901f
Investors may also listen to the live audio webcast via the Investor Relations page of the AeroVironment, Inc. website, http://investor.avinc.com. Please allow 15 minutes prior to the call to download and install any necessary audio software.
A supplementary investor presentation for the first quarter fiscal year 2027 can be accessed at https://investor.avinc.com/events-and-presentations.
Audio Replay
An audio replay of the event will be archived on the Investor Relations section of the Company’s website at http://investor.avinc.com.
ABOUT AEROVIRONMENT, INC.
AeroVironment (“AV”) (NASDAQ: AVAV) is a defense technology leader delivering integrated capabilities across air, land, sea, space, and cyber. The company develops and deploys autonomous systems, precision strike systems, counter-UAS technologies, space-based platforms, directed energy systems, and cyber and electronic warfare capabilities—built to meet the mission needs of today’s warfighter and tomorrow’s conflicts. With a national manufacturing footprint and a deep innovation pipeline, AV delivers proven systems and future-defining capabilities with speed, scale, and operational relevance. For more information visit: www.avinc.com.
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This press release contains “forward-looking statements” as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements include, without limitation, any statement that may predict, forecast, indicate or imply future results, performance or achievements, and may contain words such as “will,” “believe,” “anticipate,” “expect,” “estimate,” “intend,” “project,” “plan,” or words or phrases with similar meaning. Forward-looking statements are based on current expectations, forecasts and assumptions that involve risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, economic, competitive, governmental and technological factors outside of our control, that may cause our business, strategy or actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements.
Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, the impact of our ability to successfully close and integrate acquisitions into our operations and avoid disruptions from acquisition transactions that will harm our business; the recording of goodwill and other intangible assets as part of acquisitions that are subject to potential impairments in the future and any realization of such impairments; any actual or threatened disruptions to our relationships with our distributors, suppliers, customers and employees, including shortages in components for our products, whether due to restrictions and sanctions imposed by foreign governments or otherwise; the ability to timely and sufficiently integrate international operations into our ongoing business and compliance programs; reliance on sales to the U.S. government, including uncertainties in classification, pricing or potentially burdensome imposed terms for certain types of government contracts; availability of U.S. government funding for defense procurement and R&D programs; our ability to win U.S. and international government R&D and procurement programs, including foreign military financing aid; changes in the timing and/or amount of government spending, including due to continuing resolutions and/or changing government priorities; adverse impacts of any U.S. government shutdown; our ability to realize the anticipated benefits of the BlueHalo transaction or other acquisitions; our ability to execute contracts for anticipated sales, perform under such contracts and other existing contracts and obtain new contracts; risks related to our international business, including compliance with export control laws; the extensive and increasing regulatory requirements governing our contracts with the U.S. government and international customers; the consequences to our financial position, business and reputation that could result from failing to comply with applicable law, regulatory requirements, and contractual obligations; unexpected technical and marketing difficulties inherent in major research and product development efforts; the impact of potential security and cyber threats or the risk of unauthorized access to and resulting misuse of our, our customers’ and/or our suppliers’ information and systems; failure to remain a market innovator, to create new market opportunities or to expand into new markets; our ability to increase production capacity to support anticipated growth; unexpected changes in significant operating expenses, including components and raw materials; failure to develop new products or integrate new technology into current products; any increase in litigation activity or unfavorable results in legal proceedings, including pending class actions, or litigation that may arise from or in conjunction with our recent acquisitions; our ability to respond and adapt to legal, regulatory and government budgetary changes; our ability to comply with the covenants in our loan documents, outstanding convertible notes or acquisition and merger agreements for acquisitions; our ability to attract and retain skilled employees, including retention of employees of acquired companies; the impact of inflation; and general economic and business conditions in the United States and elsewhere in the world; and the failure to establish and maintain effective internal control over financial reporting. For a further list and description of such risks and uncertainties, see the reports we file with the Securities and Exchange Commission. We do not intend, and undertake no obligation, to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
NON-GAAP MEASURES
In addition to the financial measures prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), this earnings release also contains non-GAAP financial measures. See in the financial tables below the calculation of these measures, the reasons why we believe these measures provide useful information to investors, and a reconciliation of these measures to the most directly comparable GAAP measures.
