AeroVironment $AVAV rises 19%; Q4 EPS $1.84 beats $1.46 view

AeroVironment $AVAV moved 19% higher after the June 29 earnings release, with the market reacting first to a concrete earnings surprise: adjusted EPS of $1.84 versus the $1.46 LSEG consensus cited by CNBC. Revenue more than doubled to roughly $642M, above the $559M analyst estimate, putting the drone and defense-technology company inside the Tier-1 earnings-surprise filter rather than a routine quarterly recap.

The company’s filing-level numbers show the same scale of acceleration. Fourth-quarter revenue was $641.6M, up 133% year over year from $275.1M. Product sales contributed $499.0M and contract services added $142.7M, while Q4 net income reached $63.2M, or $1.25 per diluted share. Non-GAAP adjusted EBITDA was $140.1M for the quarter.

Backlog is the second market-moving number. CNBC reported funded backlog of $1.2B, up 65% from the prior year and only slightly above the $1.1B reported in the prior period. The mix matters because defense investors are using funded backlog as a check on whether demand for drones, counter-UAS systems, and space technology converts into visible revenue rather than one-quarter product timing.

Autonomous systems were the strongest segment in the release. CNBC cited $492M of autonomous systems revenue, ahead of the $402M StreetAccount expectation. The beat also follows AeroVironment’s integration of BlueHalo and Empirical Systems Aerospace, which has expanded reported revenue but also created acquisition-related accounting noise.

The next checkpoints are fiscal 2027 guidance and backlog conversion. The 8-K summary cited revenue guidance of $2.125B-$2.225B, adjusted EBITDA of $305M-$325M, and non-GAAP EPS of $3.02-$3.34. Investors will need to separate defense-demand durability from margin pressure tied to service mix, purchase accounting, and acquisition amortization.

Not investment advice. Verify all figures with primary sources before acting.