Sp3cul8r
Stock Trader, Author of Trading Toward Financial Freedom
AeroVironment's lasers look like a new franchise after a strong quarter. Q1 FY27 revenue hit a record $480.5 million, up 6% and above about $456 million expected, and adjusted EPS of $0.59 beat roughly $0.25, with FY27 guidance raised or reaffirmed on a $1.5 billion backlog. The first international order for its LOCUST laser system, which management frames as a potential $500 million-a-year franchise, follows a $464.8 million US Army directed-energy award. x.com x.com
AeroVironment is selling off like a penny stock even though it just booked about half a billion dollars of counter-drone business, a reaction that looks absurd. x.com
AeroVironment is a long-term buy on weakness because its counter-drone and directed-energy position keeps strengthening while the chart stays depressed. It won a $464.8M US Army LOCUST contract, its first US production contract for high-energy lasers, plus a >$50M international order, and is one of four systems in the US counter-drone directed-energy pilot ahead of a December shoot-off. The stock has built a $135-150 range for three months with improving MFI, a potential bullish divergence. … Show more
AeroVironment's latest print was solid but not full confirmation that profitability is on track. Revenue and EPS beat, funded backlog reached $1.5B and AxS grew 21%, validating demand, but SCDE fell 21% and EBITDA declined year over year. Even after the brutal defense selloff since Q1, whether the stock has bottomed is still unclear. x.com
AeroVironment sits at major higher-timeframe support while sentiment is broadly negative, a contrarian setup into earnings the next day. AeroVironment also announced its first international LOCUST directed-energy order, worth over $50M. x.com
Electro Optic Systems is accumulating meaningful defense and space opportunities. It has MoUs for Czech vehicle systems and Indian high-energy lasers, was selected for the US Space Force's satellite-tracking reserve, and has an A$700m Kuwait counter-drone contract that could drive over 80% of revenue in 12–24 months. x.com
nLight is the differentiated, vertically integrated player, while AeroVironment operates in the commoditized 20-30 kW range. nLight has just launched a scalable platform spanning 70 kW to 1 MW whose power levels share many components and subsystems, creating manufacturing, procurement and engineering efficiencies that should be fantastic for gross margins. nLight even supplies components to AeroVironment, whose incremental economics look doubtful, as its last quarterly report clearly showed. … Show more
AeroVironment is becoming a diversified defense technology company as BlueHalo adds space, cyber, counter-drone and directed-energy capabilities to its drones, amid structural demand for unmanned warfare. A $117.3 million US Army order for its P550 drone, a $30 million German Puma contract and Italy's MQ-31A designation for JUMP 20 extend its reach. Fiscal 2026 revenue hit a record of about $1.98 billion, up 141%, with book-to-bill above 1.4, though acquisition impairments weigh on net income. … Show more
AeroVironment remains a great company, held as a relatively small position alongside Ondas. x.com x.com
AeroVironment's 23% rally looks unjustified because the company is again signaling unimpressive growth, with its FY27 revenue growth target below 10%. x.com
Trump's 100% tariffs on foreign-made drones should send demand soaring for US drone makers and suppliers. AeroVironment has a $1.2B funded backlog; Kratos has a $2.1B backlog and jet drones with no foreign substitute; Ondas, the fastest grower, posted a record $83.8M quarter. Red Cat's Black Widow is an Army program of record, Unusual Machines makes 15,000 NDAA-compliant motors a month, AIRO has a $163M drone backlog and LightPath's US-made infrared optics become the default. x.com x.com x.com … Show more
