AeroVironment Revenue More Than Doubles on BlueHalo Acquisition
The defense-technology maker posted $641.6 million in quarterly revenue, up 133% year-over-year, as the BlueHalo deal reshaped its business.
AeroVironment Inc. (AVAV) reported fourth-quarter revenue of $641.6 million, a 133% increase from $275.1 million a year earlier, as the defense-technology company absorbed its acquisition of BlueHalo and pushed into new markets.
The results closed a fiscal year in which revenue grew nearly two-and-a-half times over, reaching $1,976.8 million for the full 12 months, up 141% year-over-year. BlueHalo, acquired in May 2025 for $4.1 billion, and the smaller ESAero purchase completed in March 2026 for roughly $200 million together contributed $282.3 million of revenue in the quarter alone.
AeroVironment's legacy Autonomous Systems segment generated $492.4 million in fourth-quarter revenue, while the newly created Space, Cyber and Directed Energy segment — formed from the BlueHalo portfolio — added $149.2 million. Product sales accounted for the bulk of the year-over-year gain, rising $256.7 million, with service revenue climbing $109.8 million as the combined company scaled its contract base.
The integration carried costs. Gross margin rose 102% to $202.6 million, but the margin rate slipped to 32% from 36% a year ago, weighed down by a higher mix of lower-margin service revenue from BlueHalo and $18.4 million in purchase-accounting amortization, up from $8.3 million. Selling, general and administrative expenses climbed $71.0 million, including $33.0 million of incremental intangible amortization and added headcount tied to the acquisition. Research-and-development spending increased $6.6 million year-over-year.
Income from operations reached $56.9 million, up from $13.8 million a year earlier, though the figure was reduced by $51.4 million of intangible amortization and purchase-accounting expenses, compared with $9.0 million in the prior-year quarter. Net income was $63.2 million, or $1.25 a share, versus $16.7 million, or 59 cents a share; excluding the $51.4 million, or 80 cents a share, of acquisition-related charges, earnings would have been meaningfully higher.
The company's order book kept pace with the enlarged revenue base. Full-year bookings totaled $2.7 billion, producing a book-to-bill ratio of 1.4 and leaving funded backlog at $1.2 billion as the fiscal year ended.
AeroVironment has been reshaping its leadership alongside its portfolio. The company named Sean Woodward as chief financial officer effective May 1, 2026, and Dr. Robert Smith as chief operating officer effective April 13, moves that signal the organizational scaling required to manage a business that has more than doubled in size in a single year. On August 5, 2026, Michael D. Ruppert joined the board of directors, while Charles Thomas Burbage announced his retirement from the board at the 2026 annual meeting.