AeroVironment Beats Q1 2027 Estimates, Posts Record Revenue and $1.5B Backlog

SentiSense · Published Sep 9, 2026, 4:41 PM ET · Updated Sep 28, 2026, 2:45 AM ET

AeroVironment reported adjusted Q1 FY27 EPS of $0.59 on record revenue of $480.5 million, beating consensus estimates that ranged from $0.22 (Zacks, per MarketBeat) to $0.27-$0.30 (Investing.com), for a beat of roughly $0.29 to $0.37 depending on the data provider. GAAP diluted EPS was actually a loss of $0.10 per share. Funded backlog hit a record $1.5 billion, up 37% year over year, and the company secured its first international LOCUST counter-drone laser order. FY27 EPS guidance was raised to $3.02-$3.34. Needham and BTIG reiterated Buy ratings and Citizens JMP kept Market Outperform while cutting its target to $230; SentiSense's own analyst consensus shows a BUY rating with a $225.77 average target (19 analysts), below the $262.74 figure MarketBeat cited. Shares slipped 5.4% to $140.80 amid broader drone-sector weakness.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) opened fiscal 2027 with a strong first quarter, reporting adjusted earnings of $0.59 per share for the period ended August 1 and posting record quarterly revenue of $480.5 million. The size of the earnings beat depends on whose estimate is used: MarketBeat, citing Zacks, put the consensus at $0.22 for a $0.37 beat, while Investing.com's own coverage cited consensus figures between $0.27 and $0.30, implying a smaller beat of roughly $0.29 to $0.32. Either way, AeroVironment cleared Wall Street's bar comfortably. Worth noting: the $0.59 figure is an adjusted, non-GAAP number: on a GAAP basis the company posted a diluted loss of $0.10 per share for the quarter.

The results were underpinned by a record funded backlog of $1.5 billion, up 37% year over year, helped by directed-energy wins and the company's first international order for its LOCUST counter-drone laser system. Segment revenue split roughly two-thirds Autonomous Systems and one-third Space, Cyber and Directed Energy, with the LOCUST win adding to the latter's momentum.

Analyst reaction was mostly a round of reiterations rather than fresh initiations. Needham & Company reiterated its Buy rating with a $225 price target, and BTIG also reiterated Buy, both on September 10. Citizens JMP kept its Market Outperform rating while trimming its price target to $230 from $350. MarketBeat's recap cited a "Moderate Buy" consensus with a $262.74 average price target, but SentiSense's own analyst-consensus data, current as of September 10, shows a BUY rating with a lower average target of $225.77 across 19 analysts (range $148.57 to $326.00), a figure more consistent with the wave of post-earnings target cuts from Canaccord, Citizens and Stifel. Shares fell 5.4% to $140.80 in the session despite the beat, a move MarketBeat linked to broader risk-off sentiment toward drone stocks and recent insider sales under pre-arranged trading plans.

AeroVironment also raised its FY2027 guidance, projecting non-GAAP EPS of $3.02 to $3.34 and revenue of $2.1 to $2.2 billion, broadly in line with analyst expectations. Management's confidence rests on converting the growing backlog and expanding laser-based defense offerings into sustained growth through the year.

Investors will likely watch how the new LOCUST laser contract influences future international order flow and whether AeroVironment can convert its backlog into cash flow while the broader unmanned-systems sector stays volatile. The gap between strong fundamentals and a lower stock price could present an entry point for some, though the mixed consensus-estimate picture and the wave of post-earnings target trims suggest analysts are still working out exactly how strong this quarter really was.