Why Did Military Drone Maker AeroVironment’s Stock Rise In Extended Trading?

AeroVironment (AVAV) stock gained 4% in extended trading on Tuesday after the company said it is chasing more than 20 defense programs, including the Golden Dome initiative, that can unlock $20 billion in potential value over the next five years.

“The opportunities in front of us are massive,” CEO Wahid Nawabi said in a call with analysts. The company is also among the top contenders for a significant majority of the programs, he added.

Defense firms such as AeroVironment are banking on a splurge in military investment across the world amid heightened geopolitical tensions. The United States, under President Donald Trump, has pledged to unleash American “drone dominance,” which has boosted the prospects of unmanned aerial system (UAS) developers.

On Monday, the company said that it has got a nearly $240M order for its long-haul laser communications terminals from an undisclosed customer who will deploy the systems in orbit.

Retail sentiment on Stocktwits about AeroVironment was in the ‘extremely bullish’ territory at the time of writing, while retail chatter was ‘extremely high.’

AeroVironment said on Tuesday that its funded backlog had grown to $1.1 billion as of Aug. 2, compared with $726.6 million as of April 30. The company received a $95 million contract from the U.S. Army recently to bolster the development and manufacturing capacity of surface-to-air Freedom Eagle 1 missiles for the anti-drone interceptor program.

“This company is best in class when it comes to drones. Expect green tomorrow,” one user wrote on Stocktwits.

For the fiscal year 2026, the company reiterated its revenue projections of between $1.9 billion and $2.0 billion and adjusted earnings forecast of between $3.60 and $3.70 per share.

The Arlington, Virginia-based firm’s fiscal first-quarter revenue more than doubled to $454.7 million, topping estimates of $436 million, according to fiscal.ai data. Its adjusted earnings of $0.32 per share were in line with estimates.

“There is money and there's funding, and there's urgent requirements for drones, for loitering munitions, for counter-UAS RF, for lasers, for the Golden Dome,” Nawabi said.

AeroVironment stock has gained 46.3% this year.

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