Wars in Ukraine and the Middle East have done more than dominate headlines in recent years. According to AeroVironment’s top executive, geopolitical tensions have permanently rewritten the rules of modern combat.That shift is showing up directly in AeroVironment’s (AVAV) business. The drone and defense technology maker just closed out a fiscal year of record sales, a major acquisition, and a debt load that looks nothing like it did twelve months ago.Here’s what CEO Wahid Nawabi is telling investors, and what the numbers say about whether AeroVironment (AVAV) can back up the talk.AeroVironment’s business has transformed fastAeroVironment makes small military drones, loitering munitions such as the Switchblade line, and counter-drone defense systems, including its Titan jamming devices and LOCUST laser weapons. The company sells mainly to the U.S. military and allied nations abroad.A year ago, AeroVironment closed its acquisition of BlueHalo, a deal that nearly doubled its size overnight and added space, cyber, and directed-energy weapons to its lineup.That deal is now showing up clearly in the numbers. In fiscal Q4 (ended in April) sales rose 133% year over year. Full-year revenue rose to $2 billion, indicating an organic growth rate of 30%, while adjusted EBITDA was $286 million, above the high end of management guidance. Full-year backlog, meaning contracts already signed but not yet delivered, totaled $2.7 billion.Nawabi stated:”Fiscal 2026 marked a transformational year for AV, which included the completion of our largest acquisition, meaningful investments toward diversifying our portfolio in critical areas aligned to our customer’s highest priorities, and the strongest financial performance in our history.”
AeroVironment is investing heavily in growth and dronesCheng Xin/Getty Images)
Nawabi says Ukraine and Iran changed the playbookSpeaking at Bank of America’s Industrials, Transportation and Airlines conference on May 13, Nawabi said the conflicts in Ukraine and Iran have reset how military leaders think about spending. For decades, he said, defense budgets centered on fighter jets, aircraft carriers and tanks. Ukraine proved that cheap, mass-produced armed drones could change a battlefield, while Iran’s drone attacks, including strikes near civilian sites, showed the scale of the threat could reach into the thousands or more. He said the United States currently lacks an affordable way to counter that volume, which is why AeroVironment’s drone and counter-drone products sit squarely in what he called the fastest-growing part of the defense budget. Related: White House order shifts focus back to defense stocksNawabi also raised the possibility that public venues such as stadiums, concerts and the Olympics may eventually need their own drone defense systems, something he said the NFL has already begun exploring.On the June 29 call, Nawabi described what he called unprecedented demand signals across the company’s drone and counter-drone products, and said AeroVironment expects significant contract wins over the next twelve to twenty-four months as government spending catches up to that new threat picture.What the balance sheet says about AeroVironment stockThe BlueHalo deal reshaped AeroVironment’s financials just as much as its product lineup. Total assets jumped to $5.72 billion from $1.12 billion a year earlier, largely because goodwill ballooned to $2.49 billion from $257 million. Long-term debt surged to $729 million from just $30 million, tied to zero-coupon convertible notes issued to help fund the acquisition. On paper, that is a steep jump in leverage.But the picture looks less alarming once it’s put in context. Shareholders’ equity also grew sharply, from $887 million to $4.4 billion, since much of the BlueHalo deal was funded with stock rather than debt. That leaves total liabilities at $1.32 billion against $4.4 billion of equity, a conservative ratio for an industrial company. Management also noted on the earnings call that net debt is just 1.2 times adjusted EBITDA, a manageable level by most standards.More Wall Street:HSBC doubles down on stock market message for 2026Citi quietly resets S&P 500 price target for the rest of 2026Jim Cramer has a stark message on the stock market for 2026Cash flow tells a similarly reassuring story. Operating cash flow reached $95.5 million for the quarter, and free cash flow totaled around $73 million, marking the company’s first positive free cash flow quarter since early fiscal 2025. Total cash and investments stood at $632 million.Profitability is also trending the right way. Gross margin climbed to 31.6% for the quarter from 22% just two quarters earlier, and operating margin turned positive at 8.9% after two straight quarterly losses.Put together, AeroVironment looks fundamentally sound despite the debt spike. The borrowing funded a business that is already growing revenue at triple-digit rates and generating cash again, rather than propping up a struggling company. Investors should still watch execution of the BlueHalo integration and whether government budget delays, which Nawabi flagged repeatedly on the call, slow contract awards in the coming quarters.For now, AeroVironment is guiding fiscal 2027 revenue to $2.125 billion to $2.225 billion, with adjusted EBITDA to $305 million to $325 million, according to the company’s June 29 earnings call. If Nawabi’s read on the state of global conflict holds up, that guidance may prove conservative.Related: Morgan Stanley spots a defining moment for defense stocks