Shares of the U.S. defense contractor, AeroVironment (NASDAQ: AVAV) were on an upswing in pre-market trading at the time of publishing on Wednesday after the company announced fiscal Q4 adjusted earnings of $0.99 per share as compared to $0.12 in the same period last year but ahead of Street estimates of $0.95 per share.
In Q4, revenues rose by 40% year-over-year to $186 million, exceeding consensus estimates of $159.5 million. As of April 30, 2023, AeroVironment’s funded backlog was $424.1 million, as compared to $210.8 million as of April 30 last year. Funded backlog as defined in AeroVironment’s press release is “remaining performance obligations under firm orders for which funding is currently appropriated to us under a customer contract.”
Looking forward, the management expects revenue between $630 million and $660 million in FY24 while adjusted earnings are projected to be in the range of $2.30 to $2.60 per share.
Analysts are bullish about AVAV stock with a Strong Buy consensus rating based on four Buys and one Hold.