AEVEX Aerospace closed at $15.36 on 16 October, 23 percent below the $20 at which it sold 16 million shares in its April listing on the New York Stock Exchange. The Solana Beach, California, drone maker raised $320 million in that offering.
The first months went the other way. The stock opened at $23.01 on 17 April and closed the day at $26.93. It touched $42.34 during trading on 20 April and reached its highest close, $40.48, on 28 May.
AEVEX used the rise. In June it and its existing holders sold 8 million more shares at $27, according to the company’s prospectus. The company’s part, about 5.7 million shares, went to buy units from existing owners rather than into its own cash.
The business has grown fast. Second-quarter revenue was $201.8 million, nearly double a year earlier, with net income of $6.7 million. On 12 August the company raised its 2026 revenue guidance to $700 million to $720 million, from $600 million to $620 million in May. Chief executive Roger Wells said demand for its drones remained strong.
Its order book has shrunk as it delivers. Funded backlog was $259.8 million at the end of June, against $503.1 million at the end of 2025. AEVEX put the fall mainly down to revenue booked on one programme, “EUCOM AOR Deep Strike”.
The slide has made one deal look expensive. AEVEX closed its purchase of BlackSea Technologies, a maker of uncrewed boats, on 8 September at an enterprise value of $600 million. Part of the price was 12.7 million AEVEX shares valued at $27.50 each, or $350 million. At the 16 October close those shares were worth about $195 million.
Since the listing AEVEX has announced orders worth $41 million and $20.5 million for one-way attack drones, for customers it did not name. Madison Dearborn Partners held about 79 percent of the votes after the listing, the IPO prospectus said. AEVEX has not yet set a date for its third-quarter results.
