Aevex shares close at $9.68 as company denies halt to U.S. Navy orders
Key Facts
Aevex shares closed at $9.68 in the October 21 session, compared with $14.34 on October 20, according to EL7 data, amid a dispute over the U.S. Navy's unmanned boat program. In a clarification carried by Investing, the company denied that any Navy orders under the program had been halted. It said "no Navy orders have been halted," challenging the account of suspended purchases. Bloomberg had reported, citing people familiar with the matter and according to Investing's account, that the suspension of purchases was linked to hardware limitations and the emergence of cheaper alternatives. Those alternatives include one-way attack drones costing less than the boats in question. The dispute concerns the status of purchases under the naval program, while Aevex says work under the existing contract continues.
Elaborating on its position, Aevex said purchases of additional boats had not been planned during the Navy's deployment of the units already in its possession. It said the Navy was distributing these units across multiple commands and using them for various missions. According to the clarification carried by Investing, the company fulfilled its contractual obligation by delivering 325 boats under the program to the U.S. Navy in 2025. The company described those deliveries as completing its obligation, while the Navy continues to deploy the fleet it received. Aevex's position places the absence of plans to buy additional units in the context of the use of existing boats, while the Bloomberg account carried by Investing links the suspension of purchases to hardware specifications and the cost of alternatives. The company disputes that account and maintains that existing orders have not been halted.
The naval program is part of Aevex's activities in autonomy technologies, unmanned systems and mission solutions for U.S. and allied forces, according to the company's description of its business on its investor relations website. Aevex had announced the completion of its acquisition of BlackSea Technologies and its integration into its maritime business structure. The acquired company became Aevex's Maritime Systems division upon completion of the transaction, according to the closing announcement. The division is led by Bob Budney, who was BlackSea's chief executive before the acquisition. According to Aevex's filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the transaction agreement set a base enterprise value of $600,000,000, subject to closing adjustments. The agreement also provided for the seller to receive potential additional consideration of $50,000,000, tied to share performance and the fulfillment of operational conditions. The agreed consideration therefore includes a component contingent on subsequent performance, alongside the base enterprise value specified in the agreement.
On financial performance, Aevex reported revenue of $201.8 million in its official results for the second quarter of 2026. Revenue for the second quarter of 2025, the year-earlier comparison period, was $101.1 million. The company said the increase between the two periods was 99.5%, with the revenue growth included in the quarterly results published on its investor relations website. Alongside those results, Aevex issued fiscal 2026 revenue guidance of $700.0 million to $720.0 million. That guidance dates to the quarterly announcement preceding the controversy over the Navy program, which was the context in which the company's estimates for its annual business were published.
As for upcoming work under the naval program, Aevex said it includes upgrades to units previously delivered to the U.S. Navy. According to its clarification carried by Investing, amendments to the existing contract raised its total value to about $350 million. That figure represents the contract's value following the amendments, while work continues on upgrades to boats in the Navy's possession. The company said the amendments also extended the contract's performance period, in addition to raising its total value. It identified June 2027 as the end of the extended performance period, with the program's continuation including work on delivered units.