The end of an earnings season can be a great time to discover new stocks and assess how companies are handling the current business environment. Let’s take a look at how Byrna (NASDAQ: BYRN) and the rest of the aerospace and defense stocks fared in Q4.
Emissions and automation are important in aerospace, so companies that boast advances in these areas can take market share. On the defense side, geopolitical tensions–whether it be Russia’s invasion of Ukraine or China’s aggression toward Taiwan–have highlighted the need for consistent or even elevated defense spending. As for challenges, demand for aerospace and defense products can ebb and flow with economic cycles and national defense budgets, which are unpredictable and particularly painful for companies with high fixed costs.
The 32 aerospace and defense stocks we track reported a strong Q4. As a group, revenues beat analysts’ consensus estimates by 2.1% while next quarter’s revenue guidance was in line.
In light of this news, share prices of the companies have held steady. On average, they are relatively unchanged since the latest earnings results.
Byrna (NASDAQ: BYRN)
Providing civilians with tools to disable, disarm, and deter would-be assailants, Byrna (NASDAQ: BYRN) is a provider of non-lethal weapons.
Byrna reported revenues of $35.25 million, up 26% year on year. This print exceeded analysts’ expectations by 0.9%. Overall, it was a strong quarter for the company with a beat of analysts’ EPS estimates and a narrow beat of analysts’ revenue estimates.
Management CommentaryByrna CEO Bryan Ganz stated: “In 2025, we scaled Byrna from a largely direct-to-consumer business model, driven by conservative-leaning celebrity endorsers, into a diversified multi-platform model focused on reaching a broader audience through our nationwide dealer base. This was supported in large part by our expansion from roughly 300 chain store locations at the beginning of 2025 to approximately 900 chain store locations at the end of the year. In addition to these national and well-known chain stores, Byrna is carried at approximately 600 additional brick-and-mortar locations comprised of distributors, independent dealers, premier dealers, show dealers, and Company-owned retail stores, bringing our total footprint to more than 1,500 locations where you can touch, feel (and often shoot) a Byrna before you buy.
Unsurprisingly, the stock is down 21.4% since reporting and currently trades at $9.60.
Best Q4: Boeing (NYSE: BA)
One of the companies that forms a duopoly in the commercial aircraft market, Boeing (NYSE: BA) develops, manufactures, and services commercial airplanes, defense products, and space systems.
Boeing reported revenues of $23.95 billion, up 57.1% year on year, outperforming analysts’ expectations by 6.9%. The business had an incredible quarter with a beat of analysts’ EPS estimates and an impressive beat of analysts’ EBITDA estimates.
Although it had a fine quarter compared its peers, the market seems unhappy with the results as the stock is down 15.3% since reporting. It currently trades at $210.52.
Is now the time to buy Boeing? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it’s free.
Weakest Q4: AerSale (NASDAQ: ASLE)
Providing a one-stop shop that integrates multiple services and product offerings, AerSale (NASDAQ: ASLE) delivers full-service support to mid-life commercial aircraft.
AerSale reported revenues of $90.94 million, down 4% year on year, falling short of analysts’ expectations by 8.8%. It was a disappointing quarter as it posted a significant miss of analysts’ revenue estimates and a significant miss of analysts’ adjusted operating income estimates.
As expected, the stock is down 11.9% since the results and currently trades at $6.45.
Read our full analysis of AerSale’s results here.
Leidos (NYSE: LDOS)
Formed through the split of IT services company SAIC, Leidos (NYSE: LDOS) offers technology and engineering solutions such as military training systems for the defense, civil, and health markets.
Leidos reported revenues of $4.21 billion, down 3.6% year on year. This result came in 2.5% below analysts' expectations. More broadly, it was a mixed quarter as it also recorded a solid beat of analysts’ adjusted operating income estimates but a significant miss of analysts’ revenue estimates.
The stock is down 4.1% since reporting and currently trades at $168.99.
Read our full, actionable report on Leidos here, it’s free.
Kratos (NASDAQ: KTOS)
Established with a commitment to supporting national security, Kratos (NASDAQ: KTOS) is a provider of advanced engineering, technology, and security solutions tailored for critical national security applications.
Kratos reported revenues of $345.1 million, up 21.9% year on year. This number beat analysts’ expectations by 6.3%. It was a very strong quarter as it also produced a solid beat of analysts’ organic revenue estimates and a solid beat of analysts’ revenue estimates.
The stock is up 1.3% since reporting and currently trades at $95.56.
Read our full, actionable report on Kratos here, it’s free.
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