AeroVironment vs BWX Technologies
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The short version
- BWX Technologies is the larger business, with $3.2B of revenue in fiscal 2025 against $2.0B for AeroVironment, about 1.6 times as much.
- AeroVironment grew revenue faster (140.9%, against 18.3%).
- BWX Technologies kept more of each dollar of sales as operating profit (12.7% operating margin, against −15.7%).
- BWX Technologies turned more of its sales into free cash flow (9.2% FCF margin, against −7.1%).
- BWX Technologies earned a higher return on the capital invested in it (13.9%, against −9.1%).
| Latest fiscal year | AVAV · FY26 | BWXT · FY25 |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| Market cap | $6.1B | $11.7B |
| Revenue | $2.0B | $3.2B |
| Free cash flow | −$141M | $295M |
| Net income | −$265M | $329M |
| Growth | ||
| Revenue growth | 140.9% | 18.3% |
| 5-year growth | 38.0% | 8.5% |
| Share count change | 74.2% | 0.0% |
| Profitability | ||
| Gross margin | 25.3% | 22.9% |
| Operating margin | −15.7% | 12.7% |
| Net margin | −13.4% | 10.3% |
| FCF margin | −7.1% | 9.2% |
| Return on capital | −9.1% | 13.9% |
| Return on equity | −10.0% | 28.4% |
| Balance sheet | ||
| Net debt | $115M | $1.5B |
| Net debt / EBITDA | — | 3.0x |
| Dividends and buybacks | $0.0M | $123M |
| Valuation & quality | ||
| P/E | — | 33.0x |
| Piotroski F-score | 3 | 7 |
Revenue
FY17
AVAV $229M
BWXT $1.7B
FY18
AVAV $271M
BWXT $1.8B
FY19
AVAV $314M
BWXT $1.9B
FY20
AVAV $367M
BWXT $2.1B
FY21
AVAV $395M
BWXT $2.1B
FY22
AVAV $446M
BWXT $2.2B
FY23
AVAV $541M
BWXT $2.5B
FY24
AVAV $717M
BWXT $2.7B
FY25
AVAV $821M
BWXT $3.2B
FY26
AVAV $2.0B
BWXT —
AVAV
BWXT
Operating margin
FY17
AVAV 9.1%
BWXT 17.3%
FY18
AVAV 11.2%
BWXT 16.9%
FY19
AVAV 10.8%
BWXT 17.2%
FY20
AVAV 12.8%
BWXT 16.9%
FY21
AVAV 11.0%
BWXT 16.3%
FY22
AVAV −2.2%
BWXT 15.6%
FY23
AVAV −33.1%
BWXT 15.4%
FY24
AVAV 10.0%
BWXT 14.1%
FY25
AVAV 5.0%
BWXT 12.7%
FY26
AVAV −15.7%
BWXT —
AVAV
BWXT
Free cash flow
FY17
AVAV −$17.3M
BWXT $125M
FY18
AVAV $60.3M
BWXT $60.0M
FY19
AVAV $18.1M
BWXT $97.2M
FY20
AVAV $13.9M
BWXT −$58.6M
FY21
AVAV $75.3M
BWXT $75.0M
FY22
AVAV −$31.9M
BWXT $46.4M
FY23
AVAV −$3.5M
BWXT $212M
FY24
AVAV −$7.7M
BWXT $255M
FY25
AVAV −$20.9M
BWXT $295M
FY26
AVAV −$141M
BWXT —
AVAV
BWXT
Return on capital
FY17
AVAV —
BWXT —
FY18
AVAV —
BWXT 32.6%
FY19
AVAV —
BWXT 24.3%
FY20
AVAV —
BWXT 21.5%
FY21
AVAV —
BWXT 16.6%
FY22
AVAV −1.2%
BWXT 14.0%
FY23
AVAV −22.6%
BWXT 14.4%
FY24
AVAV 10.5%
BWXT 14.9%
FY25
AVAV 4.8%
BWXT 13.9%
FY26
AVAV −9.1%
BWXT —
AVAV
BWXT
Each company's latest fiscal year; fiscal years end in different months. The best value in each row is highlighted where higher (or lower) is clearly better. Not investment advice.