AEVEX Corp. (AVEX)

Price$16.47Cached quoteAs of 2026-09-05 10:04 UTC

AI: Fair-priced

Price checkThe stock sits below its IPO and June follow-on levels after a sharp post-deal reset.

The latest close leaves AVEX below both its spring IPO level and the June follow-on offering level. That reset matters because AEVEX has since delivered much stronger operating results and closed BlackSea, but the acquisition adds 12.7 million new shares and roughly $250 million of cash consideration. The current valuation therefore looks neither obviously distressed nor exuberant; investors are paying for growth while already discounting execution, financing and integration risk.

Big pictureOn a pro forma basis, valuation looks reasonable for growth, but not obviously cheap.

AEVEX’s Up-C structure means the listed Class A count alone understates economic ownership: before BlackSea there were about 114 million total economic units, then 12.7 million new shares were issued. Using the latest close, announced deal cash and June net cash, I estimate pro forma enterprise value—equity value plus debt minus cash—around 2.5 to 2.6 times combined annual revenue and roughly 16 to 17 times adjusted EBITDA. That looks reasonable, but not cheap, before considering the tax-receivable liability or possible earnout.

Business strengthEarnings momentum is strong, while cash generation and customer concentration still require caution.

Second-quarter revenue nearly doubled and AEVEX moved to positive net income, while adjusted EBITDA expanded sharply. First-half free cash flow was only $5.3 million, so accounting earnings are not yet translating into equally large cash generation. At June end, AEVEX had about $215 million of cash, roughly $99 million of debt and an unused $200 million revolver. However, funded backlog fell as a major deep-strike program converted to revenue, and 92.7% of backlog was tied to the U.S. government.

What could change the storyExecution on BlackSea and government demand will decide whether today’s valuation proves attractive.

The bull case assumes standalone 2026 guidance is achieved, BlackSea delivers roughly its expected $150 million annual revenue at comparable margins, new contract wins refill backlog, and expanded production capacity converts demand into cash. The bear case assumes the deep-strike ramp fades faster than replacement awards arrive, government procurement slips, integration consumes more working capital, or acquisition financing raises interest costs. Existing shareholders also face BlackSea dilution and future cash claims under a tax-receivable agreement that shares certain tax savings with pre-IPO owners.

AI: News

BlackSea acquisition closesAEVEX closed BlackSea, adding maritime autonomy scale while increasing dilution and financing demands.

On September 8, AEVEX completed its acquisition of BlackSea Technologies. The closing consideration was based on a $600 million enterprise value and included 12.7 million new Class A shares plus cash, with a possible $50 million performance earnout in additional shares. BlackSea becomes AEVEX’s Maritime Systems division, broadening the portfolio into unmanned surface and subsea vessels while raising integration, leverage and dilution considerations.

Production footprint expandsAEVEX announced new Florida and Virginia facilities to support higher production and customer proximity.

On September 3, AEVEX said it was expanding and consolidating its Tampa manufacturing footprint and opening additional Arlington office space. Management expects the Florida investment to more than double production capacity over the next year. The move supports a faster manufacturing ramp and closer government-customer collaboration, but it also means additional execution requirements as the company scales facilities, staffing and working capital.

New strike-system awardA new U.S. government award reinforced demand for AEVEX’s one-way attack systems.

On August 20, AEVEX announced a $41 million award to deliver one-way attack systems to U.S. government customers. The contract adds to recent demand signals for rapidly fielded autonomous strike systems and supports the company’s tactical-systems growth narrative. It also underscores the business model’s reliance on government procurement, where award timing, funding cycles and program concentration can make quarterly revenue uneven.

Second-quarter growth acceleratesSecond-quarter results showed rapid growth, profitability improvement and a higher standalone full-year outlook.

On August 12, AEVEX reported second-quarter revenue of $201.8 million, up 99.5% year over year, net income of $6.7 million and adjusted EBITDA of $28.1 million. Management raised standalone 2026 guidance to $700 million to $720 million of revenue and $105 million to $111.5 million of adjusted EBITDA, explicitly excluding BlackSea. The quarter demonstrated operating leverage, although first-half cash conversion remained much smaller than reported EBITDA.

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Revenue

2024

2025

Net income

2024

2025

Free cash flow

2024

2025

Total cash / debt

CashTotal debt

2024

2025

Financial statements

	2025	2024
Revenue	$432.9M	$392.2M
Gross profit	$94.3M	$110.3M
Gross margin	21.78%	28.12%
Research & development	$25.4M	$13.0M
Operating expenses	$86.1M	$3.3M
Operating income	$8.2M	$107.0M
Operating margin	1.89%	27.28%
EBITDA	$29.6M	$128.3M
EBITDA margin	6.83%	32.72%
Net income	$106,000	$44,000
Net profit margin	0.02%	0.01%
Basic EPSper basic share	-$0.61	$1.62
Diluted EPSper diluted share	-$0.61	$1.62

Review official source filings ↗

Owners

Reported shareholders

Reference date Jun 30, 2026

≈40.48%of listed shares

MADISON DEARBORN CAPITAL PARTNERS VII-C, L.P. / MADISON DEARBORN CAPITAL PARTNERS VII-B, L.P. / MADISON DEARBORN PARTNERS LLC / MADISON DEARBORN CAPITAL PARTNERS VII EXECUTIVE-B, L.P.22.86M shares · Jun 5, 2026

View holders

Top 20 reported holders of AVEX
Holder	% owned
MADISON DEARBORN CAPITAL PARTNERS VII-C, L.P. / MADISON DEARBORN CAPITAL PARTNERS VII-B, L.P. / MADISON DEARBORN PARTNERS LLC / MADISON DEARBORN CAPITAL PARTNERS VII EXECUTIVE-B, L.P.	≈40.48%22.86M shares
Fidelity National Financial, Inc.	10.51%5.94M shares
BlackRock, Inc.	6.11%3.45M shares
ALLIANCEBERNSTEIN L.P.	3.84%2.17M shares
PRINCIPAL FINANCIAL GROUP INC	3.04%1.72M shares
CITADEL ADVISORS LLC	2.56%1.45M shares
JPMORGAN CHASE & CO	2.42%1.37M shares
VANGUARD CAPITAL MANAGEMENT LLC	1.98%1.12M shares
Raduenz Brian	≈1.95%1.1M shares
VANGUARD PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT LLC	1.84%1.04M shares
Alyeska Investment Group, L.P.	1.69%952.77K shares
MASSACHUSETTS FINANCIAL SERVICES CO /MA/	1.04%588.25K shares
FRANKLIN RESOURCES INC	1.02%576.21K shares
ExodusPoint Capital Management, LP	1.00%566.44K shares
EMERALD ADVISERS, LLC	0.95%538.57K shares
GEODE CAPITAL MANAGEMENT, LLC	0.90%509.24K shares
GILDER GAGNON HOWE & CO LLC	0.76%431.29K shares
Ghisallo Capital Management LLC	0.69%389.47K shares
JANE STREET GROUP, LLC	0.68%381.46K shares
MILLENNIUM MANAGEMENT LLC	0.61%345.11K shares

Percentages use 56.47M shares of this listed class outstanding on Jun 30, 2026. ≈ compares the latest reported holding with a share total from a different date; it is not a confirmed current stake.

Gray completes the 100% scale. Reported positions may overlap; holders have different reporting dates.

Source: SEC Form 4 ↗Updated Sep 29, 2026 · Quarterly data

Insider buys & sells

Jul 1, 2024–Jun 30, 2026

Buys5$1.48M disclosed value

Sells (SEC code S)1$59.10M disclosed value

Transaction	Insider	Type	Shares	Price	Value	Owned after
Jun 5, 2026Form 4	MADISON DEARBORN CAPITAL PARTNERS VII-C, L.P. +3TenPercentOwner	SellClass A Common Stock · indirect	2.27M	$25.99	$59.10M	22.86M
Apr 16, 2026Form 4	Booth ToddChief Financial Officer	BuyClass A common stock	13.0K	$20.00	$260.0K	13.0K
Apr 16, 2026Form 4	Jackson Michael AndrewSee Remarks	BuyClass A common stock	650	$20.00	$13.0K	650
Apr 16, 2026Form 4	Wells Charles Roger IVChief Executive Officer	BuyClass A common stock	500	$20.00	$10.0K	500
Apr 16, 2026Form 4	Raduenz BrianDirector	BuyClass A common stock	50.0K	$20.00	$1.00M	50.0K

Review ownership filings at SEC.gov ↗

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