Is Astronics Expanding Its Role in Next-Generation Military Aircraft?
Astronics ATRO is expanding its participation in military aerospace through flight-critical power technologies and new aircraft programs. While commercial transport remains an important part of the company's Aerospace business, its Military Aircraft operations are gaining from demand for power systems used on military platforms. During the second quarter of 2026, Astronics' Military Aircraft sales increased 11.7% to $30.6 million, driven by higher sales of flight-critical airframe power products.
A key development during the quarter was the MV-75 Future Long-Range Assault Aircraft (“FLRAA”) program. Astronics finalized the contract for the current engineering phase of the program, resulting in a $27.4 million booking. The booking was included in Aerospace bookings of $243.1 million for the quarter, while the Aerospace segment ended the period with a record $657.2 million backlog.
The FLRAA program is particularly relevant because Astronics is participating in the aircraft’s development phase. The company continues to perform well on the program and expects development to be completed in mid-2027. This positions Astronics to continue supplying its capabilities as the aircraft progresses through development.
The Test Systems order also illustrates how Astronics' defense exposure extends beyond aircraft components. The segment recorded $63.1 million of bookings during the second quarter, including the Army order, resulting in a 2.78:1 book-to-bill ratio. Segment backlog reached $123.3 million at the end of the quarter.
The company's flight-critical power, MV-75 engineering program and U.S. Army test-equipment business give Astronics multiple avenues to support military aerospace modernization.
Companies Supplying Next-Generation Military Aircraft
Along with ATRO, several other aerospace and defense companies are also supplying technologies for new military aircraft programs.
Honeywell Aerospace Inc. HONA develops aerospace systems and technologies used across military and commercial aircraft, including avionics, propulsion-related systems and auxiliary power technologies.
Moog MOG.A supplies precision motion-control and flight-control technologies for military aircraft, missiles, space systems and commercial aerospace platforms.
ATRO Stock’s Earnings Estimates
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2026 and 2027 earnings per share indicates a year-over-year improvement of 64.07% and 16.3%, respectively.
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ATRO Stock Trades at a Discount
In terms of valuation, ATRO’s forward 12-month price-to-sales (P/S) is 2.71X, a discount to the industry’s average of 7.11X.
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ATRO Stock’s Price Performance
In the past six months, the company’s shares have risen 30% against the industry’s 4.8% decline.
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ATRO’s Zacks Rank
The company currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
