AIRO Group Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:AIRO) saw its stock plunge 18.7% on Friday after the aerospace and defense tech firm posted sharply lower third-quarter revenue, citing significant delays in drone shipments. Management, however, signaled that a major rebound is already underway for the current quarter.
AIRO generated $6.3 million in Q3 revenue, a steep drop from $23.7 million in the same quarter last year, and reported an adjusted loss of $0.28 per share. The company said roughly $20 million worth of drone deliveries were pushed into the fourth quarter after customers requested added capabilities.
Despite the setback, AIRO indicated that momentum has already shifted. As of November 14, the company had logged $24.5 million in fourth-quarter revenue, pointing to a strong turnaround. Executives reiterated their full-year outlook, expecting 2025 revenue to surpass last year’s $86.9 million total.
CEO Joe Burns emphasized the underlying progress the company has made: “While our third quarter revenue was impacted by timing delays related to customer-requested capability enhancements to certain drone platforms, I’m pleased with our overall progress during the first nine months of 2025.”
Gross margin fell to 44.4%, down from 68.7% a year earlier, mainly due to shifts in product mix and the postponement of shipments. Still, AIRO narrowed its net loss to $8.0 million, significantly better than the $30.3 million loss in the prior year.
The company recently boosted liquidity through an $89.4 million follow-on public offering and rolled out a series of strategic initiatives. These include a joint venture with Nord Drone Group and a $4.5 million development effort through its Sky-Watch division aimed at counter-electronic warfare technologies.
Executive Chairman Dr. Chirinjeev Kathuria highlighted strong market fundamentals, saying, “We are continuing to see strong demand within the broader drone industry and unprecedented tailwinds driven by evolving defense requirements and the proven effectiveness of unmanned systems in modern conflicts.”