Ondas raised its 2026 revenue outlook to at least $390 million as acquisitions, defense demand, and counter-drone contracts rapidly expanded the company’s backlog and operating platform.
Key Investor Takeaways
- Ondas (NASDAQ:ONDS) raised its full-year 2026 revenue forecast to at least $390 million.
- Pro forma backlog surged to $457 million, providing stronger visibility into expected revenue growth.
- The company is aggressively expanding through acquisitions tied to counter-UAS, ISR, loitering munitions, and defense robotics markets.
- Ondas reported more than 10-fold year-over-year revenue growth in Q1 2026.
- Investors are likely focused on whether operating leverage and defense demand can accelerate the path toward profitability.
Why Ondas Stock Is in Focus
Ondas reported first-quarter 2026 revenue of $50.1 million, up from $4.3 million in the same period last year.
The company said growth was driven by strong demand for counter-UAS systems, robotics platforms, and defense technologies across its expanding portfolio.
Gross profit increased to $24.7 million, while gross margin improved to 49%, compared with 35% a year earlier.
Ondas also raised its full-year 2026 revenue target to at least $390 million, representing projected growth of roughly 670% compared to 2025 results.
Management highlighted a major increase in backlog, which reached $457 million on a pro forma basis following the acquisitions of Mistral and World View.
Chairman and chief executive Eric Brock said the company is benefiting from accelerating global defense demand.
“We delivered record results in the first quarter of 2026, with revenue of $50.1 million representing a ten-fold increase year-over-year, as our Core + Strategic Growth Program continues to drive strong execution and accelerating momentum across the business,” Brock stated.
Why This Matters for Investors
The key investor theme may be Ondas’ rapid transformation into a broader defense and autonomous systems platform.
The company is no longer focused solely on drone technology. Through acquisitions and partnerships, Ondas is building exposure across:
- Counter-drone systems
- ISR platforms
- Loitering munitions
- Border security
- Ground robotics
- Stratospheric surveillance technologies
The growing backlog and raised revenue forecast suggest management sees sustained demand from defense and homeland security customers.
Ondas also emphasized increasing traction in Europe, the Middle East, Asia-Pacific, and the United States, particularly as governments increase spending on airspace security and autonomous defense systems.
Another important development is the company’s partnership with Palantir Technologies, which management said is helping integrate AI-driven operational systems across air, ground, and stratospheric domains.
For investors, the collaboration could strengthen Ondas’ positioning in next-generation military and homeland security architectures centered on AI, autonomy, and real-time data fusion.
At the same time, rising operating expenses and continued adjusted EBITDA losses show the company is still in an aggressive expansion phase.
Ondas indicated losses are expected to remain elevated in the near term as it scales infrastructure, manufacturing, supply chains, and integration efforts tied to recent acquisitions.
What to Watch Next
Investors will likely monitor:
- Conversion of the $457 million backlog into revenue
- Integration progress for recent acquisitions
- Additional defense contract wins
- Expansion of counter-UAS deployments globally
- Progress toward adjusted EBITDA profitability targets
Management now expects its Ondas Autonomous Systems unit to reach adjusted EBITDA profitability by the first quarter of 2027, earlier than previously forecast.
Future updates around defense demand, AI-enabled ISR platforms, and new government contracts could remain major catalysts for the stock through 2026.