AEVEX Corp. (NYSE: AVEX) stock surged in Thursday's premarket trading after the defense technology company reported stronger-than-expected third-quarter revenue and raised its 2026 forecast.

Revenue jumped 56.5% year over year to $189.7 million, beating analysts' expectations of $149.44 million.

However, AEVEX reported a loss of 40 cents per share, compared with expectations for earnings of 7 cents per share.

The loss largely reflected a one-time $37.9 million deferred tax charge tied to the Black Sea acquisition.

AEVEX reported a net loss of $16.8 million, compared with net income of $9.9 million a year earlier. Excluding the one-time tax expense, net income would have reached $21.1 million.

Meanwhile, adjusted EBITDA rose to $30.8 million from $17.8 million, while the adjusted EBITDA margin expanded to 16.2% from 14.6%.

Defense Demand Drives Revenue Growth

AEVEX's Airborne Systems segment generated $147.8 million in revenue, including $52.5 million from the Yukon Deep Strike program.

Global Solutions contributed $27.5 million, while Maritime Systems added $14.4 million, including $13 million from Black Sea Technologies.

The company ended the quarter with $78.6 million in cash and $172.5 million in debt.

Meanwhile, AEVEX reported $444.3 million in funded backlog and $1.1 billion in unfunded backlog.

Its sales pipeline expanded to $16.6 billion from $10.5 billion in the previous quarter, reflecting growing opportunities across defense platforms.

Major Defense Contracts Strengthen Outlook

Since the start of the third quarter, AEVEX has announced contract awards exceeding $300 million.

These include $88.1 million for precision-strike platforms, $61.5 million for one-way attack aircraft and up to $92.2 million for the Sky Range hypersonic testing program.

The company also secured a nearly $400 million contract for unmanned aircraft systems and support services.

Additionally, AEVEX introduced Specter, a modular, jet-powered precision-attack platform developed with Divergent.

Management highlighted rising demand for precision-strike systems, unmanned aircraft and maritime defense platforms.

AEVEX Raises 2026 Revenue Forecast

AEVEX raised its full-year revenue forecast to $820 million-$840 million from $700 million-$720 million, exceeding Wall Street's $743.05 million estimate.

The company also expects adjusted EBITDA of $128 million-$132 million.

Management cited stronger core business demand and contributions from Maritime Systems, which it expects to generate approximately $150 million in 2026 revenue.

AEVEX is expanding production capacity and investing in new defense technologies to support future growth.

AVEX Price Action: AEVEX shares were up 13.85% at $13.81 during premarket trading on Thursday, according to market data.