Sifting through countless of stocks in the Aerospace & Defense industry can be tedious, and sometimes two stocks are just too similar to judge which is the better investment. If you’re on the fence about investing in AeroVironment, Inc. or Astronics Corporation because you’re not sure how they measure up, it’s important to compare them on a few factors before making your decision.

Read on to learn how AeroVironment, Inc. and Astronics Corporation compare based on key financial metrics to determine which better meets your investment needs.

About AeroVironment, Inc. and Astronics Corporation

AeroVironment, Inc. designs, develops, produces, delivers, and supports a portfolio of robotic systems and related services for government agencies and businesses in the United States and internationally. It operates in two segments, Autonomous Systems; and Space, Cyber and Directed Energy. The company provides uncrewed aircraft systems (UAS), which include small and medium UAS, and kinesis command and control software; and counter-UAS and precision strike, a loitering munitions solution that deliver actionable intelligence and precision firepower modern warfighters, including precision strike, radio frequency and kinetic C-UAS, and electronic warfare systems. It also offers autonomy, AI, and platform technologies; unmanned maritime; uncrewed ground systems; and high-altitude pseudo-satellites. The company provides digital beamforming technology, a multi-band/beam software defined antenna tile that allows simultaneous communication with multiple satellites; laser communications, a data transmission systems for space operations; space-qualified hardware for line of sight stabilization and control electronics in low, medium, and geostationary earth orbit, as well as cislunar orbits; phased array antenna technology to supports hypersonic telemetry and tracking, and other missile testing; and directed energy solution. It also offers cyber solution for national security and defense operations; and HaloCortex OSINT, an AI-powered OSINT analysis platform to provide insights and solve department of defense and commercial challenges. AeroVironment, Inc. was incorporated in 1971 and is headquartered in Arlington, Virginia.

Astronics Corporation, through its subsidiaries, designs and manufactures products for the aerospace, defense, and electronics industries in the United States, rest of North America, Asia, Europe, South America, and internationally. It operates in two segments, Aerospace and Test Systems. The Aerospace segment offers lighting and safety systems, electrical power generation systems, distribution and seat motions systems, aircraft structures, avionics products, systems certification, and other products. This segment serves airframe manufacturers (OEM) that build aircraft for the commercial transport, military, and general aviation markets; suppliers to OEMs; and aircraft operators, such as airlines; suppliers to the aircraft operators; and branches of the U.S. Department of Defense. The Test Systems segment designs, develops, manufactures, and maintains automated test systems that support the aerospace and defense, communications, and mass transit industries, as well as training and simulation devices for commercial and military applications. This segment serves OEMs and prime government contractors for electronics and military products. The company was incorporated in 1968 and is headquartered in East Aurora, New York.

Latest Aerospace & Defense and AeroVironment, Inc., Astronics Corporation Stock News

As of June 4, 2026, AeroVironment, Inc. had a $10.3 billion market capitalization, compared to the Aerospace & Defense median of $4.8 million. AeroVironment, Inc.’s stock is down 22% in 2026, down 9% in the previous five trading days and up 9.8% in the past year.

Currently, AeroVironment, Inc. does not have a price-earnings ratio. AeroVironment, Inc.’s trailing 12-month revenue is $1.6 billion with a -13.9% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 143.4%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $2.881 per share for the current fiscal year. AeroVironment, Inc. does not currently pay a dividend.

As of June 4, 2026, Astronics Corporation had a $3.1 billion market cap, putting it in the 60th percentile of all stocks. Astronics Corporation’s stock is up 60.4% in 2026, NA 0% in the previous five trading days and up 171.97% in the past year.

Currently, Astronics Corporation’s price-earnings ratio is 70.8. Astronics Corporation’s trailing 12-month revenue is $886.8 million with a 5.1% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 12.0%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $2.710 per share for the current fiscal year. Astronics Corporation does not currently pay a dividend.

How We Compare AeroVironment, Inc. and Astronics Corporation Stock Grades

Stock evaluation requires access to huge amounts of data and the knowledge and time to sift through it all, make sense of financial ratios, read income statements and analyze recent stock movements. AAII created A+ Investor, a robust data suite that condenses data research in an actionable and customizable way suitable for investors of all knowledge levels, to help investors streamline and work through such data.

AAII’s proprietary stock grades come with A+ Investor. These offer intuitive A‐F grades for each of five key investing factors: value, growth, momentum, earnings estimate revisions and quality. Here, we’ll take a closer look at AeroVironment, Inc. and Astronics Corporation’s stock grades to see how they measure up against one another.

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AeroVironment, Inc. and Astronics Corporation Stock Value Grades

Company	Ticker	Value
AeroVironment, Inc.	AVAV	F
Astronics Corporation	ATRO	F

Successful stock investing involves buying low and selling high, so stock valuation is an important consideration for stock selection.

Buying stocks that are going to go up typically means buying stocks that are undervalued in the first place, although momentum investors may argue that point.

AAII’s A+ Investor Value Grade derives from a stock’s value score. The Value Score is the percentile rank of the average of the percentile ranks of the price-to-sales ratio, price-earnings ratio, enterprise-value-to-EBITDA (EV/EBITDA) ratio, shareholder yield, price-to-book-value ratio and price-to-free-cash-flow ratio. The score is variable, meaning it can consider all six ratios or, should any of the six ratios not be valid, the remaining ratios that are valid. To be assigned a Value Score, stocks must have a valid (non-null) ratio and corresponding ranking for at least two of the six valuation ratios.

Stocks with a Value Score from 81 to 100 are considered deep value, those with a score between 61 and 80 are a good value and so on.

AeroVironment, Inc. has a Value Score of 9, which is Ultra Expensive. Astronics Corporation has a Value Score of 9, which is Ultra Expensive.

The Value Stock Winner: No Clear Winner

Neither AeroVironment, Inc. or Astronics Corporation has a high enough value grade to be considered a “winner.” Investors who are considering these companies should do additional due diligence and research to see if either could be a good addition to their portfolio. It’s important to look at a wide range of financial metrics in order to determine if AeroVironment, Inc. or Astronics Corporation is the better investment when it comes to value.

AeroVironment, Inc. and Astronics Corporation’s Quality Grades

Company	Ticker	Quality
AeroVironment, Inc.	AVAV	F
Astronics Corporation	ATRO	B

Like the Value Grade, AAII’s A+ Investor Quality Grade comes from the percentile rank of key metrics. Specifically, the Quality Score is the percentile rank of the average of the percentile ranks of return on assets (ROA), return on invested capital (ROIC), gross profit relative to assets, buyback yield, change in total liabilities to assets, accruals, Z double prime bankruptcy risk (Z) score and the F-Score.

The score is variable, meaning it can consider all eight measures or, should any of the eight measures not be valid, the remaining measures that are valid. To be assigned a Quality Score, stocks must have a valid (non-null) measure and corresponding ranking for at least four of the eight quality measures.

The Quality Score is used to assess the underlying “quality” of a particular stock. A higher-quality stock possesses traits associated with upside potential and reduced downside risk. Backtesting of the Quality Grade shows that stocks with higher grades, on average, outperformed stocks with lower grades over the period of 1998 through 2019.

Stocks receive better grades (higher scores) for having higher scores for the quality subcomponents and worse grades (lower scores) for lower scores for the subcomponents.

AeroVironment, Inc. has a Quality Score of 10, which is Very Weak. Astronics Corporation has a Quality Score of 68, which is Strong.

The Quality Grade Winner: Astronics Corporation

As you can clearly see from the Quality Grade breakdown above, Astronics Corporation has a better overall quality grade than AeroVironment, Inc.. For investors who are looking for companies with higher quality than others in the same industry, Astronics Corporation could be a good stock to add to their portfolios. However, it’s important for investors to analyze multiple factors based on a wide range of metrics before deciding whether to buy.

AeroVironment, Inc. and Astronics Corporation’s Estimate Revisions Grades

Company	Ticker	Earnings Estimate
AeroVironment, Inc.	AVAV	D
Astronics Corporation	ATRO	B

Earnings estimate revisions scores consider the magnitude of a company’s earnings surprise in its last two reported fiscal quarters. Often, positive surprises beget further positive surprises‐or at least continued sales growth (the exact opposite is generally true, too).

Estimate revisions offer an indication of what analysts are thinking about the short-term prospects of a firm. Estimate revisions are based on the statistical significance of a firm’s last two quarterly earnings surprises and the percentage change in its consensus estimate for the current fiscal year over the past month and past three months.

AeroVironment, Inc. has a Earnings Estimate Score of 22, which is Negative. Astronics Corporation has a Earnings Estimate Score of 66, which is Positive.

The Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade Winner: Astronics Corporation

As you can clearly see from the Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade breakdown above, Astronics Corporation has a better Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade than AeroVironment, Inc.. For those who are specifically looking for companies with better short-term prospects when compared to other companies in the same industry, Astronics Corporation could be a good stock to invest in. However, it’s important to analyze multiple factors based on a wide range of metrics before deciding whether to buy.

Other AeroVironment, Inc. and Astronics Corporation Grades

In addition to Quality, Value and Estimate Revisions, A+ Investor also provides grades for Growth and Momentum.

Momentum grades help uncover stocks experiencing anomalously high rates of return; research finds that stocks with high relative levels of momentum tend to outperform, whereas those with low levels of momentum tend to continue underperforming.

Growth investing builds on the idea that stocks of companies exhibiting strong, consistent and prolonged growth outperform those of slower-growth companies. AAII measures growth through consistency of annual sales growth, five-year sales growth rankings adjusted for extreme levels, and consistency of positive annual cash from operations.

These 2 key factors, when combined with the above, provide a holistic view into a particular stock. Further, by joining A+ Investor you can see whether AeroVironment, Inc. and Astronics Corporation pass any of our 60+ stock screens that have outperformed the market since their creation.

So, Which Is the Better Investment, AeroVironment, Inc. or Astronics Corporation Stock?

Overall, AeroVironment, Inc. stock has a Value Score of 9, Estimate Revisions Score of 22 and Quality Score of 10.

Astronics Corporation stock has a Value Score of 9, Estimate Revisions Score of 66 and Quality Score of 68.

Comparing AeroVironment, Inc. and Astronics Corporation’s grades, scores and metrics can act as a solid basis to determine whether they may be a good investment or not. You’ll also want to look at your portfolio’s asset allocation as well as your risk tolerance and financial goals to see if either of these stocks would make a good fit for you. AAII can help you figure out which investments align with your individual needs and preferences.

Investors are encouraged to do their own due diligence and research. In this way, individuals can effectively become managers of their own assets‐without having to rely on others for financial independence. You can count on AAII for timeless articles on financial planning and stock-picking, unbiased research and actionable analysis.

A+ Investor adds to our qualitative teaching with a powerful data suite to help you whittle down investment choices to find stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) or mutual funds that meet your needs.

AAII Disclaimer

We make no representations or warranties that any investor will, or is likely to, achieve profits similar to those shown, because past, hypothetical or simulated performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. Before making an investment decision, you should consider your circumstances and whether the information on our content is applicable to your situation. This information was prepared in good faith, and we accept no liability for any errors or omissions. The full disclaimer can be read here.