Drone Stocks in 2026: How to Invest in Drones and Autonomy (Updated Weekly)
- The four tiers of the drone trade, sorted by whether a company actually ships drones for money
- Live prices on the ten names the category is searched on, refreshed weekly
- The only one here with a positive operating margin, and it is the smallest company on the board
- Share counts that grew 577%, 380% and 206% in a year, printed next to the market values they support
- Why the two most valuable names on most drone lists do not make drones
- An honest answer to the drone stocks under a dollar search, which is not the answer that search wants
Drones are the rare theme where the technology is genuinely working, the government demand is genuinely there, and almost none of the listed companies make money. Those three things are all true at once and most lists only mention the first two.
The reason is structural. A drone company sells hardware into procurement cycles, which are lumpy and slow, while funding engineering and inventory that are neither. That gap gets funded by issuing stock, and in this sector the issuance has been extraordinary: one name on this page grew its share count by more than 500% in a year.
So this page sorts by one question: does this company ship drones for money today, and how many more shares exist than a year ago? Prices refresh weekly. Everything else comes from the filings and carries a date.
The Four Tiers of the Drone Trade
Real Revenue at Scale
Ships in volume on defense programs, turns over more than a billion dollars, and is close to breakeven at the operating line. These trade on the defense budget as much as on drones.
AVAV · KTOS
Small Cap Drone Makers
Genuine drone businesses with real contracts and small revenue. This is where the growth rates and the share counts are both spectacular, and you have to look at them together.
RCAT · ONDS · UMAC · DPRO · AIRO
eVTOL and Air Taxis
Not drone companies. Building piloted or autonomous passenger aircraft, pre revenue, certification bound. They appear on drone lists because of the propellers and nothing else.
JOBY · ACHR
China Exposure
Listed in the US, operating in China, subject to a regulatory regime that has nothing to do with US procurement. Revenue can move for reasons no US filing will explain.
EH
Drone Stocks: The Ten Tickers That Carry the Category
Prices refresh automatically every week. Everything else comes from company filings and is dated.
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AVAVAeroVironmentReal revenue$147.06▲ +4.45% todayMKT CAP $7.47BP/E N/A52W $135-418◎ BEST PLAY: Covered call / debit spread · 30-45 DTEThe closest thing this sector has to a blue chip: trailing revenue near $1.98B with a positive operating margin around 3%, $632M of cash against $835M of debt. Both revenue and share count stepped up hard on the BlueHalo acquisition, so the 133% growth is largely a bigger company rather than a faster one, and the roughly 80% rise in share count is the stock used to pay for it. Moves on defense awards more than on drone headlines.
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KTOSKratos DefenseReal revenue$46.98▲ +0.51% todayMKT CAP $8.82BP/E 276.452W $43-134◎ BEST PLAY: Covered call / debit spread · 30-45 DTE
About $1.52B of trailing revenue, up roughly 30%, sitting right at breakeven on operating margin, with an unusually clean balance sheet for this sector: $1.44B of cash against only $194M of debt. Builds target drones and the Valkyrie unmanned combat aircraft. Share count up about 21%, which in this group counts as restraint.
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ONDSOndas HoldingsSmall cap$7.25▼ -0.55% todayMKT CAP $4.14BP/E N/A52W $5-15◎ BEST PLAY: Defined risk only, size small · 21-30 DTE
The widest gap on the board between valuation and revenue: near $4.14B of market value on $174M of trailing revenue, with a -166% operating margin. The diluted share count went from about 105 million to 503.6 million in a year, up roughly 380%. Holds $1.38B of cash against $41M of debt, so the raises have at least been funded well ahead of need.
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AIROAIRO GroupSmall cap$6.94▲ +0.87% todayMKT CAP $219MP/E N/A52W $6-22◎ BEST PLAY: Stock preferred, chain is thin · n/a DTE
The only company on this page with a positive operating margin, at roughly 4% on $107M of trailing revenue, and it carries a market value near just $220M. Also the least covered name here, with a thin options chain and real liquidity risk. Actual operating income and near total obscurity is an unusual combination in this sector. Share count up about 62%.
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RCATRed Cat HoldingsSmall cap$8.08▼ -0.62% todayMKT CAP $1.23BP/E N/A52W $6-19◎ BEST PLAY: Defined risk, size for volatility · 21-30 DTE
About $72M of trailing revenue against a $1.23B market value, with a -191% operating margin and $326M of cash. Share count up about 50% in a year. Military drone maker with real programs, priced well ahead of the revenue, and liquid enough in both stock and options to actually trade, which is not true of everything in this tier.
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UMACUnusual MachinesSmall cap$23.53▼ -3.25% todayMKT CAP $1.18BP/E N/A52W $7-35◎ BEST PLAY: Defined risk only, very small · 21-30 DTE
$32M of trailing revenue against a $1.18B market value and a -47% operating margin, with $316M of cash and almost no debt. The share count went from about 15.9 million to 48.6 million in a year, up roughly 206%. Components and drone manufacturing with a domestic supply chain angle. Thin chain, so the spread is a real cost.
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DPRODraganflySmall cap$5.47▼ -5.20% todayMKT CAP $203MP/E N/A52W $4-14◎ BEST PLAY: Stock only, chain unusable · n/a DTE
The most diluted name on the board: the share count went from about 5.4 million to 36.7 million in a year, up roughly 577%, on $9M of trailing revenue and a -583% operating margin. It does hold $137M of cash against essentially no debt. This is what funding a hardware business entirely from the equity market looks like, stated plainly.
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JOBYJoby AviationeVTOL$6.31▼ -1.71% todayMKT CAP $6.24BP/E N/A52W $6-20◎ BEST PLAY: Defined-risk debit spread · 30-45 DTE
Not a drone company. Builds electric passenger aircraft, and what decides its future is aviation certification rather than drone demand. About $116M of trailing revenue against a $6.24B market value, roughly 54 times sales, with $2.26B of cash so no imminent financing cliff. Appears on drone lists because of the propellers and nothing else.
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ACHRArcher AviationeVTOL$5.45▼ -0.91% todayMKT CAP $4.20BP/E N/A52W $4-15◎ BEST PLAY: Defined risk, size for volatility · 21-30 DTE
The most expensive multiple on this page: about $7M of trailing revenue against a $4.20B market value, roughly 608 times sales, with an operating margin near -5514%. Holds $1.56B of cash, so it is well funded rather than fragile. Priced for a certification and manufacturing outcome that has not happened yet, and it will not move on drone news.
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EHEHang HoldingsChina$4.43▼ -2.85% todayMKT CAP $336MP/E N/A52W $4-20◎ BEST PLAY: Defined risk only, small size · 21-30 DTE
Listed in the US, operating in China, and the only name here with revenue going backwards: about $382M trailing, down roughly 47% year over year, at a -169% operating margin. Holds $902M of cash against $578M of debt with the share count up only about 5%. The decline usually traces to domestic policy and demand rather than anything visible in an SEC filing, which is a different risk from the rest of this page.
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The Two With Real Revenue
AeroVironment (AVAV) is the closest thing this sector has to a blue chip: trailing revenue near $1.98 billion, a positive operating margin around 3%, $632 million of cash against $835 million of debt. Both the revenue and the share count stepped up hard this year because of its acquisition of BlueHalo, so the 133% growth figure is largely a bigger company rather than a faster one, and the roughly 80% increase in share count is the stock used to pay for it.
Kratos (KTOS) turns over about $1.52 billion, up roughly 30%, sitting right at breakeven on operating margin, with an unusually clean balance sheet for this sector: $1.44 billion of cash against only $194 million of debt. It builds target drones and the Valkyrie unmanned combat aircraft. The share count is up about 21%, which for this sector counts as restraint.
The Small Caps: Read the Share Count Next to the Story
This tier is where the sector’s appeal and its danger both live. The contracts are real, the technology works, the revenue is small, and the share counts have grown in a way that most people never check.
| Ticker | Trailing revenue | Operating margin | Market value | Share count vs a year ago |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ONDS | $174M | -166% | $4.14B | Up about 380% |
| AIRO | $107M | +4% | $0.22B | Up about 62% |
| RCAT | $72M | -191% | $1.23B | Up about 50% |
| UMAC | $32M | -47% | $1.18B | Up about 206% |
| DPRO | $9M | -583% | $0.20B | Up about 577% |
Two rows deserve to be read slowly. Ondas is valued near $4.14 billion on $174 million of trailing revenue while its diluted share count went from about 105 million to 503.6 million in a year. Draganfly grew its share count from roughly 5.4 million to 36.7 million on $9 million of revenue. Neither of those is fraud or failure. It is what funding a hardware business from the equity market looks like, and it means the company can succeed while your slice of it shrinks faster than the business grows.
The Two Biggest Names That Are Not Drone Companies
Search drone stocks and you will find Joby and Archer near the top of most lists. They are not drone companies. They build electric passenger aircraft, they are pre revenue in any meaningful sense, and what decides their future is aviation certification rather than drone demand.
| Ticker | Trailing revenue | Market value | Implied multiple | Cash |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| JOBY | $116M | $6.24B | About 54x sales | $2.26B |
| ACHR | $7M | $4.20B | About 608x sales | $1.56B |
Both are extremely well funded, which is the honest positive: $2.26 billion and $1.56 billion of cash respectively means neither faces an imminent financing cliff. What they do not have is a product generating revenue, and Archer at roughly 608 times trailing sales is priced for a certification and manufacturing outcome that has not happened.
They are legitimate companies and possibly good investments. They are simply not a way to own drones, and if you bought them expecting to trade drone headlines, they will disappoint you by not moving on them.
The China Exposure Nobody Flags
EHang (EH) is listed in the United States and operates in China. Its trailing revenue is about $382 million and it is down roughly 47% year over year, with an operating margin near -169%. It holds about $902 million of cash against $578 million of debt, and its share count has barely moved, up about 5%.
The revenue decline is the point. When a US listed China operator reports numbers like that, the explanation frequently lies in domestic regulation, local demand or policy rather than anything a US investor can read in an SEC filing. That is a genuinely different risk from the rest of this page, and it is not priced or hedged the same way.
Drone Stocks Under a Dollar, and Why That Search Misleads
Drone stocks under one dollar is one of the most searched versions of this question, so here is the honest answer: none of the companies worth your time on this page trade there, and the ones that do are penny stocks whose share price is a consequence of issuance rather than a signal of value.
The mechanic is simple. A company that has issued five or ten times as many shares in two years has a lower price per share regardless of whether the business improved. Sorting a sector by price per share therefore reliably surfaces the heaviest issuers, which is the opposite of what the screen is trying to find. Draganfly is the closest thing here to that profile, trading in the mid single digits with $9 million of trailing revenue and a share count up roughly 577%.
What the Options Market Will Actually Let You Do Here
| Tier | Names | What is realistic |
|---|---|---|
| Deep | AVAV, KTOS, JOBY, ACHR | Monthlies and some weeklies with workable spreads. Defined risk debit spreads, covered calls against stock |
| Workable | RCAT, ONDS | Monthly expiries only. Rich premium, wide spreads, limit orders always |
| Thin | UMAC, DPRO, EH, AIRO | The spread is the trade. Stock or nothing for most position sizes |
Two hazards are specific to this sector. The first is headline sensitivity: a conflict, a procurement announcement or a regulatory change moves every small cap here on the same afternoon, whether or not the news touched that company. The second is financing risk expressed through options: a surprise offering can gap a small cap down overnight, and short dated calls are worthless the next morning regardless of how right the underlying thesis was.
That second point is why defined risk structures dominate in this tier. You are not only forecasting the business, you are forecasting the treasurer.
Three Questions Before Any Drone Position
1. Which tier am I actually buying? A defense contractor with drone products, a venture stage hardware company, an aircraft certification timeline, or a China operator. Those four things share a search term and almost nothing else.
2. How many more shares exist than a year ago? The table above is the whole answer, and it is free to check on any 10-Q cover page. In this sector the numbers are 577%, 380%, 206%, 62% and 50%. Put the right one in your math before you size anything.
3. Can I actually get out of this position? On UMAC, DPRO, EH and AIRO the honest answer is that you will pay to leave, in stock and especially in options. That belongs in the position size rather than in the thesis.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What are the best drone stocks to buy right now?
We do not publish buy calls. The first useful filter is whether a company ships drones for money. Only AeroVironment and Kratos turn over more than a billion dollars, and only AIRO Group posts a positive operating margin, at roughly 4 percent on 107 million dollars of revenue. Everything else in the category is a venture stage hardware business with a listed ticker, which is a legitimate thing to own as long as you size it that way.
Are Joby and Archer drone stocks?
No, though they appear near the top of most drone lists. Both build electric passenger aircraft, both are effectively pre revenue, and what determines their outcome is aviation certification rather than drone demand. Archer trades near 608 times trailing sales on about 7 million dollars of revenue. They are well funded and may be good investments, but they will not move on drone headlines, which is usually why people bought them.
Which drone stock actually makes money?
AIRO Group, and it is the smallest and least covered company on the board. It posts a positive operating margin of roughly 4 percent on about 107 million dollars of trailing revenue, at a market value near 220 million. AeroVironment is also slightly positive at around 3 percent on 1.98 billion of revenue. Every other name in the category lost money at the operating line.
What are the best drone stocks under a dollar?
None of the ones worth your time trade there. A low share price in this sector is a consequence of heavy issuance rather than a signal of value: a company that has issued five or ten times as many shares has a lower price per share whether or not the business improved. Draganfly is the closest to that profile, with 9 million dollars of trailing revenue and a share count up roughly 577 percent in a year. Sorting by enterprise value finds better candidates than sorting by price per share.
How much dilution is there in drone stocks?
More than in almost any sector we cover, and it is free to check on the 10-Q cover page. Draganfly's diluted share count is up roughly 577 percent in a year, Ondas about 380 percent, Unusual Machines about 206 percent, AIRO about 62 percent and Red Cat about 50 percent. AeroVironment is up about 80 percent, but that is stock issued to buy BlueHalo rather than an at-the-market program, which is a different thing.
Are drone stocks the same as defense stocks?
They overlap but they are not the same trade. AeroVironment and Kratos are defense contractors that specialize in unmanned systems, so they move on appropriations and program awards like any prime. The small caps move on financing and single contracts. If conflict headlines are what brought you here, our defense stocks playbook sorts the whole defense complex by how hard each name moves on news, which is a better fit for that thesis.
Why do all the drone small caps move together?
Because a conflict, a procurement announcement or a regulatory change touches all of them at once, whether or not the news mentioned a specific company. They also share a funding channel, so when the market for new share issuance narrows, every name that depends on it reprices at the same time. Four small cap drone positions are closer to one large position than to four independent ones.
Is EHang a way to play the drone theme?
It is a way to play the Chinese drone market, which is close to a separate industry from US procurement, with separate customers and separate rules. Its trailing revenue is down about 47 percent year over year with an operating margin near -169 percent, and the explanation usually lies in domestic policy rather than anything a US filing will show you. That is a country bet wearing a sector costume, and it should be sized as one.
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