Aevex Aerospace IPO: Defense Drones Reach Public Markets

Aevex Aerospace listed on the NYSE under the ticker AVEX on 17 April 2026, raising $320 million at $20 a share and opening near a $2.5 billion valuation before more than doubling within two trading sessions. It is the first major US defense-drone manufacturer to reach the public markets in the current cycle. With $433 million in 2025 revenue, roughly 78% of it from US government contracts, and a funded backlog in the hundreds of millions against an identified pipeline reported above $8 billion, Aevex gives public investors their first clean read on how Wall Street prices a pure-play military drone maker. The debut sets a reference valuation that reshapes the financing and exit calculus for the entire mid-tier of the sector.