AVAV vs KTOS Comparison: AI Score, Valuation, Performance and Upside
Compare AeroVironment and Kratos Defense on unmanned systems exposure, backlog growth, and valuation.
Use this AeroVironment vs Kratos Defense comparison to evaluate the key differences across valuation, growth, profitability, and risk before making an investment decision.
KTOS holds the edge across 4 of 5 key metrics in this comparison. KTOS has delivered stronger 1-year price return (-32.68% vs -37.46%), though AVAV has the better forward P/E setup (32.88x vs 42.80x for KTOS). KTOS leads on both revenue growth (30.50%) and operating margin (-0.17%), suggesting a stronger fundamental setup on both dimensions. Analyst consensus implies meaningfully more upside for KTOS (+120.87%) than for AVAV (+52.95%).
Human Wall Street analysts' price targets, typically implying a ~12-month view — a separate signal from this site's own AI Prediction Signal further down the page, which is a 5-/30-day machine-learning forecast based on price history alone.
| Metric | AVAV | KTOS |
|---|---|---|
| AI scorei | 52.3 | 56.1 |
| AI ranki | #399 | #254 |
| Latest closei | $156.99 | $47.62 |
| 1M returni | -18.58% | -26.26% |
| 6M returni | -29.45% | -50.04% |
| 1Y returni | -37.46% | -32.68% |
How much would $10,000 be worth today if invested at the start of each period, with all dividends reinvested?
| Period | AVAV | KTOS |
|---|---|---|
| 1Y ago | $6.25K (-37.5%) started 2025-09-15 | $6.73K (-32.7%) started 2025-09-15 |
| 5Y ago | $17.87K (+78.7%) started 2021-09-15 | $21.1K (+111.0%) started 2021-09-15 |
| 10Y ago | $66.72K (+567.2%) started 2016-09-15 | $71.83K (+618.3%) started 2016-09-15 |
Hypothetical — past performance does not guarantee future results.
| Metric | AVAV | KTOS |
|---|---|---|
| Market capi | $7.46B | $8.98B |
| Trailing P/Ei | N/A | 281.29 |
| Forward P/Ei | 32.88 | 42.80 |
| Price/Salesi | N/A | N/A |
| EV/Revenuei | 3.84 | 5.08 |
| Analyst targeti | $224.40 | $105.62 |
| Target upsidei | +52.95% | +120.87% |
| Metric | AVAV | KTOS |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue growthi | 5.70% | 30.50% |
| Earnings growthi | N/A | 7.40% |
| EPS growthi | N/A | +7.40% |
| FCF margini | -1.29% | -7.77% |
| Operating margini | -2.27% | -0.17% |
| Profit margini | -10.13% | 2.03% |
| ROIC proxyi | -4.60% | 1.15% |
| Return on equityi | -4.60% | 1.15% |
| Dividend yieldi | N/A | N/A |
| Payout ratioi | 0.00% | 0.00% |
| Dividend growth streaki | N/A | N/A |
| Betai | 1.41 | 1.11 |
| Debt/equityi | 19.35 | 5.65 |
| Current ratioi | 4.26 | 5.54 |
| Quick ratioi | 3.19 | 4.74 |
Over the past year, AVAV and KTOS have moved strongly in the same direction (correlation of 0.71), based on daily returns.
Lower drawdown and smaller single-period drops generally indicate a smoother ride, though they do not guarantee lower future risk.
| Period | Metric | AVAV | KTOS |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Y | Growthi | -37.46% | -32.68% |
| CAGRi | -37.48% | -32.70% | |
| Volatilityi | 76.10% | 72.19% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | -0.30 | -0.25 | |
| Sortino ratioi | -0.42 | -0.36 | |
| Max drawdowni | 66.65% | 66.43% | |
| Current drawdowni | 61.69% | 63.57% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 41.14% | 37.42% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 46.01% | 42.65% | |
| Max daily dropi | 17.42% | 14.20% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 24.26% | 22.00% | |
| 5Y | Growthi | +78.72% | +110.99% |
| CAGRi | +12.32% | +16.11% | |
| Volatilityi | 58.08% | 52.95% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 0.41 | 0.46 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 0.62 | 0.71 | |
| Max drawdowni | 66.65% | 66.43% | |
| Current drawdowni | 61.69% | 63.57% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 21.47% | 26.46% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 27.43% | 32.70% | |
| Max daily dropi | 27.48% | 14.20% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 28.21% | 22.00% | |
| 10Y | Growthi | +567.19% | +618.25% |
| CAGRi | +20.90% | +21.80% | |
| Volatilityi | 53.08% | 50.86% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 0.54 | 0.55 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 0.83 | 0.83 | |
| Max drawdowni | 66.65% | 72.74% | |
| Current drawdowni | 61.69% | 63.57% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 27.15% | 27.83% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 32.52% | 34.61% | |
| Max daily dropi | 27.48% | 22.32% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 28.21% | 27.78% |
| Category | AVAV | KTOS |
|---|---|---|
| Company | AVAV | KTOS |
| Sector | Industrials | Industrials |
| Industry | Aerospace & Defense | Aerospace & Defense |
| Core business | AeroVironment, Inc., a defense technology provider, designs, develops, produces, delivers, and supports a portfolio of robotic systems and related services for government agencies and businesses in the United States and… | Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc., a technology company, provides technology, hardware, products, system, and software for the defense, national security, and commercial markets in the United States, other North… |
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