The headline: not just growth, but momentum
Kratos Defense & Security Solutions kicked off fiscal 2026 with revenue of $371.0 million, up 22.6% from a year ago. That’s the kind of print that tells investors this isn’t just a one-quarter fluke — the business is still finding fuel in defense spending and its unmanned systems push.
Net income came in at $11.9 million, operating income was $4.7 million, and adjusted EBITDA landed at $38.7 million. In plain English: the company is growing, but it’s still working through the usual defense-contractor dance of big contracts, lumpy margins, and lots of moving parts.
The part investors will actually circle
The real sugar high here is the outlook. Kratos lifted fiscal 2026 revenue guidance to $1.700 billion–$1.760 billion and adjusted EBITDA guidance to $170 million–$176 million, and that includes the recently closed Orbit Technologies acquisition. Translation: management is sounding more confident about the next few quarters, which tends to make the market perk up.
Bookings were also healthy, with a consolidated book-to-bill ratio of 1.6x for the quarter and $605.2 million in bookings. That’s the financial equivalent of having a full fridge before the weekend — not a guarantee of deliciousness, but definitely reassuring.
Why you should care
For KTOS, the story is less about one earnings beat and more about a pattern: more revenue, stronger backlog, and management telling you the year could be better than they expected. If defense budgets keep cooperating and the unmanned systems segment keeps humming, this could stay on investors’ radar.
Big picture: Kratos is trying to turn “cool defense tech” into “cool defense tech plus actual profits,” and this quarter says it’s still moving in that direction.
