Axon Enterprise, Inc. (AXON) · Nov 5, 2026 · Earnings
Miss — Non-GAAP EPS $1.72 vs ~$1.89 consensus; revenue $908.6M vs ~$934M
Axon’s Q3 earnings missed published revenue and EPS expectations, while Dedrone delays cut 2026 guidance. Software growth stayed powerful as Axon committed $1.2 billion to Skydio.
Axon is moving from a body-camera and TASER company toward a connected public-safety platform spanning recurring software, AI, records, 911 systems and drones. Before this filing, its own Q2 outlook called for 2026 revenue growth of 32%–34%, while published Q3 expectations were roughly $934M–$937M of revenue and $1.89 of adjusted EPS.
The quarter missed the market’s operating bar. Revenue reached $908.6M, below published consensus near $934M–$937M, and non-GAAP diluted EPS was $1.72 versus roughly $1.89 expected. The miss was not a collapse in demand—total revenue still grew 28%—but it shows that the quarter’s hardware timing and mix were weaker than the market had modeled.
| Q3 2026 | Q3 2025 | Consensus | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue (Financial Statements) | $908.6M (+27.9%) | $710.6M | ~$934M |
| Non-GAAP diluted EPS (Non-GAAP net income) | $1.72 | $1.24 | ~$1.89 |
| Adjusted EBITDA (EBITDA reconciliation) | $235.7M (+33%) | $177.0M | |
| Adjusted EBITDA margin (EBITDA reconciliation) | 25.9% | 24.9% | |
| Annual recurring revenue (Operating metrics) | $1.75B (+39.8%) | $1.25B | |
| Future contracted bookings (Operating metrics) | $15.8B (+38.6%) | $11.4B | |
| Free cash flow (Cash flow reconciliation) | $(18.9)M | $33.4M |
The bigger reset is in guidance, not the quarter alone. Axon cut full-year revenue growth to approximately 30% from 32%–34%, removing about $130M of expected Federal Dedrone revenue because three deployments slipped. That is a genuine reduction in the near-term growth path, even though management says the underlying demand remains intact. By contrast, full-year adjusted EBITDA margin rose slightly to about 25.6% from 25.5%, so the company is protecting profitability while accepting slower reported revenue. 〔0〕
Software is still the strongest part of the story. Software & Services grew 43% to $437M, annual recurring revenue reached $1.75B, net revenue retention held at 126%, and future contracted bookings rose to $15.8B. Those figures support the platform thesis and suggest the core recurring business is executing well; the problem is that lower-margin, hardware-heavy counter-drone deployments are adding timing volatility and pulling down consolidated margins.
The Skydio investment materially raises the strategic ambition—and the balance-sheet commitment. Axon committed $1.2B for a 37% fully diluted stake and exclusive public-safety distribution rights in the U.S. and Canada, making drones a much larger part of the platform strategy. The investment was paired with $1.15B of new notes, while net debt increased to $1.25B from $112M at year-end. This is not a routine partnership: it expands Axon’s addressable platform, but it also adds execution, integration and capital-allocation risk at the same time that free cash flow turned negative. 〔1〕
Margins and cash conversion expose the cost of the expansion. Consolidated adjusted gross margin fell to 59.2% from 62.7%, connected-device adjusted gross margin fell to 44.6% from 52.1%, and free cash flow was negative as Axon invested roughly $100M in inventory. The company reduced its full-year free-cash-flow target to $350M–$400M from $450M, attributing the gap to inventory investment that should moderate after the first quarter of 2027.
Bottom line: Axon’s recurring software and bookings engine remains notably healthy, but this filing weakens the near-term execution story: the quarter missed expectations, Dedrone delays forced a growth reset, cash conversion deteriorated, and the company added substantial debt to pursue a much larger drone strategy. The business is still advancing, but the path is now more hardware-heavy, capital-intensive and timing-sensitive than the prior outlook implied.
Q4 results and 2027 outlook, early February 2027
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