Axon Enterprise, Inc. (AXON) · Nov 5, 2026 · Earnings

Axon earnings miss as revenue guide cut despite Skydio bet

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 2026Q3 2025Consensus
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.

What to watch next

Q4 results and 2027 outlook, early February 2027

Original filing on SEC EDGAR

More Axon Enterprise, Inc. news

Axon earnings miss as revenue guide cut despite Skydio bet | AXON Stock News
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