first quarter of fiscal year 2027
Filed Sep 10, 2026Record quarterly revenue of $23.5 Million, up 70% year-over-year and 52% sequentially, alongside record $129 Million funded backlog and operating margin exceeding 22%.
Revenue, funded backlog, operating income, net income and operating cash flow all improved materially from the prior-year period. Management also reported gross margin of approximately 46%, operating margin exceeding 22%, a debt-free balance sheet and substantially higher cash following a secondary offering.
Key metrics
shortened, hover for the filing’s print| Metric | Value | q/q | y/y |
|---|---|---|---|
| RevenuesGAAP | $23.45M | 52% | 70% |
| Cost of revenuesGAAP | 12.70M | – | – |
| Gross marginGAAP | 10.75M | – | – |
| Gross margin percentageGAAP | approximately 46% | – | – |
| Selling, general, and administrativeGAAP | 4.11M | – | – |
| Research and developmentGAAP | 1.45M | – | – |
| Operating incomeGAAP | 5.2M | – | – |
| Operating marginGAAP | exceeding 22% | – | – |
| Interest and other, netGAAP | 42K | – | – |
| Income before Income TaxesGAAP | 5.24M | – | – |
| (Benefit) provision for Income TaxesGAAP | 1.03M | – | – |
| Net incomeGAAP | $4.22M | – | – |
| Basic and diluted income per shareGAAP | $0.41 | – | – |
| Weighted average shares outstanding, basic and dilutedGAAP | 10.23M | – | – |
| Funded backlogother | approximately $129 million | 16% | 82% |
| Net cash provided by operating activitiesGAAP | approximately $3.0 million | – | – |
Amounts quoted below without a unit are in thousands, as in the filing’s tables. Per-share figures are as printed.
Fiscal 2029, which ends April 30, 2029 outlook
- Revenue$150 million or more in annual revenue
- NoteThe filing references a three-year gross margin target and a three-year operating margin target, but does not provide their figures.
What drove it
- Management cited a growing order book and significantly larger end-markets that the Company is now selling into.
- Management stated that the addressable end-markets are supported by technology leveraging the Company’s long-standing market leadership in space and defense applications.
- Management described the revenue growth as enabling significant profitability improvement and operating leverage.
Concerns
- The filing identifies reliance on key customers, including the U.S. government, as a risk.
- The filing identifies the use of estimates when accounting for contracts, actions by significant customers or competitors, product prices and raw material costs, third-party vendors and supply-chain disruption as risks.
- The filing identifies the ability to attract and retain key employees, cybersecurity attacks, potential credit-agreement covenant noncompliance and internal-control risks as risks.
What to watch
- Progress toward $150 million or more in annual revenue by Fiscal 2029.
- Conversion of the approximately $129 million funded backlog and growing order book into revenue.
- Whether gross margin remains approximately 46% and operating margin remains exceeding 22% as revenue grows.
- Operating cash generation, which management expects on an annual basis going forward.
- The timing and balance-sheet effect of the approximately $14 million of secondary-offering cash received after the quarter ended.
Balance sheet and cash flow
- Cash and cash equivalents were $61,407 (in thousands) at July 31, 2026, compared to $1,603 (in thousands) at April 30, 2026.
- Restricted cash was 1,338 (in thousands) at July 31, 2026, compared to 1,331 (in thousands) at April 30, 2026.
- Accounts receivable, net were 6,224 (in thousands) at July 31, 2026, compared to 4,637 (in thousands) at April 30, 2026.
- Contract assets were 19,637 (in thousands) at July 31, 2026, compared to 17,277 (in thousands) at April 30, 2026.
- Inventories, net were 22,206 (in thousands) at July 31, 2026, compared to 22,618 (in thousands) at April 30, 2026.
- Contract liabilities were 11,519 (in thousands) at July 31, 2026, compared to 9,418 (in thousands) at April 30, 2026.
- Stockholders’ equity was 119,837 (in thousands) at July 31, 2026, compared to 56,403 (in thousands) at April 30, 2026.
- The Company stated that it remained debt-free.
- The secondary offering completed during the quarter added approximately $73 million in cash, of which approximately $14 million came in after the quarter ended.
- Net cash provided by operating activities was approximately $3.0 million in the three months of fiscal year 2027, compared to net cash used in operations of $1.2 million for the same period of fiscal year 2026.
Analysis
Frequency Electronics opened fiscal year 2027 with record revenue of $23,451 (in thousands), versus $13,812 (in thousands) in the prior-year quarter. The Company reported 70% year-over-year growth and 52% sequential growth. Management attributed the growth outlook to a growing order book, larger end-markets and technology rooted in its space and defense market position.
Profitability improved sharply with gross margin of 10,750 (in thousands), compared with 5,082 (in thousands), and management said gross margin expanded to approximately 46%. Selling, general, and administrative expense was 4,105 (in thousands) and research and development expense was 1,445 (in thousands). Operating income reached 5,200 (in thousands), compared with 364 (in thousands), while management stated operating margin exceeded 22%.
Net income was $4,216 (in thousands), or $0.41 per basic and diluted share, compared with $634 (in thousands), or $0.07 per share. Operating cash flow was approximately $3.0 million, compared with net cash used in operations of $1.2 million in the prior-year period. Funded backlog ended the quarter at approximately $129 million, compared with $111 million at April 30, 2026, and management reported 82% year-over-year and 16% sequential backlog growth.
The balance sheet changed materially following the secondary offering. Cash and cash equivalents were $61,407 (in thousands) at July 31, 2026, versus $1,603 (in thousands) at April 30, 2026, while stockholders’ equity rose to 119,837 (in thousands) from 56,403 (in thousands). Management stated the offering added approximately $73 million in cash, with approximately $14 million received after quarter end, and said the Company remained debt-free.
The only quantified forward target in the filing is management’s previously stated objective of $150 million or more in annual revenue by Fiscal 2029, which ends April 30, 2029. Management said the quarter increased its confidence in its ability to meet or exceed that target and expects to be cash-generative on an annual basis going forward. The filing references three-year gross-margin and operating-margin targets but does not provide their values.
Management, verbatim
I am very pleased to report first quarter revenue of $23.5 million, an all-time record for FEI, up 70% year-over-year and up 52% sequentially.
Tom McClelland, President and CEO
Further growth is supported by our funded backlog, which reached a record $129 million at the end of our fiscal first quarter, up 82% year-over-year and 16% sequentially, as well as by our growing order book and the significantly larger end-markets that we are now selling into, all of which are based on technology that leverages our long-standing market leadership in space and defense applications.
Tom McClelland, President and CEO
The strong revenue growth this quarter also allowed FEI to demonstrate significant profitability improvement, with gross margin expanding to approximately 46% and operating margin exceeding 22%.
Tom McClelland, President and CEO
Not in the filing
stated, not guessed- Non-GAAP revenue, gross profit, operating income, net income, EPS, margins or reconciliations were not reported.
- Segment revenue, segment profitability and segment-level growth were not reported.
- Prior-quarter dollar amounts for revenues, operating income, net income, EPS and margins were not reported.
- Prior-year gross-margin percentage and operating-margin percentage were not reported.
- Free cash flow was not reported.
- Cash-flow-statement line items other than net cash provided by operating activities were not reported.
- Dividends, share repurchases and other capital-return activity were not reported.
- A debt balance was not reported; management only stated that the Company remained debt-free.
- Quantified guidance for gross margin, operating expenses, tax rate, earnings, cash flow or a nearer-term fiscal period was not reported.
- Figures for the referenced three-year gross-margin and operating-margin targets were not reported.
- Prior outlook was not provided, so a comparison of actual results with prior guidance is unavailable.
AlphAI analysis generated from the company’s SEC earnings filing (Form 8-K Item 2.02, or Form 6-K for a foreign private issuer). Every figure was cross-checked against the filing text; consensus estimates, price targets and share-price reactions are not shown because they are not in the filing. AI-generated research, not investment advice.