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what it is
CPI Aero builds aircraft parts, electronic warfare pods, and support kits for bigger defense and aerospace companies.
how it gets paid
Last year Cvu made $81M in revenue. government subcontracts was the main engine at $34M, or 42% of sales.
what just happened
CVU delivered $50M of quarterly revenue but still posted a loss of $0.12 per share.
At a glance
C+ balance sheet — struggling to keep the lights on
25/100 earnings predictability — expect surprises
17.4x trailing p/e — the market's not buying it — or you found a deal
11.0% return on capital — nothing to write home about
$0.26 fy2024 eps est
xvary composite: 23/100 — weak
What they do
CPI Aero builds aircraft parts, electronic warfare pods, and support kits for bigger defense and aerospace companies.
CVU wins by being embedded with giant customers you already know. It supplies Northrop Grumman, Lockheed Martin, Sikorsky, Raytheon, and Collins Aerospace, and does it with just 212 employees. That small footprint matters because once your part is qualified on an aircraft program, switching suppliers is painful, slow, and expensive.
How they make money
$81M
annual revenue
government subcontracts
$34M
prime government contracts
$20M
commercial contracts
$15M
transferred over time
$8M
transferred at point in time
$4M
The products that matter
builds aircraft structures
Government Subcontracts
$65M · 80% of revenue
this is the business. At $65M, it is large enough to drive the whole income statement, which is why backlog conversion and production discipline matter so much.
largest segment
direct defense program work
Prime Government Contracts
$12M · +15% growth
this $12M segment grew 15%. That matters because prime work gives CVU a more direct seat at the table, but only if the company can deliver it at better economics.
margin watch
commercial aerospace jobs
Commercial Contracts
$4M · 5% of revenue
at $4M, this segment is too small to change the thesis. What it does do is show you how little diversification CVU has outside defense-linked work.
small diversifier
Key numbers
17.4x
trailing p/e
You are paying 17.4 times trailing earnings for a business whose full-year EPS fell from $1.38 to $0.26. Cheap is not the same as safe.
8.9%
operating margin
Operating margin → profit left after running the business → so what: CVU does not have much room for bad contract execution.
11.0%
return on capital
Return on capital → profit generated from the money invested in the business → so what: this is decent, not elite, for a niche aerospace supplier.
$23M
long-term debt
Debt equals 28% of capital, which is fine in calm periods and annoying when earnings turn lumpy.
Financial health
C+
strength
- balance sheet grade C+ — weak — may struggle to fund operations
- risk rank 5 — safer than 5% of stocks
- price stability 10 / 100
- long-term debt $23M (28% of capital)
C+ — below average. watch for debt servicing and cash burn.
Total return vs. market
Return history isn't available for CVU right now.
source: institutional data · return history unavailable
What just happened
missed estimates
CVU delivered $50M of quarterly revenue but still posted a loss of $0.12 per share.
Revenue jumped 159% vs. prior year, but gross margin was only 13.3%. Jargon → gross margin → money left after direct production costs → so what: sales rose faster than profits.
$20M
revenue
-$0.12
eps
13.3%
gross margin
the number that mattered
13.3% gross margin is the key number because huge revenue growth does not help much if too little of each dollar survives production costs.
source: company earnings report, 2026
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What could go wrong
the #1 risk is failing to turn an $86.8M backlog into profitable delivery. for CVU, that is not one risk among many. that is the whole test.
high
backlog without margin
CVU has an $86.8M backlog, but the latest quarter still produced a $(0.10) EPS loss. If the company cannot ship that work at better economics, the backlog story stays a story.
13.3% gross margin leaves very little room for program delays, cost overruns, or pricing mistakes.
high
9.5% debt cost
the company carries $23M of long-term debt, equal to 28% of capital, and pays 9.5% to borrow. That is expensive financing for a business already operating with thin margins.
interest expense competes directly with any operating improvement management is trying to produce.
med
customer concentration
$77M of annual revenue comes from government subcontracts and prime government contracts combined. That concentration ties results to a narrow customer set and a limited number of programs.
one canceled award or delayed program would hit harder here than it would at a more diversified aerospace supplier.
med
shareholder investigation overhang
a shareholder investigation adds noise at a time when the company needs operational focus. Small caps do not have much spare management bandwidth.
even without a quantified outcome yet, the legal overhang can pressure sentiment and distract from execution.
$23M of debt, a 9.5% borrowing cost, and a 13.3% gross margin mean even small execution slips can erase the upside from that $86.8M backlog.
source: institutional data · regulatory filings · risk analysis
Pay attention to
earnings
q4 & fy 2025 results
watch whether backlog converts into revenue with better profitability. One cleaner quarter would help. Two would start to change the conversation.
margin
gross margin above 13.3%
this is the simplest operating tell on the page. If margin cannot move up from 13.3%, the earnings recovery case gets thin fast.
balance sheet
debt pressure
$23M of long-term debt at 9.5% is expensive for a $60M company. Any sign of added strain deserves your attention immediately.
flow
institutional buying follow-through
institutions bought 2.2M shares last quarter. If that keeps up, it supports the stock. If it fades, you lose one of the few visible positives.
Analyst rankings
earnings predictability
25 / 100
in human-speak, analysts do not trust this earnings stream to arrive smoothly. expect volatility, revisions, and quarter-to-quarter noise.
source: institutional data
Institutional activity
institutional ownership data for CVU is being compiled.
source: institutional data
Price targets
3-5 year target range
n/a
n/a
$5
current price
n/a
target midpoint · n/a from current
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