AeroVironment (AVAV Quick QuoteAVAV - Free Report) reported $188.46 million in revenue for the quarter ended October 2024, representing a year-over-year increase of 4.2%. EPS of $0.47 for the same period compares to $0.97 a year ago.

The reported revenue compares to the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $178.96 million, representing a surprise of +5.31%. The company delivered an EPS surprise of -28.79%, with the consensus EPS estimate being $0.66.

While investors closely watch year-over-year changes in headline numbers -- revenue and earnings -- and how they compare to Wall Street expectations to determine their next course of action, some key metrics always provide a better insight into a company's underlying performance.

As these metrics influence top- and bottom-line performance, comparing them to the year-ago numbers and what analysts estimated helps investors project a stock's price performance more accurately.

Here is how AeroVironment performed in the just reported quarter in terms of the metrics most widely monitored and projected by Wall Street analysts:

• Revenue- Contract Services: $37.23 million versus $32.39 million estimated by two analysts on average. Compared to the year-ago quarter, this number represents a +6.3% change.
• Revenue- Product Sales: $151.23 million compared to the $147.46 million average estimate based on two analysts. The reported number represents a change of +3.7% year over year.
• Gross margin- Contract services: $9.46 million versus the two-analyst average estimate of $7.96 million.
• Gross margin- Product sales: $64.18 million versus the two-analyst average estimate of $64.10 million.

View all Key Company Metrics for AeroVironment here>>>

Shares of AeroVironment have returned -12.1% over the past month versus the Zacks S&P 500 composite's +5.8% change. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), indicating that it could perform in line with the broader market in the near term.