NEW YORK, May 21, 2026, 08:36 EDT
- Redwire closed up 6.2% on Wednesday, then traded lower before Thursday’s opening bell.
- The company announced two drone-related contracts in 48 hours, one from the U.S. Army and one from a NATO customer.
- A filing showed AE Industrial Partners converted and sold a large preferred-stock block, cutting its reported stake below 5%.
Redwire Corporation shares eased in premarket trading on Thursday, giving back part of a sharp prior-session gain as investors weighed two new unmanned-aircraft orders against a sponsor sell-down disclosed in securities filings.
The stock closed at $14.77 on Wednesday, up 6.18%, and was quoted at $14.36 in premarket trade. Its market value was listed at about $2.94 billion. U.S. equity markets are on a normal schedule Thursday, ahead of the Memorial Day closure on Monday, May 25.
The news matters now because Redwire is trying to turn demand for space and defense systems into steadier revenue after a strong run in its shares. The latest contracts also push the company deeper into uncrewed aerial systems, or drones, an area investors have linked to rising military demand in the United States and Europe.
Redwire said on Wednesday it won a $15 million follow-on order from the 1st Aviation Brigade, U.S. Army Aviation Center of Excellence, for Stalker uncrewed aerial systems. It said this was the third order from that customer in eight months, bringing recent orders to $24.8 million. Steve Adlich, president of Redwire Defense Tech, said Stalker was “purpose built to meet multiple mission needs.” Redwire Corporation
A day earlier, Redwire said it had won a multi-year contract valued in the “high eight-figures” from an undisclosed NATO country for its Penguin Mk3 tactical UAS. Adlich said the program reflected Redwire’s “forward-looking approach” to tactical UAS modernization for NATO allies. Redwire Corporation
The orders add to a defense-drone push that puts Redwire in a market where AeroVironment sells systems such as Puma, JUMP and Switchblade, while space-sector investors also compare Redwire with public space names such as Rocket Lab, which describes itself as an end-to-end space company. The comparison is not exact: Redwire sells space infrastructure and defense technology, while its rivals have different mixes of launch, spacecraft, drones and weapons systems.
The other side of the tape was ownership. Redwire said in a May 20 filing that AE Industrial Partners had converted all remaining 46,505.13 Series A convertible preferred shares into 15,247,586 common shares. Convertible preferred stock is a class of shares that can be turned into common stock; conversion can affect voting power and the number of common shares outstanding.
A related Form 4 showed AE Red Holdings and affiliated reporting persons sold 5.66 million shares at a weighted average price of $14.50 and another 9.59 million shares at $13.30 on May 18. A Schedule 13D amendment, a filing used by large holders to report ownership and intentions, said the group’s beneficial ownership fell to 1.1% and that it was an exit filing.
Redwire’s recent earnings provide the backdrop. The company reported first-quarter revenue of $97.0 million, up 57.9% from a year earlier, and a record backlog of $498.1 million. Backlog is contracted work not yet recorded as revenue. CEO Peter Cannito said demand remained “very strong,” while Chief Financial Officer Chris Edmunds pointed to improved gross margins and said Redwire was reaffirming its 2026 revenue forecast of $450 million to $500 million. Redwire Corporation
The quarter was not clean. Redwire reported a net loss of $76.5 million, widened by more than $44 million of non-recurring activity tied mainly to equity-based compensation from the Edge Autonomy acquisition, and adjusted EBITDA of negative $9.2 million. Adjusted EBITDA is earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, with company adjustments; it is not a standard accounting measure.
The company also remains active in space-defense work. Voyager Technologies said it received a subcontract from Redwire, the prime contractor for DARPA’s Otter program, to supply a measurement system for a very-low-Earth-orbit spacecraft. Delta-V, cited in that program, means the ability of a spacecraft to change velocity for maneuvers.
The risk is that orders and backlog do not convert into profit as quickly as investors expect. Redwire itself warned that projections are uncertain and cited risks including tariffs, customer concentration, integration of Edge Autonomy, launch-vehicle reliance and the possibility it cannot convert backlog into revenue. After a big share move, that leaves less room for delays, margin slippage or more selling by holders.
