Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. KTOS shares declined 5.1% to reach $34.22 on May 8 following the release of its first-quarter 2025 results.

The company reported first-quarter 2025 adjusted earnings of 12 cents per share, up 9.1% from 11 cents in the prior-year quarter. The bottom line also surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 9 cents by 33.3%. (See the Zacks Earnings Calendar to stay ahead of market-making news.)

Kratos Defense reported GAAP earnings of 3 cents per share compared with a penny reported in the first quarter of 2024.

KTOS’ Total Revenues

Total revenues were $302.6 million, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $292 million by 3.6%. The figure also rose 9.2% from $277.2 million recorded in the year-ago quarter.

The year-over-year improvement can be attributed to the Unmanned Systems and Kratos Government Solutions segments’ revenue growth.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. Quote

Operational Update of Kratos Defense

Kratos Defense’s selling, general and administrative expenses increased 3.8% year over year. Research and development expenses rose 4.2%. Depreciation expenses surged 36.8% year over year.

Expenses related to the amortization of intangible assets came in line with the year-ago figure.

The company reported operating income of $6.6 million, which declined from the year-ago quarter’s $7 million.

It posted a consolidated book-to-bill ratio of 1.2-1.0, with bookings worth $365.6 million.

The total backlog at the end of the first quarter was $1.51 billion compared with $1.45 billion at the end of 2024.

KTOS’ Segmental Performance

Unmanned Systems: Net revenues improved 6.2% year over year to $63.1 million, driven by increased target drone sales.

Kratos Government Solutions: Net revenues rose 10% to $239.5 million on a year-over-year basis. The revenue improvement can be attributed to notable growth in its C5ISR, Defense Rocket Support and Microwave Products businesses.

Financial Details of KTOS

As of March 30, 2025, cash and cash equivalents totaled $263.7 million, down from $329.3 million as of Dec. 29, 2024.

The long-term debt amounted to $172.2 million as of March 30, 2025, down from $174.6 million recorded as of Dec. 29, 2024.

The net cash outflow from operating activities amounted to $29.2 million during the first three months of 2025 against the net cash inflow of $0.7 million in the previous year.

Story Continues

Kratos Defense’s 2025 Guidance

Kratos Defense has introduced its second-quarter guidance and affirmed its full-year 2025 guidance.

KTOS projects second-quarter 2025 revenues in the range of $300-$310 million. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenues is pegged at $314.6 million, higher than the company’s guided range.

KTOS still expects 2025 revenues in the $1.26-$1.29 billion range. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenues is pegged at $1.28 billion, which is just above the midpoint of the company’s guided range.

Kratos Defense continues to expect operating cash flows in the range of $50-$60 million and free cash outflow in the range of $75-$85 million for 2025.

KTOS’ Zacks Rank

Kratos Defense currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Recent Q1 Defense Releases

Leidos Holdings, Inc.’s LDOS first-quarter 2025 adjusted earnings of $2.97 per share beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.47 by 20.2%. The bottom line also increased 29.7% from $2.29 registered in the prior-year quarter.

Total revenues of $4.25 billion beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $4.08 billion by 4%. The top line also improved 6.8% year over year.

Northrop Grumman Corporation NOC reported first-quarter 2025 adjusted earnings of $6.06 per share, which missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $6.21 by 2.4%.

NOC’s total sales of $9.47 billion missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $9.91 billion by 4.4%. The top line also declined 6.6% from $10.13 billion reported in the year-ago quarter.

RTX Corporation’s RTX first-quarter 2025 adjusted earnings per share of $1.47 beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.35 by 8.9%. The bottom line also improved 9.7% from the year-ago quarter’s level of $1.34.

Its first-quarter sales totaled $20.31 billion, which surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $19.71 billion by 3%. The top line also surged a solid 5.2% from $19.31 billion recorded in the first quarter of 2024.

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