AeroVironment, Ondas, and more U.S. drone stocks took flight Friday after President Donald Trump announced tariffs of as much as 100% on imported drones and components as the White House looks to mitigate potential national security risks.
The White House late Thursday said the drone tariff program "will protect the national security of the United States and its defense and defense-adjacent industrial base, supporting and creating American jobs."
The new Trump tariffs had an immediate impact on drone and defense stocks.
Drone technology company AeroVironment advanced 3.2% in premarket trading on Friday after ending Thursday down 2.3%. Shares of autonomous drone maker Ondas gained 3.3% after selling off nearly 9% Thursday following a wider-than-expected quarterly loss and investor concerns around guidance.
AeroVironment and Ondas have risen 27% and 19%, respectively, this month.
Kratos Defense & Security Solutions added 2.9%. The unmanned systems and technology provider has gained 35% this month through the closing bell on Thursday and reported better-than-expected second-quarter earnings last week.
Drone technology provider Karman Holdings added 0.9% while shares of Unusual Machines advanced 13%. Unusual Machines is based in Florida and manufactures drone components.
Red Cat Holdings, which makes military-grade autonomous drones and robotic systems, gained 6.2%.
While many drone stocks received a boost from Trump's new tariff policies, it wasn't an unanimous win across the defense sector.
Shares of drone software technology provider Swarmer fell 7.4%. Swarmer is backed by Erik Prince who is known primarily for founding private security firm Blackwater. While Swarmer has corporate headquarters in Texas, its operational and engineering teams are primarily in Europe.
The iShares U.S. Aerospace & Defense exchange-traded fund was up a fraction in premarket trading. Boeing and Northrop Grumman both declined about 0.1% while Lockheed Martin moved slightly higher.
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