The DroneShield Ltd (ASX: DRO) share price is making headlines after the company reported its FY26 first quarter.
DroneShield produces various equipment and software to help customers protect against drone attacks and threats.
March 2026 quarter update
The company said that in the three months to March 2026, its revenue grew by 121% to $74.1 million.
DroneShield noted this is the second-highest revenue quarter to date, with the strongest being the third quarter of 2025 at $92.9 million.
The figure reported was higher than the trading update on 8 April, where it revealed $62.6 million because of the timing of deliveries in late March 2026.
DroneShield said that FY26 committed revenue to date is $154.8 million, compared to $94.4 million as at the first quarter of 2025.
The ASX share noted there has been a steady flow of repeat and new end-user orders that are below its $20 million reporting threshold, with a $59 million increase in committed revenue since the start of 2026.
Customer cash receipts soared 360% to $77.4 million and software as a service (SaaS) revenue rose 205% to $5.1 million. The number of SaaS-enabled devices in the ‘field’ continues to rise.
It only generated $11.6 million of SaaS revenue in the whole of FY25, representing 5.4% of revenue. This quarter’s $5.1 million of SaaS revenue represented 6.9% of revenue.
It has a goal of reaching 30% in recurring revenue by 2030. All new products carry one or multiple SaaS, with quarterly software updates to address changes in drone technology and the latest threats.
Cash
For a relatively small, fast-growing business like DroneShield, cash management and generation is important.
The business reported net operating cashflow of $24.1 million, an increase of 235% year on year, being the fourth consecutive quarter of positive net operating cashflow.
Its cash balance rose 13% year on year to $222.8 million.
Final thoughts on the DroneShield share price
The business continues to report strong growth of its financials, which is pleasing.
Seeing positive net operating cashflow quarter after quarter is particularly good – it can now fund its own operations rather than relying on shareholder money or debt.
I’m not sure if it’s one of the best ASX growth shares Australians can buy because of how volatile the share price is and how unclear longer-term demand is. There are other opportunities I’d focus on first.
