Aviat Networks, Inc.

Third-quarter revenue was $100.0 million versus $112.6 million in the year-ago quarter. GAAP gross margin was 29.3% and non-GAAP gross margin was 29.4%, versus 34.9% and 35.8% last year. GAAP loss per share was $0.16 and non-GAAP EPS was $0.06; adjusted EBITDA was $4.4 million, or 4.4% of revenue. For the first 9 months, revenue was $318.8 million versus $319.3 million a year ago, and adjusted EBITDA was $24.8 million, up $2.8 million. Aviat updated FY 2026 guidance to full-year revenue of $428 million to $440 million and adjusted EBITDA of $35 million to $40 million. Management also said Q4 should be seasonally strong and that EBITDA margins should return toward expected levels as volumes normalize.

Pete Smith framed the quarter as a timing setback rather than a demand reset, saying the Middle East conflict caused project pushouts and a roughly $9 million hit to Q3 revenue. He was notably constructive on the company’s growth programs, especially the MDU opportunity, where he said Aviat has increased confidence, believes it has a favored supplier position, and expects meaningful revenue contribution in FY 2027. He also highlighted robust utility demand, BEAD-related opportunities, and the Aprisa and next-generation product roadmap as drivers for outgrowing the microwave market next year.

Andy Schmidt walked through the financials and emphasized that the gross margin decline was driven by volume, regional, and product mix, not pricing pressure. He cited $78.1 million of cash and marketable securities, $104.3 million of debt, and a net debt position of $26.1 million, while noting inventories were down $4.0 million sequentially and accounts payable fell $33.3 million. He also pointed to over $450 million of NOLs and said there is a reasonable possibility of releasing a significant portion of the valuation allowance on foreign deferred tax assets within the next few quarters, which would create a one-time GAAP benefit.

Analysts pressed on whether the $9 million of pushed-out orders would come back in Q4, and management said some of it had already shipped in the first two weeks of the current quarter but that the company stayed conservative because of ongoing conflict-related uncertainty. Questions on gross margin led management to say pricing remains in good shape and that margins should recover as volumes return to normal, with Q4 expected to be seasonally strong. On the MDU opportunity, Pete Smith said there are live deployments in more than five markets, there are no more Aviat technical milestones, and the main task now is integrating the fixed wireless solution into the customer’s broader stack and waiting for subscriber growth to ramp. He also said the company knows little beyond Nokia’s public statements and is focused on competing wherever legacy vendor changes create openings.