Stocks of companies making drones have been sizzling over the past month. The recent India-Pakistan skirmish has sent drone stocks to a rally in the bourses.
Importance of Drones
Drones have emerged as an important part in modern warfare. In the Russia-Ukraine war, drones have become an important part of the attack strategies.
According to Reuters, Russia and Ukraine each have produced over a million drones in 2024.
Hence investors in the defence sector need to know about the stocks that are engaged in the production and related services of drones.
Selection Criteria—We have selected stocks that are engaged in drone production. There are stocks that are into training and other related services. Some companies who have made partnerships with other companies to produce drones are also included.
We have arranged the stocks in the order who gained most since May 7, the day when India announced strikes on Pakistan.
Ideaforge Technology
Ideaforge Technology has gained the most in the time period with a 56% gain to Rs 558.2. However, over the last year, the stock has declined by 22%. The company is mainly in the manufacturing of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS). The drones have both civil and military applications.
The company’s flagship product, Q6 UAS had received Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) type certification in March 2024.
The stock does not have a Price to Equity ratio (P/E) as it turned in a loss in FY25. The stock is trading at a price to book value of 4.0x. Its return on capital employed (ROCE) is at -9.36% and return on equity (ROE) at -9.81%.
The company has an order book of Rs 13.8 crore as of March 2025 quarter. The company had indicated that it had orders worth Rs 400 crore in L1 stage. There is a marked decline in the company’s order book. Ideaforge had an order book of Rs 176 crore at December 2023 quarter. It declined to Rs 21.5 crore at the end of September 2024 quarter.
This has reflected in the company’s financials as Revenue fell to Rs 161 crore in FY25. it had Rs 314 crore in FY24. The company turned into loss of Rs 62 crore in FY25. It was in the black in FY24 with a profit of Rs 45 crore.
Ideaforge has Infosys as one of its public shareholders. The IT giant held a 3.82% stake in the company as of March 2025.
Zen Technologies
Zen Technologies has posted an almost 36% gain since May 7 to Rs 1,794.8. The stock has performed well over the last year with a near 86% gain. Zen Technologies focuses on providing combat training solutions for defence and security forces. This includes counter-drone solutions.
The company had signed a Rs 46 crore Annual Maintenance Contract (AMC) with the Ministry of Defence in October 2024.
The stock is trading at a P/E of 57.8. It has a price to book value of 9.53x. It has a healthy ROE of 26.1% and ROCE of 36.7%.
The company had an order book of Rs 800 crore in the December 2024 quarter. It had grown to around Rs 950 crore in March 2025. It has not revealed the exact order book figure for FY25.
In FY25, Zen Technologies managed to increase its revenue by more than double to Rs 974 crore. Similarly, profits also jumped from Rs 130 crore in FY24 to Rs 299 crore in FY25.
Paras Defence and Space Technologies
Paras Defence have also benefitted from this drone stocks rally. Its shares have rallied by more than 31% to Rs 1,817.40 in this period. The stock has raced over 132% in the last year.
The company’s subsidiary Paras Aerospace is involved in drone manufacturing and services. Moreover, the company recently announced a joint venture (JV) with Israel’s Heven Drones. Through JV, they will manufacture logistics and cargo drones.
Paras Defence had also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Micron Vision. This company is a part of Controp and Rafael Group and this MoU aims to work on defense and drone ecosystem in India.
The company’s sales jumped by 43% to Rs 365 crore in FY25. Its profit also increased by 103% to Rs 61 crore.
The company’s order book stood at more than Rs 900 crore in March 2025 quarter. The stock is trading at a P/E of 118. Its Price to Book value is at 11.3 times. It has a ROE of 11.3% and ROCE of 15.4%.
Droneacharya Aerial Innovations
Droneacharya Aerial Innovations has surged by nearly 29% in this time period to Rs 79.69. But over the last year, the stock has declined by 44%. The company is engaged in drone operation training. It focuses on providing surveys, data processing, and pilot training.
The stock is at a P/E of 34.3. It is trading around 2.61 times price to book value. It has a ROE of 8.62% and a ROCE of 11.8%.
Its sales in September 2024 quarter have increased to Rs 26.90 crore from Rs 20.89 crore in the previous year. However, its profits have declined to Rs 1.61 crore from Rs 3.96 crore.
Hindustan Aeronautics
Hindustan Aeronautics’ (HAL) shares have gained by 14% to Rs 5,115.50 in this period. Interestingly this is higher than the near 7% gain the stock had in the preceding year. The defence major’s subsidiary had signed a joint development partnership with Garuda Aerospace to develop advanced precision drones.
HAL’s order book increased to Rs 1.84 lakh crore in FY25 from Rs 94,129 crore in the previous year. The company’s revenue has increased by 1.97% from the previous year to Rs 30,981 crore. Its profit rose nearly 10% to Rs 8364 crore.
The company was trading at a P/E of 41. The stock has a price to book value of 9.8x. It has a ROE of 26.1% and ROCE of 33.9%.
Drone Destination
Drone Destination has risen over 10% to Rs 126.85 since May 7. This is in sharp contrast to the 56% decline it has experience over the last year. The company provides training, operation, manufacturing, repair and rentals of drones.
Drone Destination’s shares are at a P/E of 40.1. The price to book value is at 4.68 times. Its ROE is 17.9% while ROCE is at 23.3%.
Drone Destination’s revenue jumped by 152% to Rs 13.83 crore in September 2024. Its profit also surged by 161% to Rs 1.02 crore.
Conclusion
Most of the stocks that have rallied have strong order book. However, Ideaforge Technology doesn’t have that luxury. Companies who have been underperforming over the past year also have experienced gains from the rally.
These stocks are heavily dependent on order books and a fall in that figure will affect their performance as seen in the case of Ideaforge. Investors need to do their own research and decide whether investing in these stocks would suit them.
Disclaimer
Note: We have relied on data from www.Screener.in throughout this article. Only in cases where the data was not available, have we used an alternate, but widely used and accepted source of information.
The purpose of this article is only to share interesting charts, data points and thought-provoking opinions. It is NOT a recommendation. If you wish to consider an investment, you are strongly advised to consult your advisor. This article is strictly for educative purposes only.
Ananthu C U is an equity market journalist who has written about listed companies, equity market regulations, and economic development. He is deeply interested in increasing his knowledge about the equity market, the Indian economy and listed Indian companies. He generally tracks infrastructure, power and financial companies.
Disclosure: The writer and his dependents do not hold the stocks discussed in this article.
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