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Industrials & Aerospace

AeroVironment Executive Compensation (FY26)

AVAV · Arlington, VA · Executive and director compensation, fiscal 2022 to 2026
Chief executive, fiscal 2026
◇
Wahid Nawabi
Median of the other named officers
$1,571,753
5 officers, excluding the chief executive
Latest say-on-pay support
=
September 24, 2026
Chief executive pay ratio
◇
To the median employee
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Data as of November 4, 2026Latest filing (8-K): September 30, 2026
17 filings cited on this page
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331 figures on this page: 321 cited to the filing that reported them, 10 calculated from figures it prints. See the citations
What changed from fiscal 2025 to fiscal 2026
The figures that moved, and by how much. Analysis of these figures is part of the Velarion platform.
Chief executive total compensation — Wahid Nawabi: $7,405,129 → $15,253,775 (106.0% higher)

Frequently asked questions

Answers drawn from the data on this page.
Who is AeroVironment's chief executive and what were they paid?
Total compensation for Wahid Nawabi, President and Chief Executive Officer, came to $15,253,775 in fiscal 2026. Nawabi's total was 106.0% higher than the $7,405,129 reported for fiscal 2025.
What was AeroVironment's say-on-pay result?
Shareholders supported the say-on-pay proposal with 95.9% of votes cast for or against in favor at the meeting held September 24, 2026 for fiscal 2026.
Which companies are in AeroVironment's peer group?
The disclosed peer group names Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc, Axon Enterprise, Inc., Crane Company, Curtiss-Wright Corporation and HEICO Corporation, among others.
What is AeroVironment's chief executive pay ratio?
For fiscal 2026, the company reported a chief executive pay ratio of 113.4:1, against median employee compensation of $134,502.

Executive compensation

Every element reported for each named executive officer, by fiscal year.
Fiscal 2022
OfficerSalaryBonusStock awardsOption awardsNon-equity incentivePension and deferred earningsAll other compensationTotal
Wahid Nawabi
President and Chief Executive Officer
◇—◇—◇—◇◇
Kevin McDonnell
Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
◇—◇—◇—◇◇
Kenneth Karklin
Former Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer
Departed during or after this year
◇—◇———◇◇
Melissa Brown
Senior Vice President, General Counsel, Chief Compliance Officer & Secretary
◇—◇—◇—◇◇
Alison Roelke
Former Vice President and Chief People Officer
◇—◇—◇—◇◇
Fiscal 2023
OfficerSalaryBonusStock awardsOption awardsNon-equity incentivePension and deferred earningsAll other compensationTotal
Wahid Nawabi
President and Chief Executive Officer
◇—◇—◇—◇◇
Kevin McDonnell
Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
◇—◇—◇—◇◇
Melissa Brown
Senior Vice President, General Counsel, Chief Compliance Officer and Corporate Secretary
◇—◇—◇—◇◇
Alison Roelke
Former Vice President and Chief People Officer
Departed during or after this year
◇—————◇◇
Fiscal 2024
OfficerSalaryBonusStock awardsOption awardsNon-equity incentivePension and deferred earningsAll other compensationTotal
Wahid Nawabi
President and Chief Executive Officer
◇◇◇—◇—◇◇
Kevin McDonnell
Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
◇◇◇—◇—◇◇
Melissa Brown
Senior Vice President, General Counsel, Chief Compliance Officer & Secretary
◇◇◇—◇—◇◇
Trace Stevenson
Senior Vice President UnCrewed Systems
◇◇◇—◇—◇◇
Brett Hush
Senior Vice President Loitering Munitions
◇◇◇—◇—◇◇
Fiscal 2025
OfficerSalaryBonusStock awardsOption awardsNon-equity incentivePension and deferred earningsAll other compensationTotal
Wahid Nawabi
President and Chief Executive Officer
◇—◇—◇—◇◇
Kevin McDonnell
Former Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
◇◇◇—◇—◇◇
Melissa Brown
Executive Vice President, Chief Legal Officer & Secretary
◇◇◇—◇—◇◇
Brett Hush
Executive Vice President Loitering Munitions
◇◇◇—◇—◇◇
Trace Stevenson
President, Autonomous Systems
◇—◇—◇—◇◇
Fiscal 2026
OfficerSalaryBonusStock awardsOption awardsNon-equity incentivePension and deferred earningsAll other compensationTotal
Wahid Nawabi
President and Chief Executive Officer
◇—◇—◇—◇◇
Kevin McDonnell
Former Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
Departed during or after this year
◇—◇—◇—◇◇
Trace Stevenson
President, Autonomous Systems
◇◇◇—◇—◇◇
Melissa Brown
Executive Vice President, Chief Legal Officer & Secretary
◇—◇—◇—◇— not reconciled
Bradley Truesdell
Former Chief Operating Officer
Departed during or after this year
◇—◇—◇—◇◇
Mary Clum
President Space, Cyber & Directed Energy
◇—◇—◇—◇◇
A dash means the company reported no figure in that column. $0 is shown only where the filing prints a zero. A negative change in pension value is shown but, as the company reports it, not included in the total.

Equity awards granted

Individual awards as disclosed: type, date, unit counts at each level, and grant date value.
Fiscal 2026
OfficerAwardGrant dateThreshold unitsTarget unitsUnits grantedMaximum unitsExercise priceGrant date fair value
Bradley TruesdellPSU◇◇◇—◇—◇
Bradley TruesdellRSU◇——◇——◇
Bradley TruesdellRSU◇——◇——◇
Kevin McDonnellPSU◇◇◇—◇—◇
Kevin McDonnellRSU◇——◇——◇
Mary ClumPSU◇◇◇—◇—◇
Mary ClumRSU◇——◇——◇
Melissa BrownRSU◇——◇——◇
Melissa BrownPSU◇◇◇—◇—◇
Melissa BrownRSU◇——◇——◇
Trace StevensonPSU◇◇◇—◇—◇
Trace StevensonRSU◇——◇——◇
Wahid NawabiRSU◇——◇——◇
Wahid NawabiPSU◇◇◇—◇—◇
Fiscal 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025 are included in the PDF.
A dash means the company reported no figure in that column. $0 is shown only where the filing prints a zero. Threshold, target and maximum apply only to performance awards and are never shown for time-based or option awards.

Outstanding awards

Awards still held at fiscal year end.
As disclosed at fiscal 2026 year end
OfficerAwardUnvested unitsMarket value of unvested unitsExercise priceExpires
Wahid NawabiPSU◇◇——
PSU◇◇——
RSU◇◇——
RSU◇◇——
RSU◇◇——
Kevin McDonnellPSU◇◇——
PSU◇◇——
RSU◇◇——
RSU◇◇——
RSU◇◇——
Trace StevensonPSU◇◇——
PSU◇◇——
RSU◇◇——
RSU◇◇——
RSU◇◇——
Melissa BrownPSU◇◇——
PSU◇◇——
RSU◇◇——
RSU◇◇——
RSU◇◇——
RSU◇◇——
Bradley TruesdellPSU◇◇——
PSU◇◇——
RSU◇◇——
RSU◇◇——
RSU◇◇——
RSU◇◇——
Mary ClumPSU◇◇——
RSU◇◇——
A dash means the company reported no figure in that column. $0 is shown only where the filing prints a zero.

Severance and change in control

The terms as written in the agreements.
Bradley Truesdell
Former Chief Operating Officer · Consulting agreement
Change-in-control trigger◇
Equity acceleration on change in control◇
Excise tax treatment◇
Mary Clum
President Space, Cyber & Directed Energy · Terms as described in the company’s compensation discussion
Severance cash amount◇
Melissa Brown
Executive Vice President, Chief Legal Officer & Secretary · Severance agreement
Severance multiple◇
Severance cash amount◇
Trace Stevenson
President, Autonomous Systems · Terms as described in the company’s compensation discussion
Severance cash amount◇
Wahid Nawabi
President and Chief Executive Officer · Terms as described in the company’s compensation discussion
Severance cash amount◇

Director compensation

What each non-employee director was paid.
Fiscal 2026
DirectorFees earned in cashStock awardsOption awardsNon-equity incentivePension and deferred earningsAll other compensationTotal
Edward R. Muller
Lead independent director
◇◇———◇◇
Joseph L. Votel
◇◇———◇◇
Cindy K. Lewis
◇◇———◇◇
Philip Davidson
◇◇———◇◇
Stephen F. Page
◇◇———◇◇
Mary Beth Long
◇◇———◇◇
Charles Thomas Burbage
◇◇———◇◇
David Wodlinger, Wahid Nawabi and Henry Albers served on the board in fiscal 2026 and received no compensation for board service. Executive directors are typically paid through their executive roles, shown above.
Earlier years are included in the PDF.
A dash means the company reported no figure in that column. $0 is shown only where the filing prints a zero.

Director fee schedule

The standing retainers and premiums the board pays, as published.
Board cash retainer◇
Board equity retainer◇
Total board retainer◇
Lead independent director premium◇
Audit committee chair◇
Audit committee member◇
Compensation committee chair◇
Compensation committee member◇
Nominating and governance chair◇
Nominating and governance member◇
Equity is delivered as Restricted Stock.
Stock ownership guideline: 5x annual cash retainer for board membership (exclusive of committee/chair fees)

Disclosed peer group

The companies this board named as its compensation comparison group. The list is disclosure; the comparison is analysis.
Fiscal 2026
  • Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc AIT
  • Axon Enterprise, Inc. AXON
  • Crane Company CR
  • Curtiss-Wright Corporation CW
  • HEICO Corporation HEI
  • Hexcel Corporation HXL
  • InterDigital, Inc. IDCC
  • Itron, Inc ITRI
  • Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. KTOS
  • Leonardo DRS, Inc. DRS
  • OSI Systems, Inc. OSIS
  • QinetiQ Group plc QQ.L
  • Regal Rexnord Corporation RRX
  • Teledyne Technologies Incorporated TDY
  • Trimble, Inc. TRMB

Say-on-pay history

Shareholder support for the compensation program, by year.
YearMeetingSupportVotes forVotes againstAbstentions
2026September 24, 2026=◇◇◇
2025September 25, 2025=◇◇◇
2024September 27, 2024=◇◇◇
2023September 29, 2023=◇◇◇
2022September 23, 2022=◇◇◇
2021September 24, 2021=◇◇◇
2020September 25, 2020=◇◇◇
2019September 27, 2019=◇◇◇
2018September 28, 2018=◇◇◇
2017September 28, 2017=◇◇◇

Chief executive pay ratio

As calculated and reported by the company.
Ratio
◇
Median employee compensation
◇
Chief executive total compensation
◇

Ask our research desk — $99, 24h, every figure cited to its filing.

Sample answer — “What is the CEO’s total compensation?”
- Wahid Nawabi (President and Chief Executive Officer), FY2026 total compensation $15,253,775 (base salary $1,118,829) [exec_comp, SEC accession 0001104659-26-096689, filed 2026-08-14]

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What this page does not include

Everything above is a fact AeroVironment disclosed, and it is free. Everything below is our analysis of those facts, and it is not.
Peer benchmarking
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Citations

Every figure on this page is cited to the document that reported it. Select any figure to see its citation.
331 figures on this page: 321 cited to the filing that reported them, 10 calculated from figures it prints.
321 cited to the filing
10 calculated from the filing

Documents cited

  1. 0001104659-26-112083
    Proposal 3 — Advisory Vote on a Resolution Relating to the Compensation of the Company’s Named Executive Officers The Company’s stockholders approved, by an advisory vote, a resolution relating to the
  2. 0001104659-26-096689
    DIRECTOR COMPENSATION · EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION TABLES
  5. 0001104659-25-095441
    Proposal 3 — Advisory Vote on the Compensation of the Company’s Named Executive Officers The Company’s stockholders approved, by an advisory vote, the compensation of the Company’s named executive off
  6. 0001104659-25-077059
    Compensation Discussion and Analysis · Summary Compensation Table
  7. 0001104659-24-105632
    Item 5.07 Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders
  8. 0001104659-24-088332
    Executive Compensation Tables
  9. 0001104659-23-107090
    Item 5.07 Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders
  10. 0001104659-23-092796
    Summary Compensation Table
  11. 0001104659-22-103826
    Item 5.07 Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders
  12. 0001104659-22-087288
    Executive Compensation Tables
  13. 0001104659-21-121218
    Item 5.07 Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders
  14. 0001104659-20-110469
    Item 5.07 Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders
  15. 0001410578-19-001529
    Item 5.07 Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders
  16. 0001104659-18-060489
    Item 5.07 Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders
  17. 0001104659-17-060783
    Item 5.07 Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders
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Velarion, “AeroVironment executive compensation, FY2022–FY2026.” https://intel.velarion.ai/comp/AVAV (accessed 2026).
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17 filings cited on this page
Method: intel.velarion.ai/methodology
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Industrials & Aerospace rankings

Chief executive pay — Industrials & AerospaceCEO pay ratio — Industrials & AerospaceSay-on-pay support — Industrials & Aerospace

Peers AeroVironment discloses

The companies named in AVAV's own disclosed peer group.

Applied Industrial Technologies, IncAxon Enterprise, Inc.Crane CompanyCurtiss-Wright CorporationHEICO CorporationHexcel CorporationInterDigital, Inc.Itron, IncKratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc.Leonardo DRS, Inc.OSI Systems, Inc.Regal Rexnord CorporationTeledyne Technologies IncorporatedTrimble, Inc.

Terms on this page

Say-on-Pay VoteCEO Pay RatioMedian Employee CompensationAll companies

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Cite this data
APA
Velarion Company Intelligence. (2026). Velarion database: executive and board compensation data (Version 2026Q3) [Data set]. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.22283854
BibTeX
@misc{velarionData2026,
  author = {{Velarion Company Intelligence}},
  title = {Velarion database: executive and board compensation data},
  year = {2026},
  version = {2026Q3},
  doi = {10.5281/zenodo.22283854},
  publisher = {Zenodo},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.22283854}
}
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