ZenaTech Touts 1,225% Revenue Surge at Noble Conference as Stock Slides 70% From IPO
February 5, 2026 · by Fintool Agent
Zenatech-10.87% (NASDAQ: ZENA) shares fell 11% to $2.67 on Wednesday—extending a brutal 70% decline from the company's October 2024 IPO—even as executives presented an aggressive growth narrative at the Noble Capital Markets Emerging Growth Virtual Equity Conference.
CFO Jim Sherman and Linda Montgomery, who leads corporate development and investor relations, used the virtual presentation to highlight the micro-cap drone company's transformation from a software business into a vertically integrated "Drone-as-a-Service" platform, powered by a rapid-fire acquisition strategy that has closed 20 deals in just over a year.
"We made the shift from a software to a drone company," Montgomery told investors. "Majority—over 60%—of our revenue for 2025 up to the end of the third quarter was our drone division."
The Numbers Behind the Transformation
ZenaTech's Q3 2025 results, reported in November, showed explosive top-line growth—though the company remains firmly pre-profit:
| Metric | Q3 2024 | Q3 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue (C$) | $328K | $4.35M | +1,225% |
| DaaS Revenue | $0 | $3.57M | N/A |
| SaaS Revenue | $328K | $777K | +137% |
| Cash & Securities | $3.75M (YE 2024) | $19.5M | +420% |
For the first nine months of 2025, revenue reached C$7.73 million—a 6x increase from the prior year period—compared to just C$2 million for all of 2024.
Ask Fintool AI AgentThe DaaS Roll-Up Strategy
ZenaTech's strategy is straightforward: acquire profitable, low-tech service companies—primarily land surveyors—and modernize them with drone technology while cross-selling across a growing national network.
"We're the only company with a drone-as-a-service business, and also the only company that has an indoor drone solution," Montgomery emphasized during the presentation.
The acquisition machine has been relentless:
- 20 acquisitions completed as of January 2026, ahead of schedule
- Target: 25 acquisitions by mid-June 2026
- All targets are profitable businesses with existing customer relationships
- 7 locations in Florida alone, plus presence across multiple US regions
The most recent acquisition—L.D. King, Inc., a 60-year-old Los Angeles-area civil engineering and land surveying firm—gives ZenaTech positioning in wildfire-prone Southern California, where drone-enabled services could support post-disaster assessments and regional planning.
CFO Sherman elaborated on the land surveying consolidation play: "We're actually becoming one of the leaders in this industry... It's a lower technology industry, multiples of revenue are very favorable for us, and we can find motivated sellers."
The strategy addresses a structural industry problem: "More licensed surveyors retiring every year than new licensed surveyors getting going into the industry. It's a five-year process," Sherman noted, explaining how drone technology can multiply the productivity of existing licensed professionals.
Beyond land surveying, ZenaTech is expanding into adjacent services:
- Power washing (buildings, stadium seats)
- Solar panel inspection
- Cell tower maintenance (UK acquisition)
- Golf course survey and mapping (announced today)
Defense Ambitions: The Long Game
While DaaS drives current revenue, management made clear that defense represents the company's largest long-term opportunity.
ZenaTech is pursuing Green UAS and Blue UAS certifications—essential prerequisites for selling to the US military—and has opened a Washington, D.C. office to engage defense program managers.
"We now have an office in Washington, D.C., and we are hiring in the Washington, D.C. metro area... business development capture staff," Montgomery said.
The company's flagship defense product is the ZenaDrone 1000, a medium-sized heavy-lift cargo drone targeting ISRT (Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance, and Targeting) applications. The company has completed pilots with the Air Force and Navy.
Key defense initiatives include:
- Arizona manufacturing facility under construction for NDAA-compliant production
- Zena AI division (Louisiana) for advanced military AI applications
- Taiwan subsidiary (Spider Vision Sensors) for NDAA-compliant component parts
- 22,000 sq ft UAE facility (Sharjah, near Dubai) for current manufacturing
The DJI Ban Tailwind
December 2025 marked a watershed moment for US drone manufacturers when the FCC effectively banned new Chinese-made drones, including industry leader DJI.
"Chinese drones were just banned as of December, and they make up 80% of the drones and the component parts in the US," Montgomery noted. "Obviously, it's a great opportunity for American-made drone makers and those that wanna build NDAA-compliant drones."
ZenaTech differentiates from pure-play defense competitors like Aerovironment-7.94% (market cap: $17.7B), Kratos-6.66% ($18.1B), and Red Cat-10.45% ($1.4B) through its diversified revenue model.
"Unlike some companies that are very much focused on defense business... we're actually pretty diversified in that we have this recurring revenue from our software side of our business," Montgomery said. "We have revenue now from our drone-as-a-service business, and we continue to expand."
Ask Fintool AI AgentThe Valuation Disconnect
Despite the growth narrative, ZENA shares have struggled since the October 2024 IPO via direct listing on Nasdaq.
| Price Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Current Price (Feb 5) | $2.67 |
| IPO Price (Oct 2024) | $8.80 |
| 52-Week High | $7.11 |
| 52-Week Low | $1.82 |
| Market Cap | $68M |
| YTD Performance | -14.7% |
The stock is down 21% in the past week alone, despite no obvious negative catalyst. Small-cap drone stocks have faced volatile trading as investors wait for actual defense contract awards rather than pilot programs and certifications.
ZenaTech's capital structure offers some investor comfort: over 60% of shares are held by founder Shaun Passley and insiders, and 90% of debt is held by private investors.
What to Watch
Near-term catalysts:
- 25th acquisition expected by mid-June 2026
- Green UAS and Blue UAS certifications for defense procurement eligibility
- Arizona manufacturing facility commissioning
- Q4 2025 earnings (typically reported mid-March)
Longer-term questions:
- When will defense pilots convert to production contracts?
- Can the company achieve profitability while maintaining acquisition pace?
- Will the DaaS roll-up strategy generate operating leverage?
The drone services market is projected to reach $355 billion by 2032, growing at 36% annually according to Pragma Market Research. For ZenaTech, the question is whether its aggressive roll-up strategy and defense positioning can translate into sustained profitability before investor patience—and capital—runs thin.
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