It certainly has been an eventful year for the DroneShield Ltd (ASX: DRO) share price.
After starting it at 77 cents, the counter drone technology company's shares reached as high as $6.71 before coming back down to Earth like Icarus.
At the end of last week, the company's shares closed at $2.08.
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Will the DroneShield share price double again in 2026?
Nobody can say for sure what will happen in 2026, but there's certainly potential for the doubling of its share price again.
Firstly, the company is operating in a market that is experiencing incredible demand. If that continues and its sales and earnings continue to grow, its share price is likely to push higher again.
Though, this assumes it can avoid any more controversies like those that have weighed on investor sentiment in recent months.
Bullish broker tips big returns
Also supporting the case for a major re-rating is a recent broker note out of Bell Potter.
According to the note, the broker has a buy rating and $5.30 price target on DroneShield's shares.
Based on its current share price of $2.08, this implies potential upside of over 150% for investors over the next 12 months.
Bell Potter highlights that DroneShield has a sales pipeline valued at $2.55 billion. To put that into context, its current market capitalisation is approximately $1.9 billion.
Commenting on its buy recommendation, the broker said:
We believe DRO has the market leading counter-drone offering and a strengthening competitive advantage owing to its years of experience and large R&D team, focused on detect and defeat capabilities. We expect 2026 will be an inflection point for the global counter-drone industry with countries poised to unleash a wave of spending on soft-kill detect and defeat solutions. Consequently, we believe DRO should see material contracts flowing from its $2,550m potential sales pipeline over the next 3-6 months as defence budgets roll over to FY26.
Though, there are risks to its thesis. The broker warns investors that:
Failure to retain existing customers or attract new customers will severely impact revenue growth and the overall financial performance of the company. […] DRO operates in a competitive market including large multi-national defence contractors who have extensive resources and scale.
Whatever happens, it certainly will be worth watching the DroneShield share price in 2026. And for shareholders (and prospective shareholders), hopefully it will be a very successful year for them.
