ZenaTech (NASDAQ:ZENA) executives outlined the company’s evolving business mix, acquisition strategy, and defense-market ambitions during a recent presentation hosted by Noble Capital Markets research analyst Pat McCann. The discussion featured Linda Montgomery, who leads corporate development and investor relations, and CFO Jim Sherman.
Three-part business model: drones, services, and SaaS
Montgomery said ZenaTech designs and manufactures drones, operates a Drone-as-a-Service (DaaS) business, and owns an enterprise SaaS software portfolio. The drone business operates under the ZenaDrone name, while the services division is branded as Drone-as-a-Service. The enterprise software segment includes 11 brands spanning areas such as compliance, field service management, and workplace management, which Montgomery characterized as recurring revenue.
Public company timeline and ownership
Montgomery said ZenaTech went public on October 1, 2024, via a direct listing on Nasdaq, making it about 16 months into its tenure as a public company. She also said more than 60% of the company is owned by its founder and insiders.
Revenue mix shift and third-quarter update
Montgomery stated that 2024 revenue was $2 million, which she said was entirely from the enterprise SaaS segment. She then pointed to results the company had announced for the third quarter of the following year, saying revenue had grown to $7.73 million and that the company had shifted “from a software to a drone company.” She said that for 2025 through the end of the third quarter, more than 60% of revenue came from the drone division.
Montgomery also cited several metrics from that quarter, including:
- Revenue growth of 1,225% for the quarter, as characterized in the presentation.
- $19.5 million in cash and marketable securities on the balance sheet.
- Progress on the defense side of the business that the company discussed alongside its third-quarter update.
She added that the company has completed 20 acquisitions to date, noting that fewer were reflected in the third-quarter results at the time.
Defense strategy: certifications, Washington presence, and product focus
On defense go-to-market strategy, Montgomery said the company is focusing on obtaining Green UAS and Blue UAS certifications, which she described as necessary to be on the U.S. military procurement list. She said ZenaTech has opened an office in Washington, D.C., is hiring in the metro area, and is adding business development and capture staff to support defense opportunities.
Montgomery highlighted the ZenaDrone 1000 as a key platform, describing it as a medium-sized heavy-lift cargo drone targeted at defense applications. She also said the company is working on a gas version for applications such as border patrol. Montgomery said ZenaTech has already conducted pilot programs with the U.S. Air Force and the Navy and has been engaging with Department of Defense program managers since last summer.
She also discussed an AI-focused division called ZenaAI, established in Louisiana, which she said will focus on advanced AI applications for the military. Montgomery said the company has seen tailwinds from policy directives in 2025 that favor American-made drones and noted that the company is commissioning a facility in Arizona intended to build drones for U.S. defense customers.
Drone products and Drone-as-a-Service expansion by acquisition
Beyond the ZenaDrone 1000, Montgomery described the company’s IQ series, including:
- IQ Nano, an indoor drone used for inventory management that reads barcodes and feeds data into inventory systems.
- IQ Square, used for outdoor line-of-sight inspections.
- IQ Quad, a land survey drone launched recently and designed to support payloads such as LiDAR.
She said ZenaTech is pursuing applications across sectors such as agriculture and inspections, and described trials with a multinational auto parts manufacturer involving inventory-management drones and drone swarms to speed warehouse scanning.
On the services side, Montgomery said Drone-as-a-Service was launched in January of last year and has grown through 20 acquisitions, primarily land survey companies. Sherman described the rationale as using drones to increase productivity, citing an example where one licensed land surveyor with a drone pilot license could complete work in four hours that might otherwise take two surveyors eight hours.
Sherman said the company is also expanding beyond land surveying into other service categories, including power washing and inspection-related businesses, where acquisitions can be paired with drone technology to increase capacity or lower costs. He also said the land surveying industry faces capacity constraints due to more licensed surveyors retiring than entering the profession, calling it a multi-year process to become licensed.
Montgomery said the company has stated a goal of reaching 25 acquisitions by mid-2026 and noted it had completed 20 so far. She also described building a network of Drone-as-a-Service “stores” and said the acquired companies are profitable and bring existing customer relationships, including public works clients such as county, municipal, and Department of Transportation customers.
In a Q&A, Sherman said ZenaTech recently developed a drone specifically for the land surveying industry based on feedback from acquired survey businesses, and he said the company could replicate that approach in other industries. Montgomery added that the company’s product development includes a continuing feedback loop through pilots and testing, and she said the company would consider strategic partnerships with other software companies where it makes sense, while also emphasizing ZenaTech’s preference for vertically integrated solutions.
About ZenaTech (NASDAQ:ZENA)
ZenaTech, Inc, an enterprise software technology company, develops cloud-based software applications in Canada. It provides cryptocurrency wallets and cloud-based enterprise software solutions for the agriculture industry; cloud-based enterprise software solutions for the medical records industry; safety and compliance management software and mobile solutions; field management software and mobile solutions; integrated cloud-based enterprise software and hardware drone technology solutions for various industries; and browser-based enterprise software applications for public safety.
