Why BigBear.ai (BBAI) Is Still a Defense-AI Battleground

BigBear.ai Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BBAI) is one of the best “moonshot” tech stocks to buy according to short sellers. The stock’s latest publicly reported short interest stood at 29.58% of float as of April 30, 2026, according to MarketBeat.

BigBear.ai strengthened its defense-AI case on May 5, when it reported a first-quarter backlog of $281.9 million, up 14% from the fourth quarter. The increase was driven mainly by a $53 million sole-source prime classified award, while the company said first-quarter wins totaled nearly $75 million across the national security, trade, and travel markets. BigBear.ai also reaffirmed its full-year 2026 revenue guidance of $135 million to $165 million, and said gross margin expanded to 34.0% from 21.3% a year earlier, helped by higher-margin generative AI revenue from Ask Sage.

The short-seller case is not hard to find either. First-quarter revenue slipped 1% to $34.4 million because of lower Army program volume, even though Ask Sage partly offset the decline. BigBear.ai also posted a $56.8 million net loss and a $9.9 million adjusted EBITDA loss, while SG&A expenses rose as the company absorbed acquisition-related costs and expanded sales and marketing. That leaves BBAI as a clean moonshot battleground: classified defense AI contracts, secure generative AI, and national-security demand on one side; uneven revenue, losses, and execution risk on the other.

Why BigBear.ai (BBAI) Is Still a Defense-AI Battleground

Photo by Somchai Kongkamsri from Pexels

BigBear.ai Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BBAI) provides Edge AI-powered decision intelligence, predictive analytics, computer vision, and digital identity solutions for national security, defense, travel and trade, supply chain, and other complex operating environments.

While we acknowledge the risk and potential of BBAI as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter time frame. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than BBAI and that has 10,000% upside potential, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock.

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