Consolidated Statements of Operations - USD ($) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Apr. 30, 2020	Apr. 30, 2019	Apr. 30, 2018
Revenue:
Revenue	$ 367,296	$ 314,274	$ 268,424
Cost of sales:
Cost of sales	214,194	185,871	160,739
Gross margin:
Total gross margin	153,102	128,403	107,685
Selling, general and administrative	59,490	60,343	50,826
Research and development	46,477	34,234	26,433
Income from continuing operations	47,135	33,826	30,426
Other income:
Interest income, net	4,828	4,672	2,240
Other income (expense), net	707	11,980	(49)
Income from continuing operations before income taxes	52,670	50,478	32,617
Provision for income taxes	5,848	4,641	9,800
Equity method investment loss, net of tax	(5,487)	(3,944)	(1,283)
Net income from continuing operations	41,335	41,893	21,534
Discontinued operations:
(Loss) gain on sale of business, net of tax (benefit) expense of $(76) and $2,444 for the year ended April 30, 2020 and April 30, 2019, respectively	(265)	8,490
Loss from discontinued operations, net of tax		(2,964)	(3,887)
Net (loss) income from discontinued operations	(265)	5,526	(3,887)
Net income	41,070	47,419	17,647
Net loss attributable to noncontrolling interest	4	19	216
Net income (loss) per share attributable to AeroVironment, Inc.-Basic	$ 41,074	$ 47,438	$ 17,863
Net (loss) income per share attributable to AeroVironment, Inc.--Basic
Basic, continuing (in dollars per share)	$ 1.74	$ 1.77	$ 0.93
Basic, discontinuing (in dollars per share)	(0.01)	0.23	(0.17)
Net income per share attributable to AeroVironment, Inc.-Basic	1.73	2.00	0.76
Net income (loss) per share attributable to AeroVironment, Inc.-Diluted
Diluted, continuing (in dollars per share)	1.72	1.74	0.91
Diluted, discontinued (in dollars per share)	(0.01)	0.23	(0.16)
Net income per share attributable to AeroVironment, Inc.-Diluted	$ 1.71	$ 1.97	$ 0.75
Weighted-average shares outstanding:
Basic (in shares)	23,806,208	23,663,410	23,471,241
Diluted (in shares)	24,088,167	24,071,713	23,813,772
Product sales
Revenue:
Revenue	$ 256,758	$ 212,089	$ 191,712
Cost of sales:
Cost of sales	139,131	113,489	109,393
Gross margin:
Total gross margin	117,627	98,600	82,319
Contract services
Revenue:
Revenue	110,538	102,185	76,712
Cost of sales:
Cost of sales	75,063	72,382	51,346
Gross margin:
Total gross margin	$ 35,475	$ 29,803	$ 25,366