Taiwanese connector maker Sinbon is betting on commercial drones as its next growth engine, and investors bought in — the stock jumped as much as 7% on a weak day for the market.

• Sinbon expects its drone business to grow several times over this year versus last year.
• Management sees strong momentum lasting the next two years as rules loosen and commercial demand picks up.
• The company is skipping the crowded consumer camera-drone market and targeting commercial cargo transport, where regulations are tough and rivals are few.
• US aviation regulators have approved commercial drone operations and manufacturing, moving the market from testing into real business.
• Sinbon also sold off its entire stake in an investee company, adding a large one-time boost to shareholder equity and cleaning up its balance sheet.

Outlook: Drone revenue should keep climbing as commercial delivery approvals spread, with the balance sheet stronger for funding the push.