Initial Registration Statement for Employee Benefit Plan (Form S-8)

As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on May 29, 2026

Registration No. 333-

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

FORM S-8

REGISTRATION STATEMENT

UNDER

THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933

ASTRONICS CORPORATION

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

130 Commerce Way

East Aurora, New York 14052

(Address of Principal Executive Offices, including Zip Code)

Astronics Corporation 2026 Employee Stock Purchase Plan

(Full title of the plan)

Nancy L. Hedges

Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer

Astronics Corporation

130 Commerce Way

East Aurora, New York 14052

(Name and address of agent for service)

(716) 805-1599

(Telephone number, including area code, of agent for service)

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of "large accelerated filer," "accelerated filer," "smaller reporting company," and "emerging growth company" in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act. ☐

INTRODUCTORY NOTE

On February 20, 2026, subject to shareholder approval, the Board of Directors of Astronics Corporation (the "Registrant) adopted the Astronics Corporation 2026 Employee Stock Purchase Plan (the "Plan"). The Plan was approved by the Registrant's shareholders at the Registrant's 2026 Annual Meeting of Shareholders held on May 28, 2026. The Registrant is filing this Registration on Form S-8 (this "Registration Statement") to register the offer and sale of 500,000 shares of the Registrant's common stock, par value $0.01 per share (the "Common Stock"), which may be issued under the Plan.

PART I

INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE SECTION 10(a) PROSPECTUS

All information required by Part I to be contained in the Section 10(a) prospectus is omitted from this Registration Statement in accordance with Rule 428 under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act") and the Note to Part I of Form S-8.

All information required by Part I to be contained in the Section 10(a) prospectus is omitted from this Registration Statement in accordance with Rule 428 under the Securities Act and the Note to Part I of Form S-8.

PART II

INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT

The following documents filed by the Registrant with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "Commission") pursuant to the Securities Act and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "Exchange Act"), are incorporated herein by reference:

(a) The Registrant's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2025, filed with the Commission on February 26, 2026 (the "2025 10-K"), including the sections of the Registrant's Definitive Proxy Statement on Schedule 14A for the Registrant's 2026 Annual Meeting of Shareholders, as filed with the Commission on April 17, 2026, incorporated by reference in the 2025 10-K;

(b) The Registrant's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarterly period ended April 4, 2026, filed with the Commission on May 13, 2026;

(c) The Registrant's Current Report on Form 8-K, filed with the Commission on May 28, 2026; and

(d) The description of the Registrant's securities contained in Exhibit 4(a) to the Registrant's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022, filed with the Commission on March 10, 2023, and any amendments and reports subsequently filed for the purposes of updating that description.

In addition, all documents filed by the Registrant pursuant to Sections 13(a), 13(c), 14 and 15(d) of the Exchange Act on or after the date of this Registration Statement and prior to the filing of a post-effective amendment to this Registration Statement, which indicates that all securities offered have been sold or which deregisters all securities then remaining unsold, shall be deemed to be incorporated by reference in this Registration Statement and to be part hereof from the date of filing of such documents with the Commission. The Registrant will not, however, incorporate by reference in this Registration Statement any documents or portions thereof that are not deemed "filed" with the Commission, including any information furnished pursuant to Item 2.02 or Item 7.01 of the Registrant's Current Reports on Form 8-K unless, and except to the extent, specified in such Current Reports.

Any statement contained in a document incorporated or deemed to be incorporated by reference herein shall be deemed to be modified or superseded for purposes of this Registration Statement to the extent that a statement contained herein, or in any other subsequently filed document that also is incorporated or deemed to be incorporated by reference herein, modifies or supersedes such prior statement. Any statement so modified or superseded shall not be deemed, except as so modified or superseded, to constitute a part of this Registration Statement.

Not applicable.

Not applicable.

Sections 721 through 726 of the New York Business Corporation Law, or BCL, grant New York corporations broad powers to indemnify their present and former directors and officers and those of affiliated corporations against expenses (including attorneys' fees), judgments, fines and amounts paid in settlement actually and reasonably incurred in connection with threatened, pending or completed actions, suits or proceedings to which they are parties or are threatened to be made parties by reason of being or having been such directors or officers, subject to specified conditions and exclusions; give a director or officer who successfully defends an action the right to be so indemnified; and permit a corporation to buy directors' and officers' liability insurance. Such indemnification is not exclusive of any other rights to which those indemnified may be entitled under any by-laws, agreement, vote of shareholders or otherwise.

Section 402(b) of the BCL permits a New York corporation to include in its certificate of incorporation a provision eliminating the potential monetary liability of a director to the corporation or its shareholders for breach of fiduciary duty as a director, provided that such provision may not eliminate the liability of a director (i) for acts or omissions not in good faith or which involve intentional misconduct or a knowing violation of law, (ii) for any transaction from which the director receives an improper personal benefit or (iii) for any acts in violation of Section 719 of the BCL. Section 719 provides that a director who votes or concurs in a corporate action will be liable to the corporation for the benefit of its creditors and shareholders for any damages suffered as a result of an action approving (i) an improper payment of a dividend, (ii) an improper redemption or purchase by the corporation of shares of the corporation, (iii) an improper distribution of assets to shareholders after dissolution of the corporation without adequately providing for all known liabilities of the corporation or (iv) the making of an improper loan to a director of the corporation.

The Registrant's Certificate of Incorporation includes the provisions permitted by Section 402(b).

The Registrant's by-laws also allow it to indemnify, in the same manner and under the same circumstances as set forth in Sections 721 through 726 of the BCL, any person who was or is a party or is threatened to be made a party to any action or proceeding, whether civil, criminal, administrative or investigative, by reason of the fact that he is or was the Registrant's representative, against expenses (including attorney's fees), judgments, fines and amounts paid in settlement actually and reasonably incurred by such person in connection with the action or proceeding if he acted in good faith and in a manner he reasonably believed to be in, or not opposed to, the Registrant's best interests.

In addition, the Registrant has entered into indemnification agreements with each of its directors, executive officers and certain other officers pursuant to which each such person is indemnified for costs and expenses actually and reasonably incurred in connection with a threatened, pending or completed action, suit or proceeding in which such person is or was a party or is threatened to be made a party by reason of the fact that such person is or was a director, officer or employee of the Registrant, or is or was serving at the request of the Registrant as a director, officer, employee, member, manager or fiduciary of another entity.

The Company also maintains an insurance policy insuring its directors and officers against liability for certain acts and omissions while acting in their official capacities on behalf of the Registrant.

Not applicable.

The following exhibits are filed as part of this Registration Statement or, where so indicated, have been previously filed and are incorporated herein by reference.

The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes:

(a)(1) To file, during any period in which offers or sales are being made, a post-effective amendment to this Registration Statement:

(i) to include any prospectus required by Section 10(a)(3) of the Securities Act;

(ii) to reflect in the prospectus any facts or events arising after the effective date of this Registration Statement (or the most recent post-effective amendment thereof) which, individually or in the aggregate, represent a fundamental change in the information set forth in this Registration Statement. Notwithstanding the foregoing, any increase or decrease in the volume of securities offered (if the total dollar value of securities offered would not exceed that which was registered) and any deviation from the low or high end of the estimated maximum offering range may be reflected in the form of prospectus filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) if, in the aggregate, the changes in volume and price represent No more than a 20 percent change in the maximum aggregate offering price set forth in the "Calculation of Filing Fee Tables" or "Calculation of Registration Fee" table, as applicable, in the effective Registration Statement; and

(iii) to include any material information with respect to the plan of distribution not previously disclosed in this Registration Statement or any material change to such information in this Registration Statement;

provided, however, that paragraphs (a)(1)(i) and (a)(1)(ii) do not apply if the information required to be included in a post-effective amendment by those paragraphs is contained in reports filed with or furnished to the Commission by the registrant pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act that are incorporated by reference in this Registration Statement;

(a)(2) That, for the purpose of determining any liability under the Securities Act, each such post-effective amendment shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof; and

(a)(3) To remove from registration by means of a post-effective amendment any of the securities being registered which remain unsold at the termination of the offering.

(b) The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes that, for purposes of determining any liability under the Securities Act, each filing of the registrant's annual report pursuant to Section 13(a) or Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act (and, where applicable, each filing of an employee benefit plan's annual report pursuant to Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act) that is incorporated by reference in this Registration Statement shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.

(c) Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act may be permitted to directors, officers and controlling persons of the registrant pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, the registrant has been advised that in the opinion of the Commission such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a claim for indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment by the registrant of expenses incurred or paid by a director, officer or controlling person of the registrant in the successful defense of any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by such director, officer or controlling person in connection with the securities being registered, the registrant will, unless in the opinion of its counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent, submit to a court of appropriate jurisdiction the question whether such indemnification by it is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act, the Registrant certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe that it meets all of the requirements for filing on Form S-8 and has duly caused this Registration Statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in the City of Waukegan, State of Illinois, on May 29, 2026.

POWER OF ATTORNEY

KNOW ALL PERSONS BY THESE PRESENTS, that each person whose signature appears below constitutes and appoints Peter J. Gundermann and Nancy L. Hedges, and each of them, as his or her true and lawful attorney-in-fact and agent with full power of substitution, for him or her in any and all capacities, to sign any and all amendments to this Registration Statement on Form S-8 (including post-effective amendments), and to file the same, with all exhibits thereto, and other documents in connection therewith, with the Securities and Exchange Commission, granting unto said attorney-in-fact, proxy and agent full power and authority to do and perform each and every act and thing requisite or necessary to be done in connection therewith, as fully for all intents and purposes as he might or could do in person, hereby ratifying and confirming all the said attorney-in-fact, proxy and agent, or his substitute, may lawfully do or cause to be done by virtue hereof.

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, this Registration Statement has been signed by the following persons in the capacities and on the dates indicated.