Firefly Aerospace (FLY) Q3 2026 Earnings Call Transcript

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DATE

Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2026

CALL PARTICIPANTS

• Director of Investor Relations – Michael Sheetz
• Chief Executive Officer – Jason Kim
• Chief Financial Officer – Darren Ma

TAKEAWAYS

• Revenue — $110.7 million, representing growth of 259% year over year driven by increased volume in the spacecraft solutions segment.
• Spacecraft Solutions Revenue — $106 million, reflecting the execution of five concurrent lunar missions and orbital vehicle development.
• Launch Revenue — $4.7 million, representing a decrease from the prior period due to the timing of scheduled Alpha missions.
• Backlog — $1.7 billion, increasing from $1.5 billion in the previous quarter following new awards in the ground-based radar and hypersonic sectors.
• Full-Year Revenue Guidance — $440 million to $450 million, representing a narrowing of the previous range of $420 million to $450 million and raising the midpoint to $445 million.
• AST SpaceMobile Agreement Value — $1.3 billion, established as a three-year partnership involving intellectual property licensing and hardware delivery.
• AST Intellectual Property License — $800 million, comprised of $400 million in cash and 10 million to 14 million shares of AST Class A common stock.
• AST Support and Engine Deliveries — $500 million, split evenly between $250 million for engineering support and $250 million for the production of 27 Miranda and nine Vira engines.
• Non-GAAP Net Loss — $75.4 million, or $0.45 per share, compared to a loss of $67.7 million in the previous quarter.
• Adjusted EBITDA Loss — $69.5 million, reflecting heightened research and development spending for the Block II Alpha configuration and Eclipse development.
• Total Liquidity — $839.7 million, consisting of $534.7 million in cash and short-term investments and $305 million in undrawn revolving credit capacity.
• Capital Expenditures — $15.6 million, representing a sequential decrease from $24.7 million after completing spacecraft clean room and test stand expansions.
• Free Cash Flow — negative $85.3 million, representing an improvement from the negative $106.3 million reported in the second quarter.
• Alpha Flight 8 Schedule — first quarter of 2027, rescheduled from late 2026 to accommodate specific requirements from a national security customer.
• Miranda Engine Qualification — 175 hot fire tests completed, totaling 4,230 seconds of cumulative run time across 20 distinct engines.
• Space Force GBRD Contract — $94 million, awarded for the Phase 1 modernization of legacy defense radar systems using AI-enabled frameworks.
• NITE-STAR IDIQ Onboarding — $981 million, providing the company with the opportunity to compete for space-based test and training task orders through 2032.
• NASA Skyfall Subcontract — $13 million, awarded for the manufacturing and testing of an aeroshell for a mission to Mars scheduled for 2028.
• Synspective Launch Agreement — up to 10 Alpha launches, contracted through 2030 to support the deployment of synthetic aperture radar satellites.
• Alpha Block II Manufacturing — 24 Reaver engine chambers in production, intended to support an increased launch cadence throughout 2027.
• Spacecraft Clean Room Expansion — 400% increase in square footage, enabling the simultaneous assembly and integration of up to 12 lunar landers and orbital vehicles.
• NASA CLPS 2 Onboarding — $10 billion program, qualifying the company to compete for large cargo lander task orders to support permanent lunar operations.

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RISKS

• Ma warned that “we expect cash burn to tick up through next year” as the company makes significant capital and research investments to support the AST SpaceMobile agreement.
• Kim noted that mission timing remains uncertain as “timing depends on variable external factors such as customer readiness, range availability, weather conditions and more.”

SUMMARY

Firefly Aerospace Inc. (FLY +10.80%) reported quarterly results highlighted by a significant expansion of its contract backlog to $1.7 billion and the signing of a $1.3 billion technology agreement with AST SpaceMobile. Management reported that the spacecraft solutions segment now accounts for the vast majority of quarterly revenue, while the launch business is transitioning to the Block II configuration for Alpha to improve manufacturing rates and reliability. The company is currently managing five concurrent lunar missions and has secured its first Mars-related subcontract, diversifying its portfolio across national security, exploration, and commercial sectors. CFO Darren Ma indicated that while the AST agreement provides substantial nondilutive funding, it will also necessitate increased capital expenditures and research and development spending through 2027 to scale engine and vehicle production.

• Management confirmed that the AST SpaceMobile deal is complementary to existing launch services, with CEO Kim stating, “AST’s vehicle will be purpose-built to launch their own satellite constellation, while Firefly continues to serve the broader commercial and government launch market.”
• The company is ramping up engine production to meet demand, with Kim noting that “we currently have 24 Reaver engine chambers and counting in production” to support upcoming Alpha launches.
• Firefly is expanding its global footprint in the launch market, having signed its first European contracts for two Alpha launches from the Esrange Space Center in Sweden.
• The spacecraft business reached a milestone with the completion of a new clean room facility in Austin, which Kim described as “purpose-built to enable simultaneous integration of up to a dozen lunar landers and orbital vehicles.”
• Management identified a high degree of pricing power in the current market, with Kim stating that “demand for Alpha remains the most supply-constrained it has ever been in our company’s history.”
• The company is leveraging its FORGE AI software framework to win adjacent defense contracts, including the $94 million Ground-Based Radar Digitization award from the Space Force.

INDUSTRY GLOSSARY

• AFP: Automated Fiber Placement, a manufacturing technology used to produce composite rocket structures.
• Alpha: Firefly’s small-lift launch vehicle designed to deliver payloads to low Earth orbit.
• Block II: An upgraded configuration of the Alpha rocket optimized for manufacturing rate and reliability.
• Blue Ghost: A robotic lunar lander designed for payload delivery and surface operations on the moon.
• CLPS: Commercial Lunar Payload Services, a NASA program that contracts private companies to deliver science and technology to the lunar surface.
• Eclipse: A medium-lift launch vehicle currently in development in partnership with Northrop Grumman.
• Elytra: A maneuverable orbital vehicle used for satellite servicing, transit, and on-orbit missions.</l

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