Firefly Revenue More Than Tripled to $110.7 Million as Backlog Hit a Record $1.7 Billion

Firefly Aerospace reported third-quarter revenue of $110.7 million on Tuesday, up 259 percent from a year earlier.

Firefly Aerospace, the space and defense technology company, reported the results after Tuesday's close. The quarter ran to September 30, 2026.

Revenue beat the $103.15 million consensus estimate reported by TheFly. On an adjusted basis, the loss was 45 cents a share, against a consensus loss of 50 cents.

The quarter's revenue eased from the second quarter's record $117.7 million. It still more than tripled from $30.8 million a year earlier.

The operating loss widened even as the net loss narrowed

Gross profit was $25.3 million, up from $8.5 million a year earlier. Cost of sales was $85.4 million in the quarter. Gross margin was about 22.9 percent ($25.3 million of gross profit on $110.7 million of revenue), down from about 27.6 percent a year earlier, a TickerGrove calculation.

Research and development spending was $76.0 million. Selling, general and administrative costs were $50.9 million, for total operating expenses of $126.9 million.

The loss from operations widened to $101.6 million, from $62.2 million a year earlier. Operations, on their own, lost more money than a year ago.

Other income swung to a gain of $7.4 million, from a loss of $71.2 million. A warrant gain of $4.0 million replaced a $42.15 million warrant loss.

The year-ago quarter also carried a $30.4 million loss on extinguishing debt. There was no such loss this year.

That swing alone explains why the net loss narrowed to $94.2 million. A year earlier, the net loss was $133.4 million.

The reported loss was $0.56 a share, against $1.50 a year earlier. Weighted shares were 168.4 million, the release showed. Weighted shares rose about 79 percent from 93.8 million a year earlier, a TickerGrove calculation, so the per-share narrowing overstates the improvement in total losses.

The non-GAAP net loss - the adjusted loss, excluding some costs - was $75.4 million. Its per-share loss was $0.45, against $0.55 a year earlier.

Adjusted EBITDA - a cash-earnings proxy - showed a loss of $69.5 million. That widened from a $46.3 million loss a year earlier.

Barron's reported Wall Street had expected an adjusted EBITDA loss of $78 million. The expectation was set on sales of $102 million.

Cash burn continued against a smaller cash pile

Operations used $69.7 million of cash in the quarter. Purchases of property and equipment and internal-use software took another $15.6 million.

Free cash flow was negative $85.3 million for the quarter. The company defines it as operating cash flow less those purchases.

Cash and equivalents stood at $409.3 million at September 30. That was down from $793.0 million at December 31, 2025.

Much of the decline was deliberate debt repayment, not operating burn alone. Notes payable fell to $25.1 million at September 30, from $288.5 million at December 31, 2025, both TickerGrove calculations. Over the nine months, a $260 million revolving-facility repayment was partly funded by $184.1 million of stock-issuance proceeds.

Short-term investments added $125.4 million. Cash and short-term investments together totaled $534.7 million, a TickerGrove calculation.

Barron's put the combined figure at more than $530 million.

Backlog hit a record $1.7 billion

Backlog - work under contract not yet delivered as revenue - reached $1.7 billion. It rose from $1.5 billion at the end of the prior quarter.

The release's third-quarter highlights included a $94 million Space Force contract for radar digitization work. The program overhauls legacy ground-based radar systems.

The release's third-quarter highlights also included Lockheed Martin's extension of its multi-launch agreement. It covers up to 25 Alpha launches through 2031, using the Block II configuration.

SSC Space signed for two commercial Alpha launches from Esrange in Sweden. They are Firefly's first European launch contracts.

A $13 million subcontract supports the SkyFall mission for NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Firefly will deliver the aeroshell, for a launch targeted in late 2028.

It is the company's first Mars award.

The company also completed a cleanroom expansion during the quarter. It can now assemble up to 12 lunar landers and orbital vehicles at once.

Two large onboardings add pipeline, not awarded work. Firefly will compete for task orders under a $981 million Space Force vehicle and NASA's $10 billion CLPS 2 initiative.

The AST SpaceMobile contracts, valued at more than $1.3 billion, were announced on November 6. TickerGrove covered that deal then; it is backlog context here, not new work.

Chief Executive Jason Kim framed the quarter as conversion, not just collection.

"With five Moon missions running in parallel, Alpha Block II moving toward launch, SciTec executing on critical national security programs, and our strategic deal with AST SpaceMobile, we are converting our pipeline and backlog into results."

Guidance implies a bigger fourth quarter

Firefly expects 2026 full-year revenue between $440 million and $450 million. In August, it guided to between $420 million and $450 million.

The low end rose $20 million from August, a TickerGrove calculation. The top end did not move.

Nine-month revenue was $309.2 million, the release showed.

That implies fourth-quarter revenue of about $130.8 million to $140.8 million. The implication is arithmetic on the guide, a TickerGrove calculation.

Shares fell after hours after a sharp run-up

Shares closed the regular session at $23.70, down 2.5 percent, Finnhub data showed. Barron's reported the same 2.5 percent regular-session drop.

Shortly after the results were released, shares were down 3.7 percent at $22.83. Barron's reported that snapshot from after-hours trading.

The fall followed a 37 percent rise on Friday and a 17 percent jump on Monday. Barron's reported both moves.

What remains unknown

What remains unknown includes any standalone fourth-quarter guidance. The company gave only the full-year range above.

The release gives no revenue split between spacecraft and launch work. Segment detail, if any, will come in later filings.

Management commentary was still to come at publication. The earnings call was set for 5 p.m. ET on Tuesday.

Whether the backlog can outrun the burn

What to watch: whether fourth-quarter revenue lands inside the implied range. The guide now needs the biggest quarter in the company's history.

Watch whether the operating loss stops widening as backlog converts. Watch the cash pile against a quarterly burn near recent levels.