Firefly Aerospace (NASDAQ:FLY) reported second-quarter revenue of $117.7 million, its first quarterly result above $100 million, as spacecraft programs and national-security software contracts drove growth. Revenue increased 46% sequentially and 659% from the prior-year period, while backlog rose to a record $1.5 billion.
Chief Executive Officer Jason Kim said the company’s momentum was supported by contract awards and development milestones across its Blue Ghost lunar landers, Elytra spacecraft, Alpha and Eclipse launch vehicles, FORGE software platform and Golden Dome-related work. The company also completed its acquisition of Space-ng, which provides AI-powered vision navigation and autonomous guidance technology.
Spacecraft revenue drives quarterly growth
Spacecraft solutions accounted for $108.3 million of second-quarter revenue, while launch contributed $9.4 million. Ma said spacecraft revenue is generally recognized over time as contract milestones are completed, providing a more recurring component to the company’s revenue mix. Alpha launch revenue, by contrast, is recognized when a launch occurs.
Firefly said it was executing five lunar missions in parallel during the quarter. The company won its fifth and sixth moon mission contracts, including a NASA Commercial Lunar Payload Services award for an accelerated Blue Ghost mission. That mission is intended to demonstrate repeatable lunar-surface access on a timeline roughly half that of Firefly’s first lunar landing, according to Kim.
The company expects its Blue Ghost “Riders to the Dark” far-side lunar mission to launch early next year, subject to spacecraft delivery to Florida and confirmation of a launch window. Firefly has completed assembly of the lander’s main structural and fluid components and is integrating avionics and payloads. The mission will include a Blue Ghost lander, the European Space Agency’s Lunar Pathfinder satellite and an Elytra spacecraft.
Firefly also completed a critical design review for its Blue Ghost Mission 2 to the Gruithuisen Domes and a preliminary design review for its South Pole mission. It has submitted a proposal for NASA’s CLPS 2.0 program, which could involve larger lunar landers. Kim said Firefly’s scalable designs target multiton payload capability for lunar-base infrastructure.
During the quarter, Firefly expanded its Cedar Park, Texas, campus and said it is more than quadrupling spacecraft clean-room capacity with support from a Texas Space Commission grant. The company also added its Gloworks Innovation Lab for research and development.
Elytra, AI and defense contract activity
Firefly received a $75 million subcontract through NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory for the MoonFall mission, under which Elytra will deliver JPL drones to the Moon’s South Pole in 2028. Since the end of the quarter, the company also won a $13 million JPL subcontract for NASA’s SkyFall Mars mission. Firefly will manufacture, test and deliver the mission’s aeroshell for a planned late-2028 launch.
Kim said Elytra is also positioned for potential national-security applications, including transfer missions that could move small satellites from geostationary transfer orbit to geostationary orbit. Firefly’s Elytra spacecraft for the Defense Innovation Unit’s Project Sinequone is progressing toward a launch no earlier than next year.
The Space-ng acquisition added approximately 15 software engineers and vertically integrated navigation, camera hardware and autonomous-guidance capabilities, Ma said. Firefly said Space-ng technology had been used during Blue Ghost Mission 1 for autonomous hazard avoidance and navigation during the final hour before landing.
In its SciTec national-security software business, Firefly received a U.S. Air Force contract option to deliver an operational data-fusion system for a cloud-based command-and-control program. The Air Force Research Laboratory also awarded a contract for advanced algorithms and verification architecture involving deep learning and AI on small size, weight and power processors.
Firefly said FORGE, its missile-warning and tracking data platform, integrated the GEO Wide Field of View spacecraft during the period and received a superior performance rating from the Department of Defense for support during the Iran conflict. After the quarter ended, Firefly SciTec won a $94 million Space Force contract under the Ground-Based Radar Digitization, or GBARD, effort.
Launch production ramp and Eclipse development
Firefly now targets the first Block 2 Alpha launch, Flight 8, for the fourth quarter. The vehicle is being prepared for acceptance testing, delivery to Vandenberg, static-fire testing, payload integration and launch. The company is targeting three Alpha launches in 2026, including Flights 8 and 9, and said Flights 10 and 11 are moving through production for next year.
Kim said the majority of Alpha’s manifest through 2027 has been sold, aided by an extension of the company’s multi-launch agreement with Lockheed Martin through 2031. Firefly also received a second hypersonic task order from a confidential customer.
The company plans to add a Wallops launchpad in Virginia next year, alongside its Vandenberg site, and targets a first launch from Sweden no earlier than 2028. Kim said demand for launch capacity remains constrained, though timing is subject to customer readiness, regulatory approvals, range availability and weather.
For the Eclipse medium-lift vehicle, Firefly is working toward delivery of the first stage to co-developer Northrop Grumman no earlier than next year, with an inaugural launch planned no earlier than 2027. The Miranda engine has surpassed 150 hot-fire tests, including a 226-second flight-like mission-duty-cycle test.
Loss narrows as liquidity rises
Second-quarter GAAP gross margin was 20.3%, compared with 21.6% in the first quarter. Ma attributed the decline primarily to FORGE hardware purchases supporting a U.S. government program during heightened geopolitical conflict.
- GAAP operating loss was $95.2 million, compared with $95.7 million in the first quarter.
- GAAP net loss was $92.3 million, or $0.57 per share, compared with a $96.7 million loss, or $0.61 per share, in the prior quarter.
- Adjusted EBITDA loss was $61.2 million, improving from a $64.7 million loss in the first quarter.
- Free cash flow was negative $106.3 million, including an approximately $24 million final payment related to the SciTec acquisition.
Firefly ended the quarter with total liquidity of $940.3 million, comprising $635.3 million in cash equivalents and short-term investments and $305 million of undrawn revolving-credit capacity. Cash included approximately $182.6 million in net proceeds from a June common-stock offering.
Ma said capital expenditures increased to $24.8 million from $16.3 million in the first quarter, reflecting investments in Alpha Block 2 test infrastructure and spacecraft manufacturing capacity. He said Firefly expects gross-margin expansion and operating leverage as production increases and operational efficiency improves.
About Firefly Aerospace (NASDAQ:FLY)
Firefly Aerospace (NASDAQ:FLY) is a U.S.-based aerospace company that designs, manufactures and operates launch vehicles and in-space systems for commercial, civil and national security customers. The company focuses on providing end-to-end small- and medium-lift launch services, mission integration and spacecraft hardware to support satellite deployment and on-orbit operations.
Firefly’s product portfolio includes the Alpha small launch vehicle, developed to carry small satellites to low Earth orbit, and plans for larger vehicles and in-space capabilities to address a range of payload sizes and mission profiles.
