Firefly Aerospace’s revenue climbs 38% in Q3

Firefly Aerospace Inc. shares soared after the Austin-area company said it will soon resume launches of its Alpha rocket — the stock price jumping even as it reported a wider third-quarter loss.

It was the Cedar Park-based space and defense technology company’s second-straight quarterly decline since making its stock market debut in August.

After markets closed Wednesday, Firefly reported a net loss of $133.4 million, or $1.50 per share, compared with a net loss of $40.8 million, or $3.57 per share, a year earlier. Adjusted for nonrecurring costs and debt extinguishment, the quarterly loss was 33 cents per share.

Revenue climbed nearly 38% to $30.8 million from $22.4 million a year ago, though. That and a strong full-year revenue forecast — along with the promised return of the company’s satellite-launching Alpha rocket — pushed investors back toward the stock.

Firefly said it now expects full-year revenue in the range of $150 million to $158 million. It said that could change given the federal government shutdown, which has stalled the payments from many of the company’s federal contracts.

The results beat Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of four analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for a loss of 42 cents per share and revenue of $28.9 million.

Shares jumped as much as 22% in after-hours trading Wednesday and continued their ascent Thursday. They gained another 17% to close at $21.42.

The third-quarter loss was 66% deeper than what Firefly reported in the second quarter — its first as a public company — when net loss increased to $80.3 million from $58.7 million a year earlier. Revenue also slipped about 26%.

The company’s business is growing, though.

Riding on increasing investor interest in space technology companies and recent federal defense agency support, Firefley received a $177 million NASA contract in July for a future fourth mission to the moon. Other new business has been landing, too.

“Every day, there are new industry tailwinds for the space sector, artificial intelligence, development, data center expansion and an intensifying focus on the strategic and economic benefits of the moon,” CEO Jason Kim told investors Wednesday. 

Firefly has been busy preparing for future launches, he said, including Mission 2 for its Blue Ghost lunar lander, which is scheduled to head to the moon next year.

Notably, though, the company was forced to stall many of its planned Alpha rocket launches after a test ended in a fiery explosion at Firefly’s Rocket Ranch near Briggs, north of Austin, at the end of September. 

Kim said Wednesday that Alpha should be ready for resumed testing and launches either in the current quarter or by the first quarter of 2026. 

“I have full confidence in our vehicle’s design, as well as our passionate and dedicated Alpha team, to return to flight safely,” he said.