Equities
Stories about space companies’ finances, including earnings reports and M&A news.
Viasat Reports Q1 FY23 Financial Results
Viasat ($VSAT) kicked off another busy week of space earnings after the bell Monday. The satellite operator reported Q1 FY23 revenues of $678M (+2% YoY), with a GAAP net loss of $22M (vs. $17M of net income last year). Viasat reported total consolidated awards of $783M (+32%YoY) for the quarter, good for a book-to-bill ratio…
Catching Up On Last Week’s Earnings
Earnings season is fully upon us, with companies from both sides of the launch and satcom aisle releasing results last week. The SPAC side of last week’s reporting left much to be desired, as companies adjust to a harsh macroenvironment, program delays, and shortening runways. Starting with the launch SPACs… $ASTR: Astra won’t launch again…
Report: SES, Intelsat in Merger Talks
Consolidation is the order of the day in the legacy satellite world. The latest: Luxembourg-based SES and American satellite operator Intelsat are in talks to tie the knot, the FT reports. The GEO operators are long-standing competitors, and in recent memory, duked it out in bankruptcy court. Is it time to let bygones be bygones? …
Aerojet Rocketdyne ($AJRD) Reports Q2 Results
On Monday morning, El Segundo, CA-based Aerojet Rocketdyne ($AJRD) reported Q2 net income of $16.4M. Aerojet develops liquid- and solid-fueled propulsion products for major space players and missile makers. The propulsion provider missed on top- and bottom-line expectations, with quarterly earnings coming in at $0.20 per share (vs. $0.47 est. and -66% YoY). The company…
Rounding Up the Aerospace & Defense Q2 Earnings
It’s been a five-coffee-a-day week for analysts tracking the “primes” and publicly traded contractors that make up the US defense and aerospace (A&D) industrial base and sell fighter jets, weapons systems, and advanced spacecraft to the Pentagon. Of the US’ prime contractors, Lockheed posted Q2 earnings last week, with Northrop Grumman, Raytheon, General Dynamics, and…
Boeing ($BA) Reports Q2 2022 Earnings
Boeing ($BA) Q2 results fell short of Wall Street expectations yesterday, due to weaker defense sales and program delays. Robust commercial plane orders softened the blow, and the company stuck by its forecast to return to positive free cash flow this year. The overall numbers: Operating cash flow = $100M Revenue = $16.7B, a 2%…
Airbus ($AIR) Reports H1 2022 Earnings
Airbus ($AIR) reported its H1 2022 earnings yesterday. Supply chain issues led the European aerospace giant to cut commercial aircraft estimates, but Airbus expects little short-term impact as it maintains its free cash flow targets. The overall numbers: Revenue = €24.8B ($25.3B), a 1% YoY increase Free cash flow = €2.0B ($2.0B) Adj. EBIT = …
Iridium ($IRDM) Reports Record Q2 Earnings
Iridium ($IRDM) was doing 2020s-era space stuff before it was cool. The McLean, VA company deployed a constellation in low-Earth orbit and used those satellites to provide connectivity to devices in hard-to-reach areas around the world. It went bankrupt once upon a time, and in 2009 it went public via SPAC. Now, Iridium appears to…
Analysis: Navigating Recessions
Ed. Note: This is a vastly abridged version of Payload’s “Secret Monthly Newsletter” that you can unlock by referring just one new subscriber! This month’s newsletter included access to a larger macro presentation that includes this—and much more. In less than a week, the June CPI (Consumer Price Index, an index that tracks the price…
Several Pure-Play Space Companies Join Russell 3000
Space just got added to your retirement accounts. The Russell 3000, an index that benchmarks the US stock market, added several space companies Monday: Astra ($ASTR) Momentus ($MNTS) Planet ($PL) Redwire ($RDW) Rocket Lab ($RKLB) Spire ($SPIR) Terran Orbital ($LLAP) Spire and Terran Orbital touted their inclusion in the index. “We are honored to be…
Planet ($PL) Reports Q1 Earnings
Image: Planet On Tuesday, Planet released its Q1 2023 earnings for the period ending April 30th 2022. Planet’s stock traded down 10% after hours despite record Q1 revenue, likely due to a spike in net loss and a downward adjustment on full-year revenue guidance. The numbers: Planet booked $40M in revenue in the first quarter…
A Q+A with Redwire’s Andrew Rush
Image: Redwire Last month, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson visited Redwire Space’s headquarters in Jacksonville, FL, and said the city has become “the center for space technology.” To be fair, Nelson was a three-term Florida senator…so he’s not entirely impartial. Nonetheless, Redwire has helped make Jacksonville a space hub, with its corporate HQ and 37,000 square…
Astrocast to grow IoT reach with Hiber acquisition
Swiss-based Internet of Things (IoT) network operator Astrocast has agreed to acquire Netherlands-based IoT-as-a-Service provider Hiber. The deal comes as Astrocast preps for a second IPO. “Hiber’s focus on satellite-enabled IoT solutions, innovation, and production aligns with Astrocast’s strategic go-to-market priorities for 2022 and beyond,” said Astrocast CEO Fabien Jordan. “We’re excited to welcome Hiber…