Equities
Stories about space companies’ finances, including earnings reports and M&A news.
AST SpaceMobile Releases Q4 and Full-Year 2021 Financial Results
Midland-based AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) isn’t in the business of pumping petroleum. Rather, the $1.8B Texas company wants to build a space-based, satellite-to-phone cell phone network. Financial results Headed into 2022, AST had $325M in cash/equivalents and $5M of debt. FY and Q4 ‘21 OpEx were $91.6M (+235% YoY) and $31.3M (+35% YoY), respectively. AST SpaceMobile…
Astra Releases Q4 and Full-Year 2021 Financial Results
Image via Astra. Note: This slide was pulled from Astra’s Dec. ’21 investor deck, not IR materials presented Thursday. Astra (Nasdaq:ASTR) recorded a net loss of $257.8M in 2021, the company said Thursday. That’s a 278% annual increase, but to be fair, Astra was making and launching more rockets last year than it was in…
Virgin Orbit Reports FY 2021 Financial Results
Virgin Orbit (NASDAQ:VORB) lost $157M in 2021 on $7.4M in revenue, the company said yesterday. $VORB finished the day up 8.4%. KPIs at a glance: Adj. EBITDA: -$140M (vs. -$158M in 2020) Cash on hand: $194M Backlog: $575M, 26% of which is covered by binding agreements, and good for a 500% YoY increase. Context: This…
A Q&A with @Iridiumboss Matt Desch
Matthew Desch is the CEO of Iridium (NASDAQ:IRDM), a $5.1B satellite operator based in McLean, VA. Payload recently caught up with Desch across town at Satellite 2022. Over the course of an hour, we chatted about (shocker) satellites, constellation strategy, corporate reinvention, Iridium’s moat, “commodity broadband,” Ukraine, dual-use tech, SPACs, and more. There are three…
Tomorrow.io SPAC Called Off
Pine Technology Acquisition Corp (NASDAQ:PTOC) and Tomorrow.io (née ClimaCell) have called off their SPAC merger, the two said yesterday. $PTOC closed the day down ~1.4%. Announced Dec. 7, the transaction was expected to give the weather forecasting company (and nascent constellation developer) a $1.2B post-deal valuation, while providing Tomorrow.io with up to $420M in gross…
Canaccord Genuity Initiates Coverage of Virgin Orbit with ‘Buy’ rating and $20 PT
Last Monday, Canaccord Genuity initiated coverage on Virgin Orbit (NASDAQ:VORB) with a ‘Buy’ rating and $20 price target. Shares of $VORB were $6.92 when Canaccord published its research. This morning, they sat at $6.57. Defense: In the Feb. 28 note seen by Payload, CG Analyst Austin Moeller refers to the air launcher as an “emerging…
Rocket Lab Launches Synspective Satellite; Announces Q4 Financial Results
Image via Rocket Lab Rocket Lab (NASDAQ:RKLB) doesn’t procrastinate on Mondays. The launcher had a busy day. In NZ: Rocket Lab launched “The Owl’s Night Continues” from its new Pad B. An Electron successfully deployed a StriX-β satellite for Japanese SAR operator Synspective. To date, Rocket Lab has now deployed 110 satellites. In VA: As…
BlackSky Reports Q4, Full-Year 2021 Financial Results
This morning, Seattle-based BlackSky (NYSE:BKSY) reported Q4 and full-year 2021 results. Q4 financial highlights: BlackSky recorded $11.5M in revenue, up 79% year-over-year Operating loss stood at $31.9M; Adj. EBITDA loss was $14.4M (more on that below). Going into 2022, BlackSky had $168M in cash. In Q4, BlackSky recorded $14.4M in capex spend. Financial highlights for…
Space Investing: Err on the Side of Caution?
Graph: Promus Ventures. Snapshot taken Feb. 17, 2022 before market open. As we’ve written before, investing in space is not for the faint of heart. In a recent op-ed for the FT, Sinéad O’Sullivan, a space economist, HBS senior researcher, and friend of Payload, digs a bit deeper into the dynamics of space investing. The good: In 2021,…
Lockheed Martin and Aerojet Rocketdyne Part Ways
After a few weeks of tension, Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) has decided to call off its acquisition of missile and rocket propulsion manufacturer Aerojet Rocketdyne (NYSE:AJRD). ICYMI: In late January, the FTC sued to block a $4.4B acquisition deal between Lockheed and Aerojet, originally announced in 2020. The commission alleged that the merger would allow Lockheed to inflate the…
Astra LV0008 Mission Fails Mid-Flight
After a couple scrubs, Astra (NASDAQ:ASTR) launched Thursday for the first time from the Space Coast. LV0008 flew smoothly and nominally for roughly three minutes, but ended up failing mid-flight. What happened? Something went awry upon stage separation. The rocket’s upper stage began spinning shortly after engine ignition (based on the live feed). The payloads: Four NASA-sponsored…
Viasat Reports Q3 FY ’22 Earnings
Viasat (NASDAQ: VSAT) reported earnings last Thursday. Highlights for the satellite communications player: $720M in Q4 2021 revenues, which is up 25% year-over-year. Sales in Viasat’s Satellite Services segment were $310M, a YoY increase of 43%, largely driven by new aviation customers. Viasat posted a net loss of $6.6M, which the company attributed to “higher depreciation and…
D-Orbit to go Public at $1.28B Valuation
Image: D-Orbit. See investor deck here. On the heels of Satellogic ($SATL) completing its reverse merger just this week, another space player is preparing to go public via SPAC. This morning, D-Orbit announced its intentions to merge with Breeze Holdings Acquisition Corp. (NASDAQ:BREZ). D-Orbit offers “last-mile,” in-space transport services via its ION Satellite Carrier. D-Orbit has used ION…
