SES has brought Intelsat fully into the fold of its operations—and so far, it’s shaky news, with revenues up but still missing analyst expectations.
It had been a long time coming for the pair of GEO-first satellite operators, which had been in rumored merger talks since 2022. SES, the European competitor, finally closed its acquisition of American firm Intelsat on July 17, making this quarterly earnings report the first that includes Intelsat’s input.
“The new SES is now a truly global, multi-orbit operator with greater scale built for the future, positioning us for long-term growth, strong financial performance, and a more resilient business,” SES CEO Adel Al-Saleh said in a statement on the results.
Without further ado…SES’ quarter, by the numbers:
- Revenue of €1.75B ($2B) YTD;
- €1.4B ($1.6B) in new contract value since the beginning of 2025, with €7.1B ($8.2B) in total combined backlog;
- Revenue boosts QoQ in both the media and networks business lines, as well as in each of the subcategories under networks (government, fixed & maritime, and aviation);
- A 1.8% dip in revenue YoY for the first nine months of 2025, on a like-for-like basis;
- Net debt of €5.99B ($6.9M).
On the qualitative side, SES launched two additional O3b mPOWER satellites in July, and those are expected to enter into service early next year, bringing along additional business.
On the flip side, the US government shutdown is affecting the satcom giant. On an earnings call, company leadership indicated that they’re expecting delays to contract awards and renewals this year. Revenue could either appear in Q4 or be pushed to next year, depending on the length of the closure.
+ Market check: SES ended the day of trading down ~16%.
