CEDAR PARK, Texas, May 4, 2026, 17:03 CDT
Firefly Aerospace Inc. shares rose about 10% in extended trading on Monday after the space and defense company reported record first-quarter revenue and kept its 2026 sales outlook intact. The stock was quoted at $36.69 after the close, after ending regular trading at $33.37.
The move matters because investors are still testing whether Firefly can turn launch contracts, lunar missions and missile-defense software into steady revenue. The company posted $80.9 million in revenue for the quarter ended March 31, up 40% from the prior quarter, but its net loss widened to $96.7 million from $60.1 million a year earlier.
The adjusted loss was 46 cents a share, better than the 50-cent loss expected by analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research. Revenue also beat the $73.8 million estimate from four analysts in that survey. Adjusted figures strip out certain one-time or non-cash items, and can differ from losses calculated under standard accounting rules.
Firefly said it still expects 2026 revenue of $420 million to $450 million. Chief Executive Jason Kim said the quarter brought “another quarterly revenue record” and pointed to Blue Ghost lunar milestones, Alpha Flight 7 and work tied to the U.S. Space Force. Firefly Aerospace
The company also disclosed fresh defense work. SciTec, a Firefly subsidiary, received an Other Transaction Authority agreement from U.S. Space Force Space Systems Command for the Space-Based Interceptor program, part of the Golden Dome missile-defense architecture. An OTA is a more flexible government procurement tool often used to speed prototype and technology work.
Space Systems Command said it had awarded 20 OTA agreements to 12 companies with potential combined value of up to $3.2 billion, aimed at developing a low-Earth-orbit interceptor layer by 2028. The program is meant to counter ballistic, hypersonic and cruise-missile threats.
SciTec President David Simenc said the deal came at a “pivotal moment for national defense.” The Princeton, New Jersey-based unit has supported U.S. defense and intelligence customers for more than 45 years in missile warning, data fusion and space-domain awareness, Firefly said. GlobeNewswire
The award also puts Firefly-owned SciTec in a pool with much larger defense names. Space Systems Command listed Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and Raytheon among the companies receiving Space-Based Interceptor OTA awards.
Analysts had framed launch cadence as the key test before the results. Cantor Fitzgerald analyst Colin Canfield wrote that Firefly’s target of four Alpha launches in 2026 looked “achievable,” while Goldman Sachs analyst Noah Poponak kept a Neutral rating and flagged questions around “growth, margins and cash flow.” Investing.com
Firefly said Alpha Flight 7 completed its mission objectives, including Block II subsystem validation and deployment of a Lockheed Martin demonstrator payload. It also cited a $109 million engineering change proposal under the Space Force’s FORGE Enterprise OPIR Services contract, tied to missile-warning data-center delivery.
But the quarter was not clean. Loss from operations widened to $95.7 million from $58.5 million, and free cash flow — operating cash after capital spending — was negative $78.9 million. Firefly also warned that delayed or failed launches, manufacturing limits, government funding changes and regulatory approvals could alter its outlook.
For now, the market is giving Firefly credit for revenue growth and defense exposure. The harder question is still the same one: whether it can launch more often, keep lunar work on schedule and slow the cash burn before the next round of earnings.
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