New York—May 13, 2026, 05:03 ET
- Intuitive Machines jumped over 8% in premarket hours, with investors reacting to news of a Space Force Andromeda contract win ahead of Thursday’s earnings.
- This is notable: Andromeda’s a sizable, fiercely contested IDIQ—so instead of grabbing the whole ceiling up front, companies that win a spot can fight for task orders as they come up.
- LUNR, say the bulls, could catch a lift from Lanteris, NASA partnerships, and defense contracts. Bears, though, flag stiff competition, patchy losses, and the looming earnings report set for before the May 14 open.
Intuitive Machines shares jumped to $34.77 ahead of the open, marking an 8.35% gain after ending Tuesday’s session at $32.09, down 1.02%. Premarket buyers pushed the price past the 52-week high of $33.64, signaling more than just a reaction to headlines — this was a clear test of a breakout zone before the bell.
LUNR had been on a tear—jumping 20.16% on May 8, tacking on another 11.91% by May 11, before losing ground on May 12. This morning’s premarket surge points to renewed buying, with traders responding to the company’s move to anchor its post-Lanteris plan around a sizable defense program.
Intuitive Machines shares popped after the company revealed it’s been chosen for the U.S. Space Force’s Andromeda IDIQ contract. The award means it’ll be in the running to design and deploy Space Domain Awareness (SDA) systems—technology meant to spot, track, and analyze objects in geosynchronous orbit, a region packed with defense and telecom satellites.
It’s a big deal—Andromeda has scale. The Space Force is lifting the program’s ceiling from $1.8 billion all the way up to more than $6.2 billion, pointing to higher demand for reconnaissance and surveillance satellites and what it calls an “escalating threat environment” projected out to 2030 and later. Still, the IDIQ ceiling only sets the cap; real revenue depends on future task orders, not the headline number. Air Space Forces Magazine
This is the stock’s first real flashpoint. With the announcement, Intuitive Machines steps further outside its lunar lander roots into the realm of space infrastructure, but it’s now facing off with industry heavyweights. The Space Force’s preliminary roster features names like L3Harris, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, BAE Systems, Anduril, Astranis, and others.
For months, management’s been hammering at that broader narrative. Back in March, CEO Steve Altemus called 2025 “a transformational year,” highlighting the second lunar mission, a push into national security space, and the deals with KinetX and Lanteris Space Systems. He added that the Lanteris 1300-series platform could open up growth for the company in geostationary orbit, on the Moon, and out toward Mars. Intuitive Machines
The earnings picture is tight. Intuitive Machines is on deck to post Q1 2026 results before Thursday’s open, May 14, with management set to host a call at 8:30 a.m. ET. Analysts tracked by MarketBeat are looking for a $0.07 per-share loss and revenue of $202.95 million. So, the contract news drops just a day ahead of these numbers.
The bullish argument for Intuitive Machines is straightforward, though hardly uncomplicated. Back in March, the company projected 2026 revenue between $900 million and $1 billion, along with positive adjusted EBITDA—a metric that excludes interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization, and a few extras. Then there’s the February backlog: about $943 million in total, which gives optimists more than just mission talk to lean on.
Roth Capital’s Suji Desilva bumped his price target up to $35 from $25, maintaining a Buy call. He sees the company in a strong spot as lunar-related spending picks up, adding that Lanteris could boost growth, create synergies, and expand its national-security footprint. Over at KeyBanc, Michael Leshock referenced rising NASA lunar demand while moving his target to $27.
The bear thesis hinges on execution risks. Intuitive Machines posted $44.8 million in Q4 revenue, alongside a $33.1 million operating loss and projected $56 million in free cash flow usage for 2025—even as gross margins saw some improvement. The company is juggling rapid scaling, folding in acquisitions, chasing defense contracts, and keeping NASA projects moving—all at once.
Lunar program setbacks aren’t new for investors here. Intuitive Machines’ shares remain closely pegged to moonshot results, thanks to the company’s persona being so wrapped up in lunar landings. Back in 2025, the stock took a steep dive after its Athena lander looked to have tipped onto its side—a mishap that immediately raised red flags about both power supply and payload function.
Even so, NASA continues to provide a strong counterbalance to those concerns. Back in March, Reuters said NASA handed Intuitive Machines a $180.4 million CLPS contract for a mission delivering seven science and tech payloads to the Moon’s south pole—the company’s fifth such CLPS assignment. That puts LUNR at the crossroads of two major themes: government-backed lunar operations, and, on the defense side, orbital surveillance plus satellite infrastructure.
Today’s bounce isn’t only riding on a Space Force headline. Investors are making a wager: Intuitive Machines can evolve from a lander business into something bigger—a space prime, with Lanteris, NASA, and Andromeda all pushing revenue into the same funnel. Pressure is on for Thursday’s report. The numbers have to show real scale hitting the income statement, not just fresh contract headlines.
