Firefly Aerospace (NASDAQ:FLY) executives used the company’s fourth-quarter 2025 earnings call to highlight a year they described as “transformative,” marked by a record revenue performance, a major acquisition, and progress across launch, lunar, spacecraft, and defense software programs.
2025 milestones and strategic positioning
CEO Jason Kim said Firefly more than doubled annual revenue to a record $160 million and completed what he called the “first and only successful commercial moon landing.” He also pointed to the company’s IPO, which management said strengthened the balance sheet, and the acquisition of defense software provider SciTec as key steps in evolving Firefly into an “end-to-end space services business.”
Launch: Alpha Flight 7 and Block 2 preparations
Kim said Firefly successfully launched Alpha’s seventh flight to orbit on March 11, describing it as a “return to flight” that followed internal reliability work, including process improvements, additional training, and enhanced contamination controls. He said the mission completed all objectives, including deploying a test demonstration for Lockheed Martin, and included a second-stage relight to further verify upper-stage performance.
Looking ahead, Kim said the company validated key subsystems for “Block Two,” with improvements expected to begin on Flight 8. He described Block Two as intended to deliver mass savings, optimized production, and increased reliability, and said Firefly flew in-house avionics in “shadow mode” on Flight 7 to de-risk the upgrade. In the Q&A, Kim added that in-house avionics, batteries, and an automated flight termination system were among the elements de-risked on Flight 7, alongside routine testing of tanks and engines.
Firefly expects four Alpha launches in 2026, with Kim noting the company is already building rockets for Flights 8, 9, and 10. He also described a “launch-as-a-franchise” model for international expansion, citing a partnership with Swedish Space Corporation to launch from Esrange Space Center in Sweden, and said Firefly is evaluating a similar arrangement with SPACE COTAN for potential launches from Hokkaido Spaceport in Japan.
Eclipse and spacecraft: program progress and lunar mission pipeline
On Eclipse, Kim emphasized that Firefly is leveraging technology from Alpha—such as tap-off cycle engines and carbon composite structures—to reduce development risk. He said major flight articles for the first Eclipse vehicle are in build and test, and that the Miranda engine has surpassed 100 hot fire tests and is preparing to enter qualification. Firefly has also begun assembling multiple Miranda flight engines, completed qualification of the Eclipse interstage, and finished qualification testing of a first-stage liquid oxygen transfer line.
Kim said Firefly is targeting shipment of the first stage to Northrop Grumman, Eclipse’s co-developer, later in 2026, and reiterated a first launch timeline of “no earlier than 2027” for the full variant in which Firefly builds both first and second stages.
On lunar missions, Firefly reported multiple milestones across the Blue Ghost program:
- Blue Ghost Mission 2: Structural qualification testing of the fully stacked lander and Elytra orbiter at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory; completion of payload integration and readiness review, including acceptance of NASA’s LuSEE-Night and commercial payloads such as the UAE Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre’s Rashid Rover 2. Management said launch windows open no earlier than late Q4 2026 into Q1 2027, with monthly one-week windows aimed at arriving at the start of lunar day for a U.S. landing on the far side of the Moon.
- Blue Ghost Mission 3: Completion of preliminary design review to support payload delivery to the Moon’s Gruithuisen Domes.
- Blue Ghost Mission 4: Completion of system requirements review and ordering of long-lead items for a mission to the Moon’s South Pole.
Kim said Firefly has been studying how to scale its flight-proven lunar technology into larger lander designs. He also cited funding from the Texas Space Commission to expand spacecraft clean room capacity, which management said will enable building multiple landers simultaneously.
Elytra program updates included separation testing for the Elytra vehicle supporting Blue Ghost Mission 2, which Kim said will fly to lunar orbit, separate, and provide relay communications from the far side of the Moon. He also highlighted “Ocula,” a commercial imagery and mapping service that will provide high-resolution imagery, video, and multispectral data. In addition, Firefly completed a critical design review for the Defense Innovation Unit’s “Synic One” project and completed a NASA study contract related to a potential planetary defense mission called “Trinity” using an Elytra Dark spacecraft.
SciTec: FORGE, SHIELD, and defense software traction
Management described SciTec’s role in operational missile warning and tracking as a central strategic rationale for the acquisition. Kim said the U.S. Space Force operationally accepted SciTec’s “FORGE modernized AI-enabled space exploitation architecture” in September 2025. He described FORGE as supporting missile warning and tracking across LEO, MEO, and GEO and said it delivered real-time data during the “first days of the Iran conflict,” when the Space Force’s 11th Space Warning Squadron used FORGE to inform defensive operations against “over 1,000 threat events.”
During the quarter, Firefly reported multiple SciTec-related wins and updates, including:
- An “eight-figure” contract from a confidential U.S. customer for “time-dominant space control software,” with management citing potential upside expansion.
- Completion of an interim ground readiness review with the Space Development Agency related to mission management and data fusion ground components for Tranche 1 Tracking Layer of the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture.
- A $109 million engineering change proposal under the Space Force’s FORGE Enterprise OPIR services contract, increasing total contract value from $263 million to $372 million.
Kim also said Firefly, together with SciTec, onboarded to the Missile Defense Agency’s SHIELD contract vehicle, which he said carries a $151 trillion ceiling over 10 years, positioning the company for rapid competition of orders emphasizing AI and machine learning.
On broader opportunities, management repeatedly referenced “Golden Dome,” describing areas where Firefly could contribute, including launching surrogate targets and hypersonic tests with Alpha and integrating sensor data processing for fire control via SciTec. Kim also discussed interest in “space-based data centers,” arguing that on-orbit processing can reduce latency and that SciTec’s terrestrial data center and software expertise could support applications in an orbital context.
Financial results: record quarterly revenue, backlog growth, and 2026 outlook
CFO Darren Ma reported full-year 2025 revenue of $159.9 million, up 163% year over year. Fourth-quarter revenue was a company record of $57.7 million, compared with $30.8 million in Q3 and $9.0 million in the prior-year quarter. Spacecraft solutions revenue was $50.0 million and launch revenue was $7.7 million, with the sequential increase driven primarily by completion of multiple milestones in the spacecraft business. SciTec was included for the final two months of 2025.
Firefly ended the quarter with approximately $1.4 billion in backlog, up from $1.3 billion at the end of Q3 and up 22% year over year from $1.1 billion. Fourth-quarter gross margin was 27.7%, essentially flat with 27.6% in Q3.
On expenses and profitability, Ma reported:
- GAAP operating expenses: $101.6 million (vs. $70.7 million in Q3), driven by SciTec acquisition-related costs, inclusion of SciTec operating expenses, higher stock-based compensation, and a full quarter of public company costs.
- Non-GAAP operating expenses: $80.5 million (vs. $61.3 million in Q3).
- GAAP operating loss: $85.6 million; non-GAAP operating loss: $64.5 million.
- GAAP net loss: $41.1 million, which reflected a one-time $37.1 million tax benefit tied to the SciTec acquisition and a one-time $8.4 million gain from settlement of contingent liabilities. Non-GAAP net loss: $58.5 million.
- Adjusted EBITDA: a loss of $57.3 million.
Firefly ended Q4 with $893 million in cash, cash equivalents, and short-term investments, which included $260 million drawn from its revolving credit facility. The SciTec purchase price included $277.4 million in cash paid, net of cash acquired. Fourth-quarter capital expenditures were $12.1 million, and free cash flow was a loss of $79.3 million, which Ma said was primarily affected by acquisition and integration payments, including $24.5 million related to SciTec. He added the company expects final SciTec acquisition-related payments of approximately $24 million in the second quarter.
For 2026, Firefly guided to revenue of $420 million to $450 million, supported by four Alpha launches and execution across three Blue Ghost missions, continued Eclipse and Elytra development, and software development for government programs. Ma said roughly 80% of revenue implied by the midpoint of guidance is “already booked.” Management also noted that potential upside opportunities—such as NASA’s stated interest in accelerating lunar lander cadence beginning in 2027—are not included in current guidance.
In closing remarks, Kim said Firefly entered 2026 with a successful Alpha return to flight, a $1.4 billion backlog, and a strong balance sheet, while emphasizing a company-wide focus on safety and quality and an objective to “reliably and repeatedly” launch, land, and operate systems from Earth to the Moon and beyond.
About Firefly Aerospace (NASDAQ:FLY)
Firefly Aerospace (NASDAQ:FLY) is a U.S.-based aerospace company that designs, manufactures and operates launch vehicles and in-space systems for commercial, civil and national security customers. The company focuses on providing end-to-end small- and medium-lift launch services, mission integration and spacecraft hardware to support satellite deployment and on-orbit operations.
Firefly’s product portfolio includes the Alpha small launch vehicle, developed to carry small satellites to low Earth orbit, and plans for larger vehicles and in-space capabilities to address a range of payload sizes and mission profiles.
