Shares of space tourism pioneer Virgin Galactic (SPCE +8.57%) stock took off like -- what else? -- a rocket on Wednesday, rising 10.7% through 12:10 p.m. ET after the company completed its sixth crewed almost-spaceflight in six months.
NYSE: SPCE
Key Data Points
Details on Galactic 05
Virgin Galactic flight Galactic 05 (so-named because it was the fifth flight with paying passengers aboard) launched at 11 a.m. ET on the dot this morning, detaching its VSS Unity spacecraft from the VMS Eve "mothership" about five minutes before noon. By 12:10, the three paying space tourists aboard had touched down safely back at Spaceport America in New Mexico.
🌎 Welcome back to Earth, #Galactic05! Our pilots, crew and spaceship have landed safely at Spaceport America, New Mexico. pic.twitter.com/Vea0ClDIZ3
-- Virgin Galactic (@virgingalactic) November 2, 2023
The company hasn't put out its official wrapping-up press release yet, but by all indications, the flight went exactly as planned -- another feather in Virgin's cap, another mission on its books...and another $750,000 or so in its bank account.
What it means for Virgin Galactic investors
Admittedly, even $750,000 isn't a lot of money for a company that continues to burn through about $150 million a quarter in operating costs -- and spends $250,000 just to replace the engine after each flight. Virgin Galactic remains a long way from profitability. In fact, most analysts polled by S&P Global Market Intelligence don't see any chance of Virgin Galactic becoming profitable before 2027 at the earliest (and after crunching the numbers, I'd argue it could take even longer than that).
That being said, investors today can still take encouragement from the fact that Virgin Galactic promised to maintain a flight cadence of about one space tourism launch per month, and for the last six months, it's delivered on that promise.
It's not quite as good as earning a profit on those spaceflights, perhaps. But it's a start.
