It was a rough year for Virgin Galactic (SPCE 3.15%) on the stock market. According to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence, shares have fallen 37.6% since the start of 2023, even though growth stocks had a solid year.
Now that the calendar has turned to 2024, there's more certainty about the future, but investors still seem skeptical about the company's future. Here's what we know right now.
Virgin Galactic's new plan
Coming into 2023, Virgin Galactic planned to fly about once a month and slowly move forward on the Delta spacecraft that's under development. But it was becoming clear that the company's cash burn was unsustainable, and late in 2023 the company laid out a new plan.
Flights on the current Unity spacecraft will end in mid-2024, and the company will focus all of its efforts on developing the Delta spacecraft. Its new focus will allow the company to cut spending and get to Delta's launch in 2026 without raising additional capital beyond the $1.1 billion currently on the balance sheet.
The rate of flights for Delta was also doubled, from four flights per month to eight. That move could double revenue generation when launched.
The waiting game begins
There's now a plan in place to get Virgin Galactic to the launch of the Delta spacecraft and free cash flow-breakeven in 2026 with the existing cash on the balance sheet. It's a tightrope the company will need to travel to get to that point, but that path is laid out.
In 2023, the market was disappointed by all of the changes, and now it will be nearly two years before we see if the changes are worth it. I'm cautiously optimistic, but this is a high-risk stock for investors.
