Firefly Aerospace (FLY +9.61%) stock jumped more than 18% in early trading on the Nasdaq after beating analyst forecasts for Q4 earnings last night. The stock wasn't, however, able to hold onto all its gains. As of 10:05 a.m. ET, Firefly stock is up only 2.3%.
Analysts forecast the rocket company would lose $0.32 per share in Q4 2025. In fact, Firefly lost only $0.26 per share (on $57.7 million in revenue).
Image source: Northrop Grumman.
Firefly Q4 earnings
Firefly grew revenue 541% year over year in Q4, to $57.7 million, with full-year revenue growing 163% to $159.9 million. Cost of sales grew more slowly, allowing Firefly to flip from gross losses to gross profits for both periods, but other costs grew faster -- selling, general, and administrative expenses, for example.
On the bottom line, this left Firefly with the $0.26 quarterly net loss, and a loss of $4.83 per share for the year. On the plus side, both numbers were much better than 2024's.
Firefly looks to be on a path to profit if it continues to scale up in this manner. Helping to ensure that happens, the company has landed three more Commercial Lunar Payload Services (i.e., robotic lunar landing) contracts from NASA to follow up on its successful Blue Ghost Mission 1.
NASDAQ: FLY
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What does it mean for Firefly Aerospace?
Firefly's Alpha rocket also returned to service -- after the quarter closed. Unfortunately, Alpha is too small a rocket to carry the company's Blue Ghost landers to the moon, so Firefly must pay other companies for that service, hurting margins. The good news here is that Firefly is making progress on its newer, bigger, Eclipse rocket, which should be able to do the job.
Once that one's flying, Firefly's profit margins should improve even more.
