Space Stocks Had A Stellar Week, But SpaceX Rivals Flew Higher — What Powered LUNR, FLY, RKLB And ASTS Ahead?

AST SpaceMobile announced its Japanese venture and detailed Blacklift’s development, spending needs, and potential launch-cost savings.

• Intuitive Machines beat earnings and revenue estimates, generated positive free cash flow and accelerated its lunar communications network plans.
• Firefly beat estimates and reported record backlog, while its AST engine agreement supported expansion plans.
• Rocket Lab posted record revenue and backlog, secured higher-priced Neutron contracts and approached Electron’s 100th launch.

Space stocks rallied over the past week, but SpaceX’s (SPCX) rivals climbed faster, with Intuitive Machines (LUNR), Firefly Aerospace (FLY) and Rocket Lab (RKLB) leading gains as earnings, growing backlogs and launch milestones kept the sector in focus.

LUNR led the rally with a 24% gain, followed by FLY at 22% and RKLB at 21%. AST SpaceMobile (ASTS) rose 7%, also beating SPCX’s 4% advance. 

LUNR’s Cash Flow Takes Flight

Intuitive Machines beat earnings and sales estimates Thursday. It reported a loss of $0.02 per share, smaller than the $0.11 loss expected. Revenue rose about 414% to $269.35 million, beating estimates of $247.56 million. “In the third quarter, we delivered record financial performance across the board,” CEO Steve Altemus said.

Adjusted EBITDA turned positive at $8.3 million, compared with a $13.2 million loss a year earlier. Free cash flow reached $33.5 million. Growth came from satellite manufacturing after the Lanteris acquisition, alongside lunar and communications work. The company also benefited from about $19 million in favorable one-time program adjustments.

The company’s order backlog reached $1.9 billion. It expects annual revenue of $920 million to $950 million and positive adjusted EBITDA.

Its IM-3 mission and first Altus communications satellite are scheduled for launch in March or April 2027. Four more Altus satellites are also planned to launch together in 2028, bringing completion of the lunar network forward to around mid-2028 from late 2029.

On Stocktwits, retail sentiment remained ‘extremely bullish’ compared with last week, amid ‘extremely high’ message volume. 

Earnings Beat Gives Firefly More Lift

Meanwhile, Firefly beat earnings and sales estimates on Tuesday. Its adjusted loss of $0.45 per share was smaller than the expected $0.50 loss. Revenue rose 259% to $110.68 million, topping estimates of $103.15 million.

Backlog reached a record $1.7 billion, up from $1.5 billion the previous quarter. Its net loss narrowed to $94.2 million from $133.4 million. Firefly forecast annual revenue of $440 million to $450 million, above estimates of $438.52 million.

The company also detailed its $1.3 billion-plus agreement with AST SpaceMobile, announced the previous week. Firefly will license engine tech, supply 36 engines for the first three Blacklift rockets and provide engineering support. The deal will also support investment in Firefly’s own production, testing and Eclipse rocket program.

“We have more customers than we have rockets available in the near-term manifest,” CEO Jason Kim said. However, Alpha Flight 8 is now targeted for early 2027 after a national security customer requested changes to the launch schedule. Firefly had hoped to launch before year-end. The company is also developing five Moon missions and has expanded its cleanroom to accommodate work on up to 12 lunar landers and orbital vehicles at once.

On Stocktwits, retail sentiment cooled to ‘bullish’ from ‘extremely bullish’ last week, amid ‘extremely high’ message volume. 

RKLB’s Backlog Soars As Neutron Waits

Rocket Lab also gained more than 20% as Monday’s results showed record revenue and backlog, despite another delay to Neutron. Revenue rose 73% to about $268 million, while backlog grew 52% from the previous quarter to $3.57 billion. Neutron secured more than $515 million in launch contracts, bringing its backlog to 16 missions, with several bookings priced at a higher $70 million base rate.

However, Neutron’s debut is now expected no earlier than 2027, pending first-stage tank testing. “Really, until that tank is through the gauntlet of all of its testing, I just don’t want to be continually wrong,” CEO Peter Beck said, declining to give a launch month or quarter.

The Pentagon also announced a $150 million conditional loan commitment to help expand Neutron production, recovery operations and infrastructure. Meanwhile, Rocket Lab’s two Escapade spacecraft completed maneuvers sending them toward Mars for arrival in 2027. Electron’s 100th mission, “The Mountain God Rises,” is scheduled for Saturday in New Zealand and will carry an imaging satellite for Japan’s iQPS.

On Stocktwits, retail sentiment improved to ‘bullish’ from ‘neutral’ last week, amid ‘high’ message volume. 

ASTS Maps Its Own Route To Orbit

AST SpaceMobile also outpaced SpaceX as it announced a Japanese venture and shared more details about its Blacklift rocket plans. The Rakuten AST venture expects about $1 billion in support over three years to build a Japanese satellite network. Rakuten will hold 51% of voting rights, with AST’s Japanese unit holding 49%.

Monday’s results showed revenue of $42.3 million, with annual guidance unchanged at $150 million to $200 million. AST targets about 45 BlueBird satellites in orbit by mid-2027 and production of six ASIC-equipped satellites a month in December.

At Thursday’s Blacklift event, CEO Abel Avellan explained why AST wants its own rocket. “And as you have seen, we cannot get enough launches on time for our build,” he said.

Blacklift can carry up to five BlueBirds per launch, starting in late 2028. Its first tanks are expected to be ready for testing by January. The program will require several hundred million dollars in extra spending next year, but the firm sees potential to cut launch costs by 75% compared with current market prices.

Avellan also teased new U.S. and European operator partners and said onboard AI would begin with satellite 45. AST will keep using outside launch providers while developing Blacklift.

On Stocktwits, retail sentiment remained ‘bullish’ compared with last week, amid ‘high’ message volume. 

SpaceX Looks Beyond The Rally To Compute And Catch Plans

SpaceX posted a smaller gain as it outlined major AI investments and prepared for its next Starship test. The company announced plans on Thursday to invest more than $74 billion in supercomputing campuses, including over $24 billion at Starbase in Texas and roughly $50 billion in Arizona’s Cochise County.

The Texas facility would generate its own electricity. The Arizona campus would use dry cooling, with no planned industrial groundwater use. “We’re ready to build. And we’re committed to making sure the communities where we build share in the benefits,” SpaceX said.

The Arizona project still needs approval, with a public hearing scheduled for Dec.9. It could require 6 gigawatts of electricity at full capacity.

Meanwhile, the FCC accepted applications to transfer Grain’s 800 MHz spectrum licenses to a SpaceX unit, opening a review without granting final approval.

Additionally, Starship Flight 15 is targeted for launch as soon as Friday, carrying 26 Starlink V3 satellites. SpaceX plans to catch both the Super Heavy booster and Starship upper stage, with the latter returning after more than 22 hours in flight.

On Stocktwits, retail sentiment cooled to ‘neutral’ from ‘bullish’ last week, amid ‘low’ message volume. 

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