SpaceX rival Firefly up 28% after strong 3Q25 results and upgraded 2025 guidance
Shares of Firefly Aerospace, a mid-cap developer of launch vehicles and orbital spacecraft and a competitor to Elon Musk’s SpaceX, have soared more than a quarter in early trading today, November 13. The company reported strong third-quarter revenue growth and new contracts; plus it raised its full-year 2025 guidance.
Details
Firefly shares jumped 27.8% to $23.40 in the first minutes of premarket trading today as investors reacted to the company’s third-quarter report released the previous evening.
Revenue in the third quarter of 2025 rose nearly 38% year over year to $30.8 million. The net loss, however, tripled to $140 million. As CNBC reports, the company attributed this to its recent IPO, foreign exchange, and executive severance expenses.
In the third quarter, Firefly secured a $176.7 million NASA contract to deliver payloads to the Moon and expanded its agreement with the agency to collect additional lunar data. The company also completed its October-announced acquisition of SciTec, a national security tech company that Firefly says will strengthen its capabilities in the U.S. defense sector.
Against this backdrop, the company raised its full-year revenue forecast from $133-145 million to $150-158 million.
About the business
Firefly develops launch vehicles, lunar landers, and orbital spacecraft, providing launch services for government and commercial clients. The company describes itself as the only provider capable of preparing and launching a satellite mission within roughly 24 hours.
In the first quarter, Firefly achieved a successful lunar landing with its Blue Ghost spacecraft for NASA, one of four lunar missions under contract through 2029, pointed out Motley Fool contributor Rich Smith.
Firefly’s August IPO was the largest U.S. space-tech listing of 2025, according to Reuters. The company sold shares at $45 apiece, above the marketed range of $35-39 per share, raising $933 million. The stock rose 55% on the debut day, valuing the company at $9.84 billion, but has since declined about 74% from the IPO price.
Factors weighing on the stock include weak second-quarter results, after which Firefly shares dropped 15%, as well as a September testing accident involving one of its rockets that led to a further 20% decline.
Firefly has four “buy” and two “hold” recommendations from Wall Street analysts, according to MarketWatch data. The stock has an average target price of $52 per share, implying upside of nearly 184% from the November 12 closing price.
The AI translation of this story was reviewed by a human editor.
