Virgin Galactic narrows losses, but the space-tourism stock drops

By Emily Bary

Space-travel company loses less money than analysts were expecting in its fourth quarter

Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc. lost less money than expected in the latest quarter, but its stock declined in Tuesday's extended session.

The aerospace and space-travel company logged a fiscal fourth-quarter net loss of $104 million, or 26 cents a share, whereas it lost $151 million, or 55 cents a share, in the year-before quarter. Analysts tracked by FactSet were expecting a 30-cent loss per share.

Virgin Galactic (SPCE) also posted an $84 million loss on the basis of adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (Ebitda), while analysts had been modeling a $104 million loss on the metric.

Read: Intuitive Machines' Odysseus moon lander a catalyst for investor interest in space, analyst says

The company saw $3 million in revenue for the latest period, up from $1 million a year before and matching the FactSet consensus view. The top line was "driven by commercial spaceflights and membership fees related to future astronauts," Virgin Galactic said in its release.

Virgin Galactic also said it had a "strong" cash position, amounting to $982 million in cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities. The company saw fourth-quarter negative free cash flow of $114 million, while analysts had expected negative FCF of $130 million.

See also: Virgin Galactic 'blasting off to positive cash flow in mid-2026,' analyst says

For the fiscal first quarter, Virgin Galactic models $125 million to $135 million in negative FCF, along with revenue of $2 million. Analysts had been calling to $129.1 million and $4 million, respectively.

The stock was down 4% in Tuesday's after-hours trading.

-Emily Bary

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02-27-24 2053ET

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