Firefly Aerospace Seeks Public Listing
Texas-based space and defense technology company, Firefly Aerospace, has announced its plans to enter the public markets. The company, which specializes in providing end-to-end space transportation solutions, including launch, lunar, and on-orbit services, was founded in 2017 by Thomas Markusic and Max Polyakov. Firefly submitted documentation to regulators on Friday, July 11th to raise up to $100 million in an initial public offering within the year, having recently achieved several milestones, including a commercial moon landing.
The S-1 filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission offers detailed information about Firefly's finances and governance structure. However, specific details such as the number of shares and expected price range have not been disclosed, so the overall valuation remains undetermined.
As Firefly approaches its initial public offering, the company holds $176.9 million in cash and cash equivalents. Despite experiencing negative cash flows and operating losses, Firefly projects that available funds will meet liquidity requirements for at least the next 12 months. Firefly currently carries approximately $173.6 million in debt, including a $136.1 million term loan with an interest rate of 13.87%. According to the S-1, a portion of the IPO proceeds is designated for repaying this loan. Otherwise, funds raised from the IPO will be allocated towards scaling Firefly’s operations, including enhancing production capacities, accelerating launch cadence, and boosting research and development.
Firefly reported revenue of $55.8 million as of March 31, compared to $8.3 million during the same period in 2024. Most of this revenue - around $50 million- is attributed to “spacecraft solutions,” notably Firefly’s Blue Ghost lander missions, while $5 million came from launch activities. The cost of sales was nearly equivalent to total revenue, totaling about $53 million as of March 31, resulting in $2.2 million in gross profit. Firefly recorded a net loss of $231.1 million for the 2024 fiscal year, up from $135.5 million in 2023.
The company states that it anticipates future growth and highlights upcoming developments, including a partnership with Northrop Grumman to develop a reusable launch vehicle (Eclipse), a launch agreement for up to 25 launches with Lockheed Martin, and the commercial introduction of the Elytra spacecraft line for in-space transportation services.
Firefly also reports increased customer demand, indicating that as of March 31, it held approximately $1.1 billion in backlogged launch orders and spacecraft contracts, up from $560 million in the previous year. This increase is attributed to three multi-launch agreements for the Alpha rocket and an additional lunar delivery contract for the Blue Ghost lander.
According to regulatory filings, Firefly intends to operate as a “controlled company” under Nasdaq regulations, allowing AE Industrial Partners, the majority stakeholder since 2022, to maintain significant governance control after the company is publicly listed. Firefly plans to list on the Nasdaq Global Markets using the ticker symbol $FLY.
The announcement follows Voyager Space's IPO filing last month in what has otherwise been a relatively quiet period for space company public offerings, following several IPOs through special purpose acquisition companies in 2021 and 2022, many of which have not met performance expectations.
Firefly’s IPO is expected to add liquidity to the market. With SpaceX, Rocket Lab, and Relativity Space expanding their portfolios, the step underscores the company’s aim to capitalize on growing demand in the private aerospace market and scale its operations amid heightened competition, especially in the areas of satellite launches and exploration initiatives.
