Intuitive Machines Posts Record Q3 2026 Revenue, Backlog Near $1.9 Billion and Positive Quarterly Free Cash Flow

Intuitive Machines reported record third-quarter 2026 revenue of $269.3 million, a 413.5% year-over-year jump that beat Wall Street's consensus estimate by $21.74 million, according to Seeking Alpha Market News. The space infrastructure company also swung to positive quarterly free cash flow of roughly $33 million, narrowed its GAAP net loss and disclosed a backlog of about $1.87 billion following two acquisitions completed earlier in the year, according to TradingView and 247wallst.com.

Record Revenue and a Narrower Loss

Revenue rose to $269.3 million from $52.4 million a year earlier, a 413.5% increase, according to TradingView, citing Seeking Alpha reporting. Separately, 247wallst.com put the year-over-year gain at 413.7%, with revenue of $269.35 million topping a consensus estimate of $247.56 million by 8.8%. GAAP earnings per share came in at negative $0.02, beating the consensus estimate by $0.10, as net loss narrowed to $4.2 million from $7 million a year earlier, TradingView reported.

Product revenue reached $215.1 million, about 80% of quarterly sales, compared with no product revenue in the prior-year period, while service revenue rose to $54.1 million from $51 million, according to TradingView's reporting.

Margin Drivers, Including One-Time Adjustments

Gross margin reached $69.3 million, or about 26% of revenue. TradingView reported that the company attributed the margin level to a larger contribution from satellite production, higher volume, and favorable one-time program adjustments. The same report cautioned that sustaining this level of growth will depend on converting backlog orders into revenue, since part of the quarter's margin benefit came from adjustments that are not necessarily recurring.

Results also benefited from several non-operating items. TradingView and 247wallst.com both reported a $30 million (247wallst.com specifies $30.01 million) gain from changes in the fair value of warrant liabilities. 247wallst.com additionally cited a $3.62 million contingent consideration gain, which was partly offset by $9.57 million in acquisition and integration costs and $10.30 million in non-recurring legal expense.

Quarterly operating cash flow reached $66.2 million, which 247wallst.com calculated as a 1,021.7% year-over-year improvement, with adjusted EBITDA turning positive.

Backlog Composition and the Goonhilly Deal

Backlog growth was tied to two acquisitions and a wave of new contract awards. TradingView reported that the increase included $612.8 million of backlog acquired through the January purchase of Lanteris and $31.7 million through the August acquisition of Goonhilly, alongside $1.77 billion in new awards booked during the first nine months of the year, partly offset by recognized revenue and contract adjustments.

Added together, those three components sum to roughly $2.41 billion ($612.8 million plus $31.7 million plus $1.77 billion), by our calculation. That total exceeds the roughly $1.87 billion backlog reported at quarter end, a difference TradingView attributed in part to revenue recognized during the period and to contract adjustments. The reports reviewed did not disclose the opening backlog balance, so the individual components cannot be fully reconciled to the reported quarter-end figure; this comparison is an interpretation of the disclosed components rather than a company-provided roll-forward.

247wallst.com reported the resulting backlog at $1.87 billion, noting that the quarter's revenue growth was driven overwhelmingly by the January 2026 acquisition of Lanteris, which contributed $215.12 million in satellite production revenue that had no equivalent in the prior-year period. TradingView reported that the company also closed its acquisition of Goonhilly Earth Station and COMSAT, expanding its space-to-ground communications network.

Cash Flow, Guidance and Mission Timelines

247wallst.com reported quarterly free cash flow was positive at $33 million, while TradingView put the figure at $33.5 million after $32.7 million in capital spending. 247wallst.com added that year-to-date free cash flow remained negative at $112.3 million and that cash on hand declined to $463.81 million from $582.6 million at year-end 2025. Both outlets reported that management kept full-year 2026 guidance intact at $920 million to $950 million in revenue with positive adjusted EBITDA. TradingView also noted that the release did not report adjusted earnings per share and that no adjusted earnings consensus was supplied, preventing a beat-or-miss comparison on that basis.

"In the third quarter, we delivered record financial performance across the board," Chief Executive Steve Altemus said in the earnings announcement, according to TradingView. Both reports said the IM-3 mission and the first Altus-1 lunar satellite remain on track for a launch in March or April 2027, with Altus-2 through Altus-5 set to deploy together in 2028 aboard a NASA-provided launch vehicle. 247wallst.com also reported that the company was named a vendor on NASA's CLPS 2 IDIQ contract, which carries a ceiling value of $10 billion with a $5 billion option.

Bottom Line

TradingView reported that shares jumped 11% in premarket trading Thursday after the results, following a stretch in which the stock was down 25% year to date through Wednesday's close. Based on the reported figures, the quarter pairs a step change in scale from acquired satellite production with reminders that part of the margin benefit came from one-time program adjustments and non-operating gains, and that year-to-date free cash flow is still negative; converting the reported backlog into revenue is the factor the cited reporting identifies as central to sustaining the growth rate.