Virgin Galactic Earnings: How Did The Spaceflight Company Perform In Q3?

Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc SPCE shares are trading higher after-hours Thursday after the company reported mixed financial results and gave an update on the launch of commercial service. 

What Happened: Virgin Galactic reported third-quarter sales of $767,000, which beat average analyst estimates of $110,000, according to Benzinga Pro.

The company posted a net loss of $146 million, compared to a $48-million net loss in the third quarter of 2021.

Virgin reported a quarterly net loss of 55 cents per share, which missed estimates for a loss of 41 cents per share.

Virgin Galactic ended the quarter with cash and cash equivalents and marketable securities of $1.1 billion as of Sept. 30, 2022.

The space company said it is on track to launch commercial service in the second quarter of 2023. 

"We look forward to validating the modifications to VMS Eve and VSS Unity with multiple scheduled test flights in the coming months. We are also executing on our key strategic initiatives to scale our business as a global Spaceline over the long-term," the company said. 

The company expects free cash flow for the fourth quarter of 2022 to be in the range of negative $120 million to negative $130 million. 

The company also announced an agreement with Axiom Space, a U.S.-based commercial space company, to support a microgravity research and training mission.

The Virgin Galactic spaceflight, tentatively scheduled for next year, will prepare an Axiom Space astronaut for an upcoming trip to orbit, while conducting microgravity research to supplement the work planned for the International Space Station.

SPCE Price Action: Virgin Galactic has a 52-week high of $21.68 and a 52-week low of $4.11. The stock was trading 3.06% higher at $4.72 in the after-hours session. 

Photo courtesy of Virgin Galactic.