ASTS Stock Crashes As Elaborate Satellite Launch Plans Fail To Outpower Earnings, Revenue Miss

• Reports Q1 loss of $0.66 per share against expectations of $0.23 loss per share.
• Revenue came in at $14.7 million amid expectations of $39 million. 
• Three out of 10 analysts rate ASTS a ‘buy’, five ‘hold’, and two ‘sell’.

AST SpaceMobile (ASTS) share price tumbled 11% after-hours after the company’s first quarter (Q1) revenue and earnings failed to meet expectations on the back of its plan to launch a fleet of 45 satellites by the end of 2026. 

The company, which is building the first space-based cellular broadband network, reported a loss of $0.66 per share on sales, compared to analyst forecasts of a $0.23 per-share loss. Revenue came in at $14.7 million, much lower than the $39 million analysts had expected. AST reported a loss of $0.20 a share and revenue of $718,000 in the same quarter last year. 

AST maintained full-year revenue guidance of between $150 million and $200 million, with the average Wall Street projections for 2026 revenue of $177 million.

Wall Street projects ASTS to turn profitable in 2028 when annual sales hit $1.6 billion. 

“AST SpaceMobile is accelerating manufacturing, regulatory progress, commercial partnerships, and government programs, furthering our position as the only technology positioned to capture the massive direct-to-device broadband opportunity in full,” Abel Avellan, AST SpaceMobile’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, said in a statement. 

Investors have grown keen on the space economy stocks, especially amid expectations of  SpaceX’s IPO sometime later this year.

ASTS 2026 Satellite Launch Plans

AST expects to end 2026 with 45 satellites in orbit. “We have a robust global spectrum portfolio, the industry’s largest global commercial ecosystem, and a fortress balance sheet, positioning us for success as we create the space-based cellular broadband market,” Avellan added. 

The company’s BlueBird 8, BlueBird 9, and BlueBird 10 satellites were set for delivery to Cape Canaveral and an expected orbital launch in mid-June on SpaceX’s Falcon 9 launch vehicle.

The Federal Communications Commission on April 22 granted the company ‘supplemental coverage authority’ to provide commercial services within the U.S. This regulatory milestone allows for direct-to-device broadband connectivity leveraging a planned network of up to 248 satellites. The firm’s strategic partners include Verizon, AT&T, and FirstNet. 

ASTS Retail View 

Retail sentiment on Stocktwits was “extremely bullish” with “high” message volumes. 

One user was bullish for the long-term, citing more government contracts in the future. 

Three out of 10 analysts rate ASTS stock ‘buy’, five said ‘hold’, and two ‘sell’, as per data from Koyfin.

The stock has dropped 15% over the past 12 months.