Redwire Gross Margin Hits Record 32.3% As Backlog Reaches $619.7 Million
The space and defense company's quarterly loss narrowed to $23.2 million, but adjusted EBITDA slipped as research spending climbed 87.1%.
Redwire, which builds spacecraft, solar arrays, drones and sensors for space and defense customers, posted a record third-quarter gross margin of 32.3%, up from 16.3% a year earlier, and a contracted backlog of $619.7 million. CEO Peter Cannito conceded that revenue timing "continues to be uneven."
Margin up, adjusted profit down
Revenue rose 5.4% to $109.0 million in the quarter ended September 30. Net loss narrowed by $18.0 million to $23.2 million, or $0.09 per share, the company said in an 8-K.
Adjusted EBITDA, a profit measure that strips out certain costs, worsened by $2.7 million to a loss of $5.3 million. Research and development expense rose $6.7 million, or 87.1%, which the company described as investment in future growth.
CFO Chris Edmunds said both the Space and Defense Tech segments improved margins from a year earlier and from the prior quarter.
Cannito said the quality of revenue is improving as the company delivers mission-critical products across multiple domains.
A record order book
Contracted backlog reached $619.7 million, a nearly 75% increase from a year earlier. The company won $188.7 million of contracts in the quarter, lifting its ratio of new awards to revenue to 1.73 from 1.25.
Highlights included a $20 million DARPA contract for testing on a scaled version of its SabreSat spacecraft, a follow-on order from Axiom Space for two solar array wings, and follow-on Stalker drone orders from customers including the U.S. National Guard.
Cash pile and the full-year forecast
Redwire reaffirmed its 2026 revenue forecast of $450 million to $500 million. Edmunds noted $323.1 million of revenue recorded in the first nine months.
Total liquidity ended September at $538.9 million: $488.9 million in cash and $50.0 million in available borrowings. Operations used $95.2 million of cash over nine months, while stock issuance brought in $566.7 million. Inventory and contract assets both grew over the period.
Management hosts a conference call at 9:00 a.m. ET on Thursday, November 5, to review the quarter.
Sources
- 8-K Filing — Redwire Corp (RDW) — SEC EDGAR
- Exhibit exhibit991redwire09302026e.htm — Redwire Corp 8-K exhibit — SEC EDGAR
- Redwire Corp. to Post Q3 Earnings: What's in the Cards? — Yahoo Finance
