Shares of Redwire Corp jumped as much as 8.3% to $11.61 after the space and defense technology company posted a quarter that blew past expectations across nearly every metric. Revenue hit a record $117.1 million, up 89.6% year-over-year and 20.7% sequentially.
Backlog surged to a record $542.1 million with a book-to-bill ratio of 1.42 — meaning new orders are coming in far faster than the company can fill them. Redwire reaffirmed its full-year 2026 revenue forecast of $450–$500 million. The stock is up roughly 37% in just five trading days.
Margins Flipped From Disaster to Record, but Losses Persist
Gross margin swung to a record 27.8% from negative 30.9% a year ago , a dramatic turnaround driven by defense contracts shifting from development into production, where economics are far better. Yet the net loss was still $41 million , and adjusted EBITDA — a rough measure of core operating cash flow — was negative $3.2 million, weighed down by $12.5 million in R&D spending. Investors are betting the trend is more important than the absolute number.
The Balance Sheet Buys Time — and Ambition
Cash ballooned to $557.8 million, a six-fold increase year-over-year, while total debt fell 75%. That war chest funded a headline-grabbing move: Redwire's subsidiary signed an agreement to fly microgravity research payloads on SpaceX's new Starfall spacecraft, with a dedicated mission slated for late 2028.
Starfall offers a path forward for space-based drug research as the International Space Station approaches retirement — a long-term bet, not a near-term revenue driver.
Defense Orders Are the Real Engine
Redwire booked over $41 million in follow-on military drone orders in just six months , the kind of repeat purchases that signal a product embedded in military programs rather than a one-off sale. The company delivered nearly 200 surveillance payloads in the first half of 2026, more than 15% above the prior-year period.
Valuation Needs Profits to Catch Up
With roughly 238.8 million shares outstanding and a market cap near $2.8 billion, Redwire trades at roughly 5× its guided revenue midpoint — a premium usually reserved for profitable defense primes. The company has no trailing P/E ratio because it has no earnings , and the analyst average price target sits at $14.88 , leaving moderate upside if execution continues. The order book is real; the question is whether margins can scale fast enough to justify a valuation built entirely on faith in the trajectory.