AST Targets Intermittent Coverage Before End-2026 as YUTREPIA Sales Surge to $222.7 Million

Key Facts

AST SpaceMobile reported revenue of $42.3 million in the third quarter of 2026, driven by deliveries of communications gateways and the completion of government milestones, while Liquidia's net YUTREPIA sales rose to $222.7 million. Liquidia said total patient shipments in October reached their highest monthly level since the product's launch, and the daily referral rate that month exceeded 75% of the third-quarter daily rate. AST is targeting the start of intermittent nationwide coverage in key markets before year-end, beginning with strategic partners in the United States, Canada, Japan, Saudi Arabia and the United Kingdom. The company ties this timeline to increased satellite production and launch preparations. The results present investors with two different paths: expanding a satellite network that has yet to begin its targeted commercial coverage, and growing demand for a treatment whose sales have posted a sharp year-over-year increase.

YUTREPIA net sales were $222.7 million in the three months ended September 30, compared with $51.7 million in the same period of 2025. Liquidia attributed the $171.0 million increase to higher treatment sales volume. Paid patient demand in the third quarter also reached $212.2 million, excluding vouchers and patient access programs. The company said more than 60% of referrals from the product's launch through September included a diagnosis of pulmonary arterial hypertension, rising to more than 70% in September. Monthly referral conversions to treatment starts remained above 87%, the company said. The prescriber base reached about 1,300 by October, with about 60% having prescribed the treatment to two or more patients and more than 30% having prescribed it to at least five patients.

Liquidia's revenue exceeded the analyst consensus estimate of $214.18 million, but the company reported a loss of $2.64 per share, compared with a prior estimate of earnings of $0.90. The stock fell 0.77% in premarket trading on November 10 after the results were announced, despite revenue beating expectations. The company's shares closed at $51.40 in the same session. On October 13, Liquidia announced a global settlement with United Therapeutics that ended the six pending lawsuits between the companies. Under the settlement, YUTREPIA will remain available to patients without interruption, and no patient will be asked to stop taking it. The parties agreed that Liquidia would pay a net $380.7 million in installments during 2026 and 2027.

AST said manufacturing had reached BlueBird 51 in Texas, and two dedicated facilities were operating full shifts to reach the targeted production rate in December. The company expects to produce six ASIC satellites a month that month. It is targeting about 45 BlueBird satellites in orbit by mid-2027, while launch agreements cover the deployment of more than 100 satellites cumulatively during 2027 and 2028. The company said the J-LEO agreement with Japan's Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications and its partner Rakuten includes about $1 billion in non-dilutive funding for satellite manufacturing and launches. In its initial coverage plans, AST listed Saudi Arabia among five markets for its strategic partners, describing the targeted service as intermittent nationwide coverage before the end of 2026.

AST maintained its 2026 revenue outlook of $150 million to $200 million and said recently signed contracts could allow it to exceed that range. Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash totaled about $3.2 billion on September 30. Total operating expenses fell to $211 million in the third quarter from $329.1 million in the second quarter, which included a $125.9 million loss on involuntary conversion. Separately, Liquidia had $396.1 million in cash and cash equivalents on September 30, before settlement payments, compared with $190.7 million on December 31, 2025. Liquidia announced that YUTREPIA received Fast Track designation for Raynaud's phenomenon associated with systemic sclerosis, and that the open-label, randomized Phase 2 RE-WARM dose-finding study had begun.

In trading on November 10, AST SpaceMobile shares closed at $33.69, while Liquidia shares ended the session at $51.40. AST is relying operationally on turning expanded manufacturing into working satellites and initial coverage over the coming weeks, with a December production target and deployment timelines extending through 2028. Liquidia is drawing on third-quarter sales growth, October shipments and referral indicators, alongside settlement obligations extending through 2027. The coverage AST described for the first phase remains intermittent and includes its five partner markets, among them Saudi Arabia. The companies' stated targets point to upcoming execution steps, from AST's monthly production rate to completion of Liquidia's clinical study.