Japanese Grant of About $938 Million to Support AST SpaceMobile Satellites and New Rocket

Key Facts

AST SpaceMobile reported results on November 9, 2026, for the third quarter ended September 30, alongside a business update that disclosed a Japanese grant of up to 148 billion yen, equivalent to about $938 million at the exchange rate cited in its filing. The grant will be paid over about three years to a joint venture with Rakuten to fund the manufacture and launch of medium-orbit satellites. The project-linked funding amounts to about $1 billion, but does not constitute general, non-dilutive financing for the company. The company also announced the reusable Blacklift rocket, linking expanded satellite manufacturing with increased launch options. The announcement came as the company continues to build its network, targeting about 45 satellites in orbit by mid-2027.

Quarterly revenue was $42.321 million, up from $14.739 million in the same period of 2025. The company attributed the revenue to deliveries of connectivity gateways and the completion of U.S. government contract milestones. For the nine months ended September 30, revenue totaled $88.575 million, compared with $16.613 million in the same period a year earlier. But quarterly revenue came in below the analyst estimate of $47.9 million, according to Investing.com coverage attributed to Reuters. Adjusted loss per share was $0.44, versus an expected loss of $0.40. This shows a contrast between year-over-year revenue growth and a quarterly result below market estimates.

The company posted a net loss attributable to common stockholders of $132.380 million, or $0.44 per share, in the third quarter. In the corresponding quarter of 2025, the loss was $122.874 million, or $0.45 per share. Adjusted operating expenses, which are not in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, also rose to $133.6 million from $119.1 million in the second quarter of 2026. The company said a $11 million increase in adjusted engineering services costs was the main driver of the rise. This engineering and development spending provides context for the concurrent increase in the quarterly loss and plans for the satellite and rocket buildout.

Blacklift has a stated capacity of 20 tons, and AST SpaceMobile plans to use it to launch BlueBird satellites into low Earth orbit starting in late 2028, powered by Miranda and Vira engines. Chief Executive Abel Avellan said the company is "focused on accelerating the deployment of the constellation and capitalizing on this expanded opportunity." According to the company statement, the rocket can carry up to five BlueBird satellites per launch. By contrast, current launch agreements cover the deployment of more than 100 satellites during 2027 and 2028, before the targeted date for Blacklift's first launch. The supply and services agreement for the first three launches is valued at $500 million, while the licensing agreement costs about $800 million, half in cash and half in shares, according to Space.com.

The J-LEO arrangements include funding beyond the government grant: the company said it expects to contribute toward the remaining costs through preferred shares and estimated its initial subscription at about $1.4 billion over about three years. Rakuten owns 51% of the voting shares in the Rakuten AST joint venture, compared with 49% for AST SpaceMobile. The venture aims to provide direct connectivity to commercial devices in Japan, including in disasters and emergencies, with global service subject to regulatory approvals. Revenue from existing contracts that had not yet been recognized totaled about $1.3 billion as of September 30, and the company expects to recognize about 10.1% of it as revenue over the following twelve months. Its contractual commitments to third parties totaled about $840 to $860 million on that date, most of them for research and development, operational services, capital improvements and satellite components.

AST SpaceMobile said it continues to target revenue of between $150 and $200 million in fiscal 2026, with the possibility of an increase based on recent contracts, and reported about $3.2 billion in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash as of September 30. On execution, the company is targeting production of six ASIC satellites per month in December 2026 and about 45 BlueBird satellites in orbit by mid-2027. AST SpaceMobile shares closed at $32.6 on November 13, according to EL7 data. On November 6, following the announcement of the Firefly agreement, AST SpaceMobile shares rose about 1% and Firefly shares climbed about 18%, according to Reuters via Investing.com. These moves come amid a timeline combining satellite deployment under existing launch agreements with development of Blacklift for planned launches in late 2028.