Firefly Aerospace Files for Nasdaq IPO After Moon Landing

Firefly Aerospace, the Cedar Park, Texas–based rocket and spacecraft developer that achieved a commercial moon landing this year with its Blue Ghost lander, filed a registration statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for an initial public offering. The company seeks to list on the Nasdaq under the symbol FLY and indicated a placeholder size of up to $100 million, a figure likely to change before pricing. The filing offers the most detailed look yet at the finances of one of the space industry’s fastest-growing entrants. Firefly reported $108 million in revenue for the 12 months ended 31 March 2025, driven largely by its Spacecraft Solutions division. First-quarter revenue rose to $55.8 million from $8.3 million a year earlier, while the net loss widened to $60.1 million. The company carries about $173.6 million of debt but finished the quarter with $176.9 million in cash and cash equivalents. Demand appears robust: the order backlog stood at roughly $1.1 billion as of 31 March, nearly double the level a year earlier. Existing contracts include up to 25 launches for Lockheed Martin and development of the reusable Eclipse rocket with Northrop Grumman. Firefly’s current Alpha launch vehicle has completed four successful missions. Proceeds from the share sale are earmarked for debt repayment and program development. AE Industrial Partners, which acquired a majority stake in 2022, will retain control through a dual-class share structure, the prospectus says. Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan, Jefferies, Wells Fargo Securities, Morgan Stanley, Deutsche Bank and Cantor Fitzgerald are joint bookrunners.