The last few weeks have been eventful for space-exploration company Intuitive Machines Inc., which recently ended its second lunar mission less than 24 hours after its lander arrived on the moon's surface.
Nonetheless, the company has its sights set firmly on the future, with a backlog of future projects a highlight of its fourth-quarter results Monday.
Intuitive Machines' (LUNR) stock soared 30% Monday after the company reported fourth-quarter revenue that climbed 79% year over year and touted opportunities in areas such as national security. The company's shares had their biggest daily percentage increase since Sept. 19, 2024, when they rose 24.2%.
The company ended the quarter with a record backlog of $328.3 million, a 22% year-over-year increase and the highest quarter-ending backlog in its history.
Related: Intuitive Machines ends 2nd moon mission after lander topples over in crater - but there are positives ahead
"Today, we stand stronger than ever - financially secure, debt-free, and ready to take the next leap," Chief Executive Steve Altemus said in a statement.
The company's robust backlog has already been cited as a positive for Intuitive Machines, which has won a slew of lucrative contracts, including NASA's Near Space Network contract, which could be worth up to $4.82 billion.
Speaking during a conference call to discuss the results, Altemus said that the company's next moon mission, IM-3, is on track for this time next year. The mission will also deploy the first of five data-relay satellites for the NSN contract, he said. Another mission, IM-4, will carry the second and third satellites in the second half of 2027, and the fourth and fifth satellites will go up about a year after that, according to Altemus.
The CEO also highlighted opportunities for Intuitive Machines under the Trump administration, which has vowed to champion U.S. space exploration.
"The fourth quarter welcomed a new administration that is revamping the whole of government, and NASA is not excluded from that," he said. "There has been a shift in how the federal government approaches the acquisition of technology-based goods and services, and we believe Intuitive Machines is well positioned for this."
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He continued: "The new administration has signaled a strong emphasis on stretching the federal dollar by shifting from large, government-owned cost-plus development programs to commercial service models that leverage private-sector innovation, that demand service providers thrive in a fixed-price ecosystem."
Officials have been pushing for more fixed-price contracts in an attempt to speed up space projects. In 2022, Bill Nelson, who was then NASA administrator, described cost-plus contracts, where a contractor is paid for the costs associated with a project in addition to a fee, as a "plague."
"The federal government changes, and uncertainty at NASA is an opportunity for Intuitive Machines to expand our customer base into areas like national-security space and broaden our service footprint in addition to lunar," Altemus said.
Intuitive Machines' revenue for the three months ending Dec. 31, 2024, was $54.7 million, up from $30.6 million in the prior year's quarter. Analysts surveyed by FactSet were looking for revenue of $55.7 million.
Intuitive Machines reported a net loss of $149.3 million, compared with a profit of $7.7 million in the prior year's quarter. Intuitive Machines did not provide a loss-per-share number. Analysts surveyed by FactSet were expecting a loss of 8 cents a share.
The Houston-based company gave a full-year revenue outlook of $250 million to $300 million, below the FactSet consensus estimate of $329.6 million.
Intuitive Machines is one of a number of space stocks that have been in the spotlight recently. Earlier this month, the company's Athena lander toppled over after touching down on the moon, although mission controllers were able to communicate with it. Intuitive Machines ended the mission after less than 24 hours on the surface.
Last year Intuitive Machines made history when its Odysseus lander became the first commercial lander to successfully land on the moon's surface.
Intuitive Machines shares are up 42.9% in the last 12 months, outpacing the S&P 500 index's SPX gain of 10.5%.
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