York Space Systems’ first earnings call highlighted what management described as an “inflection point” in 2025, driven by faster program execution, a growing role in U.S. national security space architectures, and strategic acquisitions aimed at tightening control of key mission capabilities.
CEO Dirk Wallinger said the company grew revenue 52% year over year and ended 2025 with “clear line of sight to profitability in 2026.” He framed York Space Systems’ strategy as disrupting legacy satellite procurement with an industrialized model built around standardized, modular spacecraft platforms and an integrated approach that spans manufacturing, launch procurement, mission operations, and sustainment.
Operational milestones and platform expansion
Among the year’s most significant events, York launched 21 satellites for the Department of Defense on September 10, delivering what Wallinger called the first operational communications satellites in orbit for the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture (PWSA). He said York delivered its satellites to orbit one month ahead of its nearest competitor and confirmed the health of all spacecraft within hours of separation through York’s classified Mission Operations Center in Denver. Wallinger said York expects to launch a second plane of satellites for Tranche 1.
Wallinger also highlighted technical demonstrations completed in 2025, including in-plane, cross-vendor, and space-to-ground optical laser communications, K-band connectivity, orbit maneuvering, and what he described as the only-ever demonstration of Link 16 from space to ground.
On platforms, Wallinger said York’s S-CLASS spacecraft has flown across multiple missions since 2018. He said the company expanded that architecture with the LX-CLASS platform, which shares about 80% of its hardware and nearly all of its software with S-CLASS. In 2025, York introduced its M-class platform, which Wallinger said supports payloads in excess of 8 kW of power and extends York’s core architecture into higher power mission sets without redesigning the underlying system.
Commercial and government demand signals
Wallinger said York recently finalized a $187 million commercial contract for a “20+ satellite constellation” built on the M-class platform. He characterized it as York’s fifth commercial contract and the first constellation in a series planned for that customer.
In Q&A, management said they could not disclose the customer and could not provide specific delivery timing, with Wallinger noting that readiness and launch timing for operational systems is controlled information. He did say production is “very far along” and shipping is “imminent.” CFO Kevin Messerle later added that the company is still fine-tuning launch expectations with the customer and is not anticipating “substantial revenue recognition” from that contract in 2026.
Wallinger also said York has won two indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) contracts for different classified customers, describing the awards as “late-breaking news.” He said more details would be discussed in the coming weeks subject to what the company is allowed to disclose.
Management repeatedly pointed to increased urgency in U.S. defense demand, citing a push toward proliferated architectures for resiliency and “fight through” capability and a broader effort to improve coordination among disparate systems. Wallinger said that whether programs are labeled PWSA, Space Data Network, or something else, “nothing is going away,” emphasizing communications as foundational. He suggested transport layer capabilities would likely be incorporated into a broader “Space Data Network” architecture, though he described the outlook as his “best guess” while the government works through details.
Acquisitions: ground network and propulsion vertical integration
York’s 2025 strategy included acquisitions to bring critical capabilities in-house. Wallinger said York acquired ATLAS Space Operations in the third quarter of 2025, adding a global ground station network and a software-defined operations platform. He said the acquisition reduced dependency on constrained third-party ground capacity and was essential in quickly confirming spacecraft health after the September launch. Management said ATLAS will continue operating under its existing brand and serve its broader customer base.
Wallinger also discussed the acquisition of Orbion Space Technology, a Michigan-based supplier of electrical propulsion systems that he said has already delivered at scale for York missions. In response to analyst questions, Wallinger confirmed this was the acquisition contemplated in the company’s S-1 filing. He said Orbion’s hardware has performed well in orbit and that the deal is intended to reduce supply chain risk, improve schedule certainty, and better align technology roadmaps with growing constellation demand. Like ATLAS, Orbion will continue operating as a wholly owned subsidiary serving customers across the industry.
Management said it is not providing specific guidance on Orbion’s standalone revenue contribution, though Messerle confirmed Orbion is included in consolidated guidance. Messerle also explained that because Orbion and ATLAS have both York and non-York business, the consolidated financial impact is primarily from their non-York revenue, while vertical integration is expected to support margin improvement by reducing third-party profit embedded in supplier costs.
Financial results: revenue growth, margin expansion, and 2026 outlook
Messerle reported full-year 2025 revenue of $386.2 million, up $132.7 million, or 52%, from the prior year. He said substantially all revenue is derived from long-term fixed firm price contracts and recognized using a percentage-of-completion method. The year-over-year increase was primarily driven by increased completion on two transport layer Tranche 2 contracts.
Gross margin for 2025 was 20%, up 7 percentage points year over year, which Messerle attributed to improved program mix and fewer negative estimate-at-completion (EAC) adjustments. Contribution margin—defined as revenue less material costs—was 32% in 2025, up from 30% in 2024, while contribution margin dollars increased 63% to $122 million. Messerle said the company targets a 35% contribution margin on new business and that newer programs have higher margins than older programs, citing better material cost forecasting and a more rigorous pricing process that includes management reserves.
Operating expenses rose more slowly than revenue: Messerle said SG&A plus R&D increased 8% year over year, while York also incurred about $12.1 million of one-time transaction costs tied to M&A and IPO-related professional fees. Loss per share was $0.89 for 2025. Capital expenditures were $8.9 million, down from $18 million in 2024.
For the fourth quarter, York reported revenue of $105 million (up 38% year over year), gross profit margin of 20%, operating expenses of $38.2 million, contribution margin of 33%, and adjusted EBITDA of negative $1.4 million versus negative $4 million in the prior-year quarter.
On liquidity, Messerle said York ended 2025 with $162.6 million in cash and cash equivalents and $150 million available under its revolving facility, for total liquidity of $312.6 million. He said the company completed its IPO on January 30, 2026, selling 18.5 million shares at $34 per share and receiving net proceeds of $582.6 million. Total liquidity at January 31 was $895.2 million, according to Messerle.
For 2026, York guided to revenue of $545 million to $595 million, which would represent 48% growth at the midpoint. Messerle said over 70% of expected 2026 revenue is projected to come from existing backlog, with the remainder expected from new business in the back half of the year. He said the company expects government contract awards to begin around mid-year.
Management also discussed scale and capacity. Wallinger said production capacity is not a constraint, citing facilities in Willow, Wase, and Potomac, and said York has invested in capacity “on the order of” up to 1,000 satellites per year. Messerle added that York has 107 satellites in backlog currently being produced and expects those to launch across 2026 and 2027, with the company expecting 140 satellites on orbit by the end of 2027, “if not sooner.” He noted that the 107 figure does not include the newly announced commercial constellation.
In closing remarks, Wallinger pointed to expanding engagement across national defense, classified customers, and commercial constellations, and said the company intends to continue executing at scale.
About YSS (NYSE:YSS)
York Space Systems is a leading, U.S.-based, space and defense prime(1) providing a comprehensive suite of mission-critical solutions for national security, government and commercial customers. York is one of the only space and defense primes with proprietary hardware and software capabilities designed to address customers’ complex mission requirements across the critical elements of the entire space ecosystem throughout the mission lifecycle. York is the number one provider to the U.S. Department of Defense’s (“DoD”) Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture (“PWSA”) by number of spacecraft operating in-orbit, by number of contracts, and by variety of contract types as of September 2025.
