Viasat (VSAT) reported a net loss of $51.7M, or $0.38 per share, on revenue of $1.16B for its first fiscal quarter ended June 30, 2026, according to filing data. Both figures missed analyst estimates. The result matters because Viasat is a large, debt-heavy example of the satellite-connectivity theme, where heavy spending on networks has to turn into steady profit.
Key facts
- Aug. 4, 2026: Viasat reported a loss of $0.38 per share against an estimate of a $0.32 loss. Revenue of $1.16B came in below the $1.20B estimate.
- Quarter ended June 30, 2026: operating income was $47.3M, against $46.7M a year earlier.
- Same quarter: free cash flow (cash from operations minus capital spending) was $41.6M. Capital expenditure was $218.9M.
- As of June 30, 2026: cash and short-term investments were $1.74B against total debt of $6.93B, leaving net debt of $5.19B.
- Oct. 16, 2026: the shares were last quoted at $58.83, down 4.34%. The 52-week range is $29.13 to $93.03, and market cap is $8.10B.
- Next report: Nov. 6, 2026. Analysts expect a loss of about $0.42 per share on revenue of about $1.20B.
What happened
The theme. Satellite companies sell connections to places where cables and cell towers do not reach: airplanes, ships, remote government sites and rural homes. Building and launching satellites costs a great deal up front, and the revenue arrives slowly over many years. Investors in this group are mostly asking one question: when do the networks earn more than they cost to build and finance? The peer group shows how different the answers are. AST SpaceMobile (ASTS) has a market cap of $16.60B and a net margin of -536.7%, meaning it loses far more than it sells. Globalstar (GSAT) has a net margin of -21.3%. Gogo (GOGO) is near break-even at -0.1%. Gilat (GILT) is profitable at 6.2%.
Viasat's quarter. Revenue for the quarter ended June 30, 2026 was $1.16B, down 1.2% from $1.17B a year earlier. Net loss narrowed from $56.4M to $51.7M, an 8.3% improvement. Operating income edged up even though sales dipped.
The revenue split explains the dip. Service revenue, the recurring part from subscriptions and network use, rose to $832.4M from $826.4M a year earlier. Product revenue, which is equipment sales and tends to be lumpier, fell to $324.1M from $344.7M. By geography, the United States contributed $788.4M and non-US customers $368.1M.
The miss versus estimates was small in dollars but visible in percentages. Revenue was $43.2M, or 3.6%, below the estimate. The loss per share was about 19.8% wider than analysts expected.
The data available for this article did not include a call transcript or a company release with figures, so we do not quote management here. Readers should check Viasat's own filing for the reasons it gives for the equipment decline and for its outlook.
Why it matters for investors
The five-quarter trend. Margins moved a lot over the last five quarters. Gross margin (what is left after direct costs of delivering products and services) ran like this:
- Quarter ended June 30, 2025: 35.0%
- Quarter ended Sept. 30, 2025: 33.7%
- Quarter ended Dec. 31, 2025: 27.1%
- Quarter ended March 31, 2026: 25.2%
- Quarter ended June 30, 2026: 35.7%
Net income was uneven because it includes interest, taxes and one-time items. It was a loss of $56.4M, a loss of $61.4M, a profit of $25.0M, a profit of $58.8M, and then a loss of $51.7M. Operating profit stayed positive in most of those quarters, so the swings in the bottom line came from items below that line. Our data does not say what those items were.
Cash flow. Free cash flow was positive in all five quarters: $60.4M, $68.5M, $444.2M, $24.0M and $41.6M. The $444.2M figure for the quarter ended Dec. 31, 2025 stands out, because operating cash flow that quarter was $726.9M. The latest quarter's $41.6M is much closer to the ordinary range. Capital spending has stayed heavy, between $198.0M and $298.3M a quarter. Viasat bought back $28.7M of stock in the latest quarter, the most of the five, and pays no dividend.
Balance sheet. Net debt of $5.19B is large next to the $8.10B market cap. Debt-to-equity is 1.49. The Altman Z-score (a bankruptcy-risk gauge) of 0.94 points to financial stress, while the Piotroski score (a 0-9 health checklist) of 5 is middling. Low readings on the Altman measure are generally read as a warning sign, though the score was built for traditional companies and fits capital-heavy firms imperfectly.
Valuation. On trailing 12-month figures, price-to-sales is 1.75, EV/EBITDA (enterprise value, which adds net debt to market cap, divided by operating earnings before depreciation) is 7.41, and price-to-free-cash-flow is 14.01. The P/E of -226.27 is not meaningful because earnings are negative. Net margin is -0.6%. Next to peers, Viasat's loss is small compared with ASTS and GSAT, though GOGO's net margin of -0.1% is closer to break-even than Viasat's, and GILT is the only profitable name in the group. One model, FMP's discounted cash flow estimate, puts value at -$188.43 per share. Treat that as a sign the model struggles with a company this indebted, not as a price signal.
Analysts. Of 20 ratings, 8 are buy, 8 hold and 4 sell, for a consensus of Buy. The average price target is $94.29, the median $97.00, with a range of $49.00 to $140.00. The Oct. 16 quote of $58.83 sits below the average target but above the low end. Targets are opinions and often change after earnings.
Our MoonshotScore. Stock Expert AI's MoonshotScore V2 for Viasat is 31.7, which we label Weak. The pillars, each measured against its sector, are:
- Valuation: 76 (strong)
- Momentum: 73 (strong)
- Growth: 63 (above average)
- Quality: 48 (middling)
- Safety: 17 (weak)
What could go wrong. The main risks are visible in the numbers:
- Revenue slipped and missed estimates, led by lower equipment sales.
- Net debt is heavy, so interest costs can absorb operating profit.
- Capital spending uses most of the cash the business generates.
- Operating margin is thin at 4.1%, and it dipped below zero in the prior quarter, the quarter ended March 31, 2026.
- No insider has bought in the open market in the last 90 days, while there were 6 sales. Insider sales can have many causes, so this is context rather than a verdict.
- The shares have ranged from $29.13 to $93.03 in 52 weeks, so price swings are large.
What to watch next
- Nov. 6, 2026 report. Analysts expect a loss of about $0.42 per share on revenue of about $1.20B. Another miss would add to the pattern from August.
- Gross and operating margin. Whether the recovery to 35.7% and 4.1% holds is the clearest sign of the business stabilizing.
- Free cash flow versus capital spending. Watch whether spending eases or cash from operations grows.
- Debt. Look for any change in the $6.93B total debt figure.
- Longer-range estimates. Two analysts expect revenue of about $1.38B for the quarter ending June 30, 2028 and about $1.49B for the quarter ending Sept. 30, 2028, with small positive earnings per share of $0.12 and $0.11. That is a small group of forecasts, and they are far out.
Frequently asked questions
Q: Did Viasat beat or miss earnings in its latest quarter?
It missed. For the quarter ended June 30, 2026, reported Aug. 4, 2026, Viasat posted a loss of $0.38 per share versus an estimate of a $0.32 loss. Revenue of $1.16B was below the $1.20B estimate.
Q: Is Viasat profitable?
It is profitable at the operating level but not after all costs. Operating income was $47.3M in the quarter ended June 30, 2026, yet net income was a loss of $51.7M. Over the trailing 12 months, net margin was -0.6%, so the company is close to break-even but not there.
Q: How much debt does Viasat have?
As of June 30, 2026, total debt was $6.93B and cash and short-term investments were $1.74B, leaving net debt of $5.19B. Shareholders' equity was $4.64B. This debt load is consistent with our safety pillar scoring only 17.
This article is for information only and is not investment advice.
This is educational content, not investment advice. Past performance does not guarantee future results.