Sidus Space (NASDAQ:SIDU) used its fourth-quarter and full-year 2025 earnings call to outline progress moving from development to on-orbit operations and commercialization, while acknowledging near-term financial pressure tied to scaling a vertically integrated space and defense business.
Operational update: three LizzieSats launched, shift toward recurring payload operations
Chairwoman and CEO Carol Craig said 2025 marked a productive year as the company translated “several years of development into operational capabilities” supporting space and defense missions. Craig described Sidus as a U.S.-based, vertically integrated company spanning satellite design, manufacturing and operations, along with AI-enabled data capabilities.
- LizzieSat-1: Craig said the satellite successfully launched and established communications, enabling testing of the bus structure, radios, and internal payloads. She added Sidus executed requirements for a NASA mission, resulting in a follow-on contract for additional support on LizzieSat-1. Craig said the spacecraft enabled full commissioning of Sidus’ mission control center and has completed its mission, with the company beginning dispositioning while continuing to track its location for situational awareness and orbital monitoring.
- LizzieSat-2: Craig said the satellite was launched into equatorial inclination and remains in commissioning. Sidus continues to receive signals while working to establish “consistent and regular communication passes.” Craig noted equatorial commissioning is more challenging than polar orbits due to limited ground station access and fewer communication windows, but said the orbit was selected for its longer-term coverage advantages near the equator.
- LizzieSat-3: Craig said the satellite completed full bus-level commissioning, including validation of new autonomous guidance, navigation and control software, achieving pointing accuracy of less than 30 arc seconds. With commissioning complete, Craig said LizzieSat-3 is now supporting recurring customer payload operations, including near real-time maritime data through an AIS sensor and on-orbit imaging through HEO USA’s non-Earth imaging camera payload.
Craig framed the satellites as “company-owned and company-funded,” with multiple customers contributing revenue before and after launch. She said the dual-use, multi-mission approach is intended to create diversified revenue streams across commercial, civil, and defense customers.
Technology roadmap: Fortis VPX, software-defined satellites, and on-orbit upgrades
Craig highlighted ongoing development of Sidus’ Fortis VPX modular computing platform, including a SOSA-aligned single board computer and a PNT card designed for GPS-denied environments. She described Fortis as a ruggedized system meant to perform processing “from seafloor to space,” enabling more data to be processed closer to collection and reducing reliance on ground infrastructure.
Sidus is working with commercial customers, defense prime contractors, and systems integrators to evaluate Fortis VPX for use cases including satellite payload processing, unmanned systems, and ground-based computing at operational sites, Craig said. She added the company’s focus is converting evaluations into “long-term programs and support agreements.”
Craig also pointed to software-defined capabilities as a differentiator. She said LizzieSat’s architecture allows satellites to be updated and enhanced through software while in orbit. Over the past year, she said Sidus deployed autonomous navigation software and commissioned FeatherEdge 100i entirely on orbit, upgrading an operational asset without additional hardware or launch costs.
Defense and lunar initiatives: SHIELD IDIQ access and beyond-LEO efforts
Craig said Sidus is increasingly focused on defense markets, pointing to a recent award under the Missile Defense Agency’s 10-year SHIELD IDIQ contract. She described SHIELD as part of the broader “Golden Dome missile defense strategy,” aimed at layered protection across multiple domains. Craig said the contract vehicle is intended to enable faster delivery through digital engineering, open systems architectures, and, where appropriate, AI and machine learning.
Craig also outlined progress on lunar and GEO initiatives. She said Sidus signed an agreement to integrate the Lonestar commercial pathfinder mission onto LizzieSat-5, completed a systems requirement review and mission kickoff with an initial milestone payment received, introduced LunarLizzie as a next-generation lunar spacecraft concept, and executed an MOU with a partner to support development of a GEO platform.
Looking ahead, Craig said LizzieSat-4 and LizzieSat-5 are being developed as software-defined satellites incorporating capabilities such as laser communications and software-defined hyperspectral imaging. She also said LizzieSat-4 includes integration of the Lonestar payload, and noted the platform is intended to allow customers, including the Netherlands Organisation TNO, to adapt mission requirements on orbit.
Craig added that Sidus’ Mission Control Center is in its third year of “full 24/7 operations,” supporting satellite operations, collection management, and data distribution for both Sidus’ fleet and third-party customers. She also said Sidus entered a strategic collaboration with Simera Sense to advance AI-enabled hyperspectral imaging for near real-time, intelligence-driven Earth observation and situational awareness.
Financial results: revenue decline, higher costs, and increased losses amid scaling
Adarsh Parekh, Chief Financial Officer, reported full-year 2025 revenue of approximately $3.4 million, down from $4.7 million in 2024. Parekh said the decline aligned with Sidus’ “strategic shift away from legacy contract work” toward higher-value commercial space-based and AI-driven solutions, and noted milestone-based revenue recognition also affected year-over-year comparisons.
Cost of revenue was approximately $9.1 million, a 48% increase from $6.1 million in 2024. Parekh attributed the increase to:
- a $2.1 million increase in depreciation tied to satellite and software investments, reflecting the first full year of LizzieSat operations,
- a changing contract mix requiring greater material and labor inputs, and
- ongoing global supply chain pressures impacting manufacturing operations.
Gross loss for the year was approximately $5.7 million, compared with a loss of about $1.5 million in 2024. Parekh said the increased gross loss reflected higher non-cash depreciation and the transition away from legacy high-margin contracts. He added that when depreciation is added back (including depreciation in cost of revenue), gross loss was approximately $1.7 million compared with a gross profit of approximately $453,000 in 2024.
Selling, general and administrative expenses totaled $22.3 million, up from $14.2 million in the prior year. Parekh said the increase supported headcount additions, expanded employee benefits, equity-based compensation and performance-based bonuses initiated during 2025, increased mission operations expenses for the growing satellite fleet, and software tool infrastructure investments. He also said SG&A included a $4.5 million impairment of LS-1 and related assets, as well as depreciation and severance costs, as further described in the notes to the financial statements.
Adjusted EBITDA loss, which Parekh described as a non-GAAP measure used internally, was $17.3 million for 2025 compared with $12.9 million for 2024. Net loss for the year was $29.5 million, compared with $17.5 million in 2024, which Parekh said was primarily tied to investments in infrastructure, personnel and operational capacity, along with the LS-1 impairment and non-cash depreciation related to the expanding satellite fleet.
Liquidity and capital raises: higher cash balance and no term debt
Parekh said Sidus ended 2025 with $43.2 million in cash, up from $15.7 million at the end of 2024. During 2025, the company completed multiple capital raises totaling approximately $53.3 million in net proceeds from the issuance of approximately 47.1 million shares of Class A common stock. He added that Sidus entered 2026 with no outstanding term debt.
In closing remarks, Craig addressed investor questions about stock performance, saying the company viewed recent movement as driven by broader market conditions, volatility in small-cap and space technology sectors, and the timing of revenue during the transition toward product and platform-driven revenue streams.
Craig said Sidus took “proactive steps to strengthen our balance sheet” at the end of 2025. She said the approximately $41 million raised at the end of December was intended to improve liquidity, reduce financing friction, evaluate more favorable debt structures, and lower the company’s overall cost of capital as it enters the commercialization phase. Craig acknowledged dilution from equity financing, but said the company’s objective is to convert validated technology into repeatable revenue streams, margin expansion, and operating leverage.
Craig highlighted several areas she said investors should watch over the next 12 to 18 months, including continued production of LS-4 and LS-5, early customer deployment of Fortis VPX, increased focus on defense opportunities, and progress on hyperspectral imaging collaboration with Simera Sense and other partners.
About Sidus Space (NASDAQ:SIDU)
Sidus Space Inc (NASDAQ: SIDU) is an end-to-end space-as-a-service company headquartered in Houston, Texas. The firm provides mission design, spacecraft manufacturing, ground segment infrastructure and mission operations through a turnkey approach tailored to commercial and government customers. Sidus leverages its integrated supply chain to support client missions from concept development through data delivery.
The company’s product offerings include small satellite buses, flight computers, payload integration services and proprietary ground control software, supplemented by cloud-based data processing and analytics tools.
