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Globalstar Announces First Quarter 2026
Financial Results
Globalstar, Inc.
announced its financial results for the
first quarter ended March 31, 2026.
“We delivered
strong operational and financial results
in the first quarter, continuing the
momentum we built entering 2026,” said
Dr. Paul E. Jacobs, CEO of Globalstar.
“Demand is growing across our
government, defense, and private
wireless businesses, reflecting the
market's need for scalable, integrated
solutions across both satellite and
terrestrial based connectivity.
Subsequent to the quarter end, we
announced our entry into a merger
agreement with Amazon, which we believe
marks a significant milestone — one that
validates the long-term strategy
Globalstar has pursued for more than 30
years and positions us to deliver on the
vision of connecting users and devices
anywhere and anytime. Finally,
Globalstar greatly appreciates the
recent decision of the FCC’s Space
Bureau regarding the exclusive nature of
our licensed MSS spectrum.”
RECENT OPERATIONAL
HIGHLIGHTS
Pending Mergers
with Amazon.com, Inc.: On April 13,
2026, the Company entered into an
Agreement and Plan of Merger (the
“Merger Agreement”) with Amazon.com,
Inc. (“Amazon”), pursuant to which
Amazon intends to acquire the Company,
subject to the satisfaction of certain
conditions (collectively, the
“Mergers”). Globalstar satellites, radio
frequency spectrum, and operational
expertise will enable Amazon Leo to add
direct-to-device services to future
generations of its low Earth orbit
satellite network. Globalstar
stockholders will elect to receive for
each share of Globalstar common stock
they own either (i) $90.00 in cash or
(ii) 0.3210 shares of Amazon common
stock with a value capped at $90.00 per
share. This consideration is subject to
a proration mechanism that caps
aggregate cash elections to a maximum of
40% of total outstanding Globalstar
shares at the applicable effective time,
and is subject to a downward adjustment
of a maximum $110 million in the event
Globalstar does not achieve certain
operational milestones. Globalstar's
majority stockholder and certain of its
affiliated entities have approved the
transaction by written consent. The
Mergers are expected to close in 2027,
subject to the satisfaction of certain
closing conditions under the Merger
Agreement, including required regulatory
approvals.
Next-Generation
Satellite Network Development:
Complementing the replacement satellites
for our second-generation constellation
expected to be launched this year, our
third-generation, or C-3, constellation
comprised of over 50 satellites is
designed to expand network capacity,
enhance service durability, and position
Globalstar to deliver reliable
connectivity across its global footprint
and support increasing demand for
direct-to-device, IoT and enterprise
applications. The regulatory foundation
for Globalstar's expanding MSS was
further strengthened in April, when the
FCC's Space Bureau reaffirmed
Globalstar's exclusive MSS operating
rights in the Big LEO spectrum band,
rejecting with prejudice requests by
multiple satellite operators to share
its licensed spectrum.
XCOM RAN Ecosystem
Progress: Advanced the commercial
momentum of XCOM RAN through the launch
of an end-to-end 5G private network
solution, including radios with Band n53
support, a core network, a management
and orchestration module, and 5G
supported routers.
Government and
Defense Market Expansion: Expanded
engagement across government and defense
sectors, aligned with a broader market
shift toward low size, weight, power,
and cost (SWaP-C) technologies and
significant IoT deployments.
Globalstar’s satellite network and
connectivity solutions are well suited
to support distributed sensing, asset
tracking, and autonomous systems
operating in infrastructure-limited
environments.
Market Alignment
with Physical AI and Next-Generation
Applications: Continued to align its
technology portfolio with emerging
trends in physical AI, where real-time
data processing, automation, and
intelligent systems require reliable,
low-latency connectivity. Globalstar’s
integrated satellite and private
wireless capabilities position the
Company to support these evolving use
cases across industrial, enterprise, and
government environments.
FIRST QUARTER
FINANCIAL REVIEW
Revenue
Total revenue for
the first quarter of 2026 was $70.1
million, including $66.7 million of
service revenue and $3.4 million of
revenue generated from subscriber
equipment sales.
Service revenue
increased $9.6 million, or 17%,
primarily due to increased wholesale
capacity services revenue, and revenue
from subscriber equipment sales
increased $0.4 million, or 13%, each
compared to the prior year's first
quarter.
The increase in
service revenue associated with
wholesale capacity services was
primarily due to additional service fees
associated with the reimbursement of
network-related costs. Additionally,
Commercial IoT service revenue increased
due to growth in the subscriber base and
favorable customer pricing, and
government and other services revenue
increased due to higher revenue
associated with our service agreement
with Parsons Corporation as we moved
beyond the proof of concept phase in
2025 and into the first year of service.
The increase in
revenue from subscriber equipment sales
benefited from a higher volume of
Commercial IoT and SPOT device sales.
Partially
offsetting the increases discussed above
were declines in Duplex and SPOT service
revenue due to subscriber churn over the
last twelve months.
Income (Loss) from
Operations
Income from
operations was $8.2 million during the
first quarter of 2026, compared to loss
from operations of $8.5 million during
the prior year's first quarter. This
improvement was due to higher revenue
(discussed above) as well as a decrease
in total operating expenses.
The decrease in
operating expenses was due to a noncash
disposal of assets recognized during the
first quarter of 2025 that did not recur
in 2026 as well as lower stock-based
compensation and depreciation expense.
Partially offsetting these decreases
were higher cost of services and
marketing, general and administrative
(“MG&A”) expenses. Higher cost of
services resulted primarily from network
operating costs to support the build out
of our next-generation ground network
infrastructure, a significant portion of
which are reimbursed to us and
recognized as revenue. MG&A expenses
were higher than the prior year's first
quarter due primarily to personnel costs
and increased legal fees due to
transaction costs related to the
Mergers. Also contributing to the
increase in cost of services and MG&A
expenses was the recognition of employee
retention credits received in the first
quarter of 2025 that did not recur in
2026.
Net Loss
Net loss was $17.4
million for the first quarter of 2026,
compared to $17.3 million for the prior
year's first quarter. The slight
increase was due to higher interest
expense resulting from our recognition
of non-cash imputed interest related to
the 2024 Prepayment Agreement (as
defined in our periodic reports) as well
as net foreign currency losses due to
the remeasurement of intercompany
balances, offset partially by a
favorable change in income from
operations (discussed above).
Adjusted EBITDA
Adjusted EBITDA was
$33.5 million during the first quarter
of 2026 compared to $30.4 million during
the prior year's first quarter. Higher
revenue was partially offset by an
increase in operating expenses
(excluding adjustments for non-cash or
non-recurring items) due to investment
in growth opportunities. Specifically,
while we continue to enhance and develop
our XCOM RAN product and service
offerings, we incur costs, primarily for
personnel, in advance of significant
revenue.
Adjusted EBITDA is
a non-GAAP financial measure. For more
information, refer to “Reconciliation of
GAAP Net Income (Loss) to Non-GAAP
Adjusted EBITDA.”
Liquidity
As of March 31,
2026, we held cash and cash equivalents
of $358.4 million, compared to $447.5
million as of December 31, 2025.
During the first
quarter of 2026, net cash flows
generated from operations were $35.2
million, capital expenditures were
$116.4 million and net cash flows used
in financing activities were $8.0
million. Cash and cash equivalents were
also positively impacted by a $0.2
million effect of exchange rate changes.
Operating cash flows included cash flows
generated from the business and a $7.5
million accelerated service fee payment
from the Customer pursuant to the
Updated Services Agreements. Capital
expenditures were primarily associated
with our commitments under the Updated
Services Agreements related to the
deployment of the replacement satellites
and Extended MSS Network.
Adjusted free cash
flow during the first quarter of 2026
was $28.9 million compared to $47.6
million during the same period in 2025.
This decrease was primarily due to the
timing of cash receipts pursuant to the
Updated Services Agreements — $7.5
million in accelerated service fees were
paid to us during the first quarter of
2026 compared to $22.5 million during
the first quarter of 2025. Adjusted free
cash flow is a non-GAAP financial
measure. For more information, refer to
“Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Adjusted
Free Cash Flow.”
The principal
amount of our debt was $403.8 million at
March 31, 2026, compared to $410.0
million at December 31, 2025. This
decrease was due to the final recoupment
of $6.3 million under the 2021 Funding
Agreement.
In connection with
the Merger Agreement, the Company and
Customer entered into an amendment to
the 2024 Prepayment Agreement, pursuant
to which the parties increased the
maximum amount of the High Power
Infrastructure Prepayment Balance (as
defined in the 2024 Prepayment
Agreement) by approximately $468 million
to an aggregate maximum Infrastructure
Prepayment amount of approximately $1.6
billion.
Capitalized terms
not defined herein have the meaning
given to such terms in our periodic
reports.
SUSPENSION OF
FINANCIAL OUTLOOK AND CONFERENCE CALLS
In connection with
the pending Mergers with Amazon.com,
Inc., Globalstar does not intend to hold
future earnings conference calls or
provide updates to forward-looking
guidance.
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