BlackSky Technology Inc. (BKSY)
SIC breadcrumb: Manufacturing > Electronic And Other Electrical Equipment And Components, Except Computer Equipment > SIC 3663 Radio & Tv Broadcasting & Communications Equipment
SEC company page: https://www.sec.gov/edgar/browse/?CIK=1753539. Latest filing source: 0001753539-26-000032.
Informational only - descriptive public-record data, not investment advice.
Business
Read BKSY's verbatim Item 1 Business section from its latest 10-K: Business.
Risk Factors
Read BKSY's verbatim Item 1A Risk Factors from its latest 10-K: Risk Factors.
Selected Fundamentals
| Metric | Value | Unit | FY | Filed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | 106,575,000 | USD | 2025 | 2026-03-17 |
| Net income | -70,260,000 | USD | 2025 | 2026-03-17 |
| Assets | 386,246,000 | USD | 2025 | 2026-03-17 |
Financials
Annual standardized facts from SEC companyfacts as of latest extracted filing date 2026-03-17. Source: https://data.sec.gov/api/xbrl/companyfacts/CIK0001753539.json. Derived margins, ratios, and free cash flow are computed from the extracted annual SEC facts.
| Metric | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | 21,135,000 | 34,085,000 | 65,350,000 | 94,492,000 | 102,093,000 | 106,575,000 | ||
| Net income | -2,177 | -7,209,680 | -19,535,000 | -245,643,000 | -74,172,000 | -53,859,000 | -57,218,000 | -70,260,000 |
| Operating income | -2,177 | -264,346 | -41,395,000 | -120,143,000 | -86,549,000 | -55,980,000 | -44,288,000 | -46,901,000 |
| Diluted EPS | -0.60 | -3.39 | -0.63 | -3.18 | -2.67 | -2.09 | ||
| Operating cash flow | -689 | -286,574 | -31,674,000 | -53,872,000 | -44,456,000 | -17,421,000 | -6,384,000 | -28,311,000 |
| Assets | 214,338 | 318,245,958 | 119,915,000 | 305,763,000 | 234,090,000 | 224,066,000 | 254,146,000 | 386,246,000 |
| Liabilities | 191,515 | 33,152,118 | 152,728,000 | 126,143,000 | 112,216,000 | 130,907,000 | 160,157,000 | 291,371,000 |
| Stockholders' equity | 22,823 | -18,295,000 | -32,813,000 | 179,620,000 | 121,874,000 | 93,159,000 | 93,989,000 | 94,875,000 |
| Cash and cash equivalents | 5,098,000 | 165,586,000 | 34,181,000 | 32,815,000 | 13,056,000 | 42,445,000 |
Ratios
| Metric | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Net margin | -92.43% | -113.50% | -57.00% | -56.04% | -65.93% | |||
| Operating margin | -132.44% | -59.24% | -43.38% | -44.01% | ||||
| Return on equity | -9.54% | -136.76% | -60.86% | -57.81% | -60.88% | -74.06% | ||
| Return on assets | -1.02% | -2.27% | -16.29% | -80.34% | -31.69% | -24.04% | -22.51% | -18.19% |
| Liabilities / equity | 8.39 | 0.70 | 0.92 | 1.41 | 1.70 | 3.07 | ||
| Current ratio | 0.22 | 4.65 | 0.33 | 5.85 | 3.29 | 2.89 | 4.10 | 3.48 |
Industry Peer Context
Net margin peer context
Operating margin peer context
ROE peer context
ROA peer context
Financial Charts
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-12-31; accession 0001753539-26-000032; filed 2026-03-17. Concept: RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax. Source concepts: us-gaap:RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-12-31; accession 0001753539-26-000032; filed 2026-03-17. Concept: NetIncomeLoss. Source concepts: us-gaap:NetIncomeLoss.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-12-31; accession 0001753539-26-000032; filed 2026-03-17. Concept: OperatingIncomeLoss. Source concepts: us-gaap:OperatingIncomeLoss.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-12-31; accession 0001753539-26-000032; filed 2026-03-17. Concept: EarningsPerShareDiluted. Source concepts: us-gaap:EarningsPerShareDiluted.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-12-31; accession 0001753539-26-000032; filed 2026-03-17. Concept: NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities. Source concepts: us-gaap:NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-12-31; accession 0001753539-26-000032; filed 2026-03-17. Concept: Assets. Source concepts: us-gaap:Assets.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-12-31; accession 0001753539-26-000032; filed 2026-03-17. Concept: Liabilities. Source concepts: us-gaap:Liabilities.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-12-31; accession 0001753539-26-000032; filed 2026-03-17. Concept: StockholdersEquity. Source concepts: us-gaap:StockholdersEquity.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-12-31; accession 0001753539-26-000032; filed 2026-03-17. Concept: CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue. Source concepts: us-gaap:CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue.
Quarterly
Quarterly standardized facts from SEC companyfacts as of latest extracted filing date 2026-05-07. Source: https://data.sec.gov/api/xbrl/companyfacts/CIK0001753539.json.
| Quarter | End Date | Revenue | Net Income | Diluted EPS | Method |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021-Q3 | 2021-09-30 | -0.67 | reported discrete quarter | ||
| 2022-Q1 | 2022-03-31 | -0.17 | reported discrete quarter | ||
| 2022-Q2 | 2022-03-31 | -19,988,000 | reported discrete quarter | ||
| 2022-Q2 | 2022-06-30 | 15,102,000 | -0.22 | reported discrete quarter | |
| 2022-Q3 | 2022-06-30 | -26,278,000 | reported discrete quarter | ||
| 2022-Q3 | 2022-09-30 | 16,935,000 | -0.11 | reported discrete quarter | |
| 2022-Q4 | 2022-12-31 | 19,417,000 | -14,858,000 | derived Q4 = FY annual - nine-month YTD | |
| 2024-Q1 | 2024-03-31 | 24,236,000 | -15,810,000 | -0.11 | reported discrete quarter |
| 2024-Q2 | 2024-03-31 | -15,810,000 | reported discrete quarter | ||
| 2024-Q2 | 2024-06-30 | 24,938,000 | -0.06 | reported discrete quarter | |
| 2024-Q3 | 2024-06-30 | -9,397,000 | reported discrete quarter | ||
| 2024-Q3 | 2024-09-30 | 22,549,000 | -0.66 | reported discrete quarter | |
| 2024-Q4 | 2024-12-31 | 30,370,000 | -19,420,000 | derived Q4 = FY annual - nine-month YTD | |
| 2025-Q1 | 2025-03-31 | 29,544,000 | -12,813,000 | -0.42 | reported discrete quarter |
| 2025-Q2 | 2025-03-31 | -12,813,000 | reported discrete quarter | ||
| 2025-Q2 | 2025-06-30 | 22,199,000 | -1.27 | reported discrete quarter | |
| 2025-Q3 | 2025-06-30 | -41,239,000 | reported discrete quarter | ||
| 2025-Q3 | 2025-09-30 | 19,618,000 | -0.44 | reported discrete quarter | |
| 2025-Q4 | 2025-12-31 | 35,214,000 | -868,000 | derived Q4 = FY annual - nine-month YTD | |
| 2026-Q1 | 2026-03-31 | 20,774,000 | -29,663,000 | -0.82 | reported discrete quarter |
Quarterly Charts
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2026 ended 2026-03-31; accession 0001753539-26-000064; filed 2026-05-07. Concept: RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax. Source concepts: us-gaap:RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2026 ended 2026-03-31; accession 0001753539-26-000064; filed 2026-05-07. Concept: NetIncomeLoss. Source concepts: us-gaap:NetIncomeLoss.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2026 ended 2026-03-31; accession 0001753539-26-000064; filed 2026-05-07. Concept: EarningsPerShareDiluted. Source concepts: us-gaap:EarningsPerShareDiluted.
Macro Cross-References
- CPIAUCSL - Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers: All Items in U.S. City Average
- UNRATE - Unemployment Rate
- FEDFUNDS - Federal Funds Effective Rate
- CES0500000003 - Average Hourly Earnings of All Employees, Total Private
- DFEDTARU - Federal Funds Target Range - Upper Limit
- DFEDTARL - Federal Funds Target Range - Lower Limit
- DGS3MO - Market Yield on U.S. Treasury Securities at 3-Month Constant Maturity
- DGS2 - Market Yield on U.S. Treasury Securities at 2-Year Constant Maturity
- DGS10 - Market Yield on U.S. Treasury Securities at 10-Year Constant Maturity
- DGS30 - Market Yield on U.S. Treasury Securities at 30-Year Constant Maturity
- T10Y2Y - 10-Year Treasury Constant Maturity Minus 2-Year Treasury Constant Maturity
- CPILFESL - Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers: All Items Less Food and Energy
- CPIUFDSL - Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers: Food
- CPIENGSL - Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers: Energy
- CUSR0000SAH1 - Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers: Shelter
- PCEPI - Personal Consumption Expenditures: Chain-type Price Index
- PCEPILFE - Personal Consumption Expenditures Excluding Food and Energy: Chain-type Price Index
- PPIACO - Producer Price Index by Commodity: All Commodities
- T10YIE - 10-Year Breakeven Inflation Rate
- U6RATE - Total Unemployed, Plus All Marginally Attached Workers Plus Total Employed Part Time for Economic Reasons
- PAYEMS - All Employees, Total Nonfarm
- CIVPART - Labor Force Participation Rate
- EMRATIO - Employment-Population Ratio
- UNEMPLOY - Unemployed
- CE16OV - Employment Level
- ICSA - Initial Claims
- JTSJOL - Job Openings: Total Nonfarm
- JTSQUR - Quits: Total Nonfarm
- GDPC1 - Real Gross Domestic Product
- A191RL1Q225SBEA - Real Gross Domestic Product: Percent Change from Preceding Period
- INDPRO - Industrial Production: Total Index
- TCU - Capacity Utilization: Total Index
- HOUST - New Privately-Owned Housing Units Started: Total Units
- PERMIT - New Privately-Owned Housing Units Authorized in Permit-Issuing Places: Total Units
- RSAFS - Advance Retail Sales: Retail Trade
- PCE - Personal Consumption Expenditures
- DSPIC96 - Real Disposable Personal Income
- PSAVERT - Personal Saving Rate
- M2SL - M2
- BOPGSTB - U.S. International Trade in Goods and Services: Balance
- MSPUS - Median Sales Price of Houses Sold for the United States
- HSN1F - New One Family Houses Sold: United States
- RHORUSQ156N - Homeownership Rate in the United States
- TTLCONS - Total Construction Spending: Total Construction in the United States
- RRVRUSQ156N - Rental Vacancy Rate in the United States
- TOTALSL - Total Consumer Credit Owned and Securitized
- REVOLSL - Revolving Consumer Credit Owned and Securitized
- DRCCLACBS - Delinquency Rate on Credit Card Loans, All Commercial Banks
- GDP - Gross Domestic Product
- GPDI - Gross Private Domestic Investment
- GCE - Government Consumption Expenditures and Gross Investment
- PCEC - Personal Consumption Expenditures
- NETEXP - Net Exports of Goods and Services
- GFDEBTN - Federal Debt: Total Public Debt
- GFDEGDQ188S - Federal Debt: Total Public Debt as Percent of Gross Domestic Product
- FYFSD - Federal Surplus or Deficit
- FGRECPT - Federal Government Current Receipts
- FGEXPND - Federal Government: Current Expenditures
- MANEMP - All Employees, Manufacturing
- USCONS - All Employees, Construction
- USTRADE - All Employees, Retail Trade
- USFIRE - All Employees, Financial Activities
- USGOVT - All Employees, Government
- AWHAETP - Average Weekly Hours of All Employees, Total Private
- DGORDER - Manufacturers' New Orders: Durable Goods
- NEWORDER - Manufacturers' New Orders: Nondefense Capital Goods Excluding Aircraft
- BUSINV - Total Business Inventories
- EXPGS - Exports of Goods and Services
- IMPGS - Imports of Goods and Services
- IR - Import Price Index (End Use): All Commodities
- PPIFIS - Producer Price Index by Commodity: Final Demand
Latest quarter (10-Q)
Latest 10-Q source: 0001753539-26-000064.
ITEM 2. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
The following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with our consolidated financial statements and related notes appearing elsewhere in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q. As discussed in the section titled “Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements,” the following discussion and analysis contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, as well as assumptions that, if they never materialize or prove incorrect, could cause our results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause or contribute to these differences include, but are not limited to, those discussed in the section titled “Risk Factors” under Part I, Item IA of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2025 and filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”). Unless the context otherwise requires, references in this “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” to “BlackSky,” “the Company,” “we,” “us” and “our” refer to the business and operations of BlackSky Holdings, Inc. (“Legacy BlackSky”) and its consolidated subsidiaries prior to the completion of its merger on September 9, 2021 with a wholly-owned subsidiary of Osprey Technology Acquisition Corp. (the “Merger”) and of BlackSky Technology Inc. and its consolidated subsidiaries, following the closing of the Merger.
Company Overview
Founded in 2014, BlackSky is a space technology company that delivers real-time imagery, analytics and high-frequency monitoring of the world’s most critical and strategic locations, economic assets, and events. By taking a software-first technology approach, we are delivering real time space-based intelligence at disruptive speed, scale and economics. BlackSky is trusted by many of the most demanding U.S. and international government agencies and commercial businesses around the world. We are defining a new category of space-based intelligence products and services centered upon real-time imagery and automated analytics, delivered through an easy-to-use interface that operates seamlessly with our high-revisit and low latency satellite constellation. Our first-of-its-kind, purpose-built, secure artificial intelligence ("AI")-enabled space-to-ground architecture helps customers see, understand and anticipate change for a decisive strategic advantage. BlackSky can provide dynamic hourly monitoring over many of the most strategic locations on Earth up to 15 times per day from dawn to dusk.
BlackSky designs, builds, owns and operates the industry’s most advanced, purpose-built commercial, real-time intelligence system that combines the power of the BlackSky Spectra® tasking and analytics software platform with our high resolution, low earth orbit ("LEO") small satellite (“smallsat” or “smallsats”) constellation. Our Gen-3 satellites (“Gen-3”) include significantly enhanced capabilities, including 35-centimeter electro-optical imaging resolution and 1-meter short-wave infrared imaging technology for expanded imaging capabilities in low-light or at night. The Gen-3 constellation also features improved data communications capabilities that significantly increase the end-to-end delivery speed of intelligence products. BlackSky Spectra is a first-of-its-kind commercial tasking, analytics and multi-intelligence data-fusion software platform that helps customers monitor activities from space. The BlackSky constellation is the primary on-orbit data source and communications architecture that delivers space-based information to BlackSky Spectra. BlackSky’s satellites fly in unconventional, inclined orbits, and with built-in automated systems. Our constellation can deliver time-diverse, dawn-to-dusk, rapid revisit imagery, and analytics— with no humans in the loop. BlackSky Spectra provides end users the ability to augment proprietary data collected from our constellations with input from third-party sensors.
Customers experience the value of BlackSky’s space-based intelligence and AI capabilities through subscription-based On-Demand and Assured product offerings. Our Mission Solutions offering allows customers the ability to acquire, own, and operate their own customized Gen-3 satellite(s) and space-to-ground system(s). These solutions leverage our industry-leading, end-to-end satellite to ground infrastructure hardware and software technology stack. BlackSky Mission Solutions give nations the flexibility of owning space assets while having scalable access to additional capacity through BlackSky’s proprietary constellation. BlackSky also offers advanced technology program services that allow customers to conduct advanced R&D using aspects of BlackSky’s space-to-ground system that further enhance the capabilities that we can offer certain customers, or that further integrates BlackSky’s intelligence products into customer secure operational workflows. Our product and service offerings are designed to provide synergy to our customers. For example, when our Mission Solutions offerings are acquired in conjunction with our subscription data services, customers enjoy the benefits of speed, scale and reliability without
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Table of Contents
having to own and operate a large constellation. Collectively, our offerings create a unified value proposition that supports national security, supply chain resilience, economic intelligence, and other critical decision-making requirements for customers worldwide.
Components of Operating Results
Revenue
Our revenue is generated by selling space-based intelligence & AI services through our BlackSky Spectra software platform and by providing mission solutions and advanced technology programs to strategic customers on a project basis.
•Space-Based Intelligence and AI Services Revenue: We offer high-revisit, high-resolution, satellite imaging products including dawn-to-dusk, 35 cm resolution electro-optical and nighttime imagery. Through our BlackSky Spectra software platform, customers can directly task our constellation to collect and deliver imagery over specific locations, sites, and regions that are critical to their operations. Customers also have access to multi-frame area 2x1 to capture areas larger than the single frame scene size, like large airports or large ports, burst to analyze motion with five frames collected in a single satellite pass, and stereo pairs (two frames) or sets (fives frames) to build and update 3D products on short timelines. All imagery products are included in our On-Demand and Assured subscription plans. BlackSky also offers non-Earth imagery services for monitoring orbiting spacecraft and other objects of interest.
Our AI-generated analytics are also offered on a subscription basis and provide customers with automated access to our site monitoring, event monitoring, and global data services. Our object change and anomaly detection, site monitoring, and enhanced analytics services can detect key pattern-of-life changes in critical locations. These critical locations include infrastructure, such as maritime ports, airfields, and construction sites; retail activity; commodities stockpiles; and other sites that contain critical commodities and supply chain inventory. Our AI-enabled analytics provide for the automated detection and classification of more than 30 objects of tactical interest.
We generally structure our customer agreements as annual or multi-year subscription contracts. We offer pricing tiers that enable the customer to manage collection priorities. These options provide customers with flexibility to utilize our space-based intelligence and AI services in a manner that best suits their business needs. For example, during critical events, customers may pay a premium to prioritize their monitoring and collection requirements, while at other times, customers can select lower priority collections to allow for more economical use of their overall subscription.
•Mission Solutions Revenue: We develop and deliver customized advanced satellites and payload systems for specific strategic customers that desire to leverage our capabilities in mission systems engineering and operations, ground station operations, software, analytics and systems development. By integrating our Gen-3 satellites, secure ground infrastructure, launch support, operations software, and training, this offering delivers rapid access to actionable intelligence, enhances mission continuity in secure or air-gapped environments, and supports national self-reliance in defense decision-making. Mission solutions empower customers to retain ownership and custody of satellites, tasking, and data while operating within their own borders and security frameworks. With proven, military-grade technology, globally distributed manufacturing, high-availability on-orbit performance, and transfer-of-knowledge programs that develop local workforce expertise, we enable partners to confidently build, operate, and evolve customized sovereign space architectures that strengthen national security and modern deterrence. These systems are sold to government customers under fixed price contracts and are often sold with operating and imagery service subscriptions. We retain rights to intellectual property for developed technology of certain systems. We also provide software systems engineering development services to support the integration of high volume and mass quantities of data in their operating platforms.
•Advanced Technology Programs Revenue: We provide advanced technology solutions that enhance customer adoption and operational integration of our technology. These services include support for customer-specific software feature development, systems testing, and training, as well as the integration of our imagery and analytics products into a customer’s existing processes and workflows. These services can
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Table of Contents
also include the development and expansion of our current sensor capabilities. Through these services, we help customers tailor, expand and optimize their use of our platforms and mission capabilities.
Mission solutions and advanced technology programs revenue contain estimates that may result in the recognition of revenue in a current period for performance obligations that were satisfied or partially satisfied in a prior period. For the impacts of changes in estimates on our contracts, see Note 2—“Basis of Presentation and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies” of the notes to the consolidated financial statements contained within this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q.
Costs and Expenses
Our costs and expenses, which includes stock-based compensation expense for those employees who support each category, are incurred from the following categories:
•Space-Based Intelligence & AI Services Costs: primarily include third-party data and imagery, ground station service payments, internal labor to support our ground stations and space operations, and compute/storage costs to facilitate our expanding AI/machine learnings ("ML") functionality. Costs are expensed as they are incurred except for incremental costs to obtain a contract, which are primarily sales commissions on contracts greater than one year, and are capitalized and amortized to selling, general, and administrative expenses on a systematic basis consistent with the transfer of goods and services and directly identifiable costs to fulfill a contract. Expense related to stock-based payments is classified in the unaudited condensed consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss based upon the classification of each employee's cash compensation.
•Mission Solutions Costs: primarily include the cost of direct materials to build and test specific, customized satellite and payload sys
[Excerpt truncated for page length; source filing is linked above.]
Latest 10-K MD&A
ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
The following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with our consolidated financial statements and related notes appearing elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. As discussed in the section titled “Special Note Regarding Forward Looking Statements,” the following discussion and analysis contains forward looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, as well as assumptions that, if they never materialize or prove incorrect, could cause our results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause or contribute to these differences include, but are not limited to, those discussed in the section titled “Risk Factors” under Part I, Item IA in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Unless the context otherwise requires, references in this “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” to “BlackSky,” “the Company,” “we,” “us” and “our” refer to the business and operations of BlackSky Holdings, Inc. (“Legacy BlackSky”) and its consolidated subsidiaries prior to the completion of its merger on September 9, 2021 with a wholly-owned subsidiary of Osprey Technology Acquisition Corp. (the “Merger”) and of BlackSky Technology Inc. and its consolidated subsidiaries, following the closing of the Merger.
Company Overview
Founded in 2014, BlackSky is a space technology company that delivers real-time imagery, analytics and high-frequency monitoring of the world’s most critical and strategic locations, economic assets, and events. By taking a software-first technology approach, we are delivering real time space-based intelligence at disruptive speed, scale and economics. BlackSky is trusted by many of the most demanding U.S. and international government agencies and commercial businesses around the world. We are defining a new category of space-based intelligence products and services centered upon real-time imagery and automated analytics, delivered through an easy-to-use interface that operates seamlessly with our high-revisit and low latency satellite constellation. Our first-of-its-kind, purpose-built, secure artificial intelligence ("AI")-enabled space-to-ground architecture helps customers see, understand and anticipate change for a decisive strategic advantage. BlackSky can provide dynamic hourly monitoring over many of the most strategic locations on Earth up to 15 times per day from dawn to dusk.
BlackSky designs, builds, owns and operates the industry’s most advanced, purpose-built commercial, real-time intelligence system that combines the power of the BlackSky Spectra® tasking and analytics software platform with our high resolution, low earth orbit ("LEO") small satellite (“smallsat” or “smallsats”) constellation. Our Gen-3 satellites (“Gen-3”) include significantly enhanced capabilities, including 35-centimeter electro-optical imaging resolution and 1-meter short-wave infrared imaging technology for expanded imaging capabilities in low-light or at night. The Gen-3 constellation also features improved data communications capabilities that significantly increase the end-to-end delivery speed of intelligence products. BlackSky Spectra is a first-of-its-kind commercial tasking, analytics and multi-intelligence data-fusion software platform that helps customers monitor activities from space. The BlackSky constellation is the primary on-orbit data source and communications architecture that delivers space-based information to BlackSky Spectra. BlackSky’s satellites fly in unconventional, inclined orbits, and with built-in automated systems. Our constellation can deliver time-diverse, dawn-to-dusk, rapid revisit imagery, and analytics— with no humans in the loop. BlackSky Spectra provides end users the ability to augment proprietary data collected from our constellations with input from third-party sensors.
Customers experience the value of BlackSky’s space-based intelligence and AI capabilities through subscription-based On-Demand and Assured product offerings. Our Mission Solutions offering allows customers the ability to acquire, own, and operate their own customized Gen-3 satellite(s) and space-to-ground system(s). These solutions leverage our industry-leading, end-to-end satellite to ground infrastructure hardware and software technology stack. BlackSky Mission Solutions give nations the flexibility of owning space assets while having scalable access to additional capacity through BlackSky’s proprietary constellation. BlackSky also offers advanced technology program services that allow customers to conduct advanced R&D using aspects of BlackSky’s space-to-ground system that further enhance the capabilities that we can offer certain customers, or that further integrates BlackSky’s intelligence products into customer secure operational workflows. Our product and service offerings are designed to provide synergy to our customers. For example, when our Mission Solutions offerings are acquired in conjunction with our subscription data services, customers enjoy the benefits of speed, scale and reliability without having to own and operate a large constellation. Collectively, our offerings create a unified value proposition that
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supports national security, supply chain resilience, economic intelligence, and other critical decision-making requirements for customers worldwide.
In November 2024, we acquired the remaining 50% of the common units of BlackSky Satellite Systems LLC, f/k/a LeoStella LLC, (“BlackSky Satellite Systems” or “LeoStella”), which is now a wholly-owned subsidiary of BlackSky. The acquisition resulted in a vertical integration that enables us to improve control over our Gen-3 satellite supply chain and production operations by controlling our satellites through the entire design, manufacturing, and operation process, thereby optimizing performance per unit cost. BlackSky Satellite Systems's financial results are included in our operating results for the periods following the acquisition date.
In July 2025, we issued $185.0 million aggregate principal amount of Convertible Senior Notes due August 1, 2033 (the “Convertible Senior Notes”) in a private offering. With the proceeds from the issuance of the Convertible Senior Notes, we repaid all principal and accrued interest from the loans from related parties and the commercial bank line. See “—Liquidity and Capital Resources” and Note 15—“Debt and Other Financing” for further detail. We expect the Convertible Senior Notes will increase our liquidity, strengthen our balance sheet, and put us in a position to unlock additional growth opportunities
Components of Operating Results
Revenue
Our revenue is generated by selling space-based intelligence & AI services through our BlackSky Spectra software platform and by providing mission solutions and advanced technology programs to strategic customers on a project basis.
•Space-Based Intelligence and AI Services Revenue: We offer high-revisit, high-resolution, satellite imaging products including dawn-to-dusk, 35 cm resolution electro-optical and nighttime imagery. Through our BlackSky Spectra software platform, customers can directly task our constellation to collect and deliver imagery over specific locations, sites, and regions that are critical to their operations. Customers also have access to multi-frame area 2x1 to capture areas larger than the single frame scene size, like large airports or large ports, burst to analyze motion with five frames collected in a single satellite pass, and stereo pairs (two frames) or sets (fives frames) to build and update 3D products on short timelines. All imagery products are included in our On-Demand and Assured subscription plans. BlackSky also offers non-Earth imagery services for monitoring orbiting spacecraft and other objects of interest.
Our AI-generated analytics are also offered on a subscription basis and provide customers with automated access to our site monitoring, event monitoring, and global data services. Our object change and anomaly detection, site monitoring, and enhanced analytics services can detect key pattern-of-life changes in critical locations. These critical locations include infrastructure, such as maritime ports, airfields, and construction sites; retail activity; commodities stockpiles; and other sites that contain critical commodities and supply chain inventory. Our AI-enabled analytics provide for the automated detection and classification of more than 30 objects of tactical interest.
We generally structure our customer agreements as annual or multi-year subscription contracts. We offer pricing tiers that enable the customer to manage collection priorities. These options provide customers with flexibility to utilize our space-based intelligence and AI services in a manner that best suits their business needs. For example, during critical events, customers may pay a premium to prioritize their monitoring and collection requirements, while at other times, customers can select lower priority collections to allow for more economical use of their overall subscription.
•Mission Solutions Revenue: We develop and deliver customized advanced satellites and payload systems for specific strategic customers that desire to leverage our capabilities in mission systems engineering and operations, ground station operations, software, analytics and systems development. By integrating our Gen-3 satellites, secure ground infrastructure, launch support, operations software, and training, this offering delivers rapid access to actionable intelligence, enhances mission continuity in secure or air-gapped environments, and supports national self-reliance in defense decision-making. Mission solutions empower customers to retain ownership and custody of satellites, tasking, and data while operating within their own borders and security frameworks. With proven, military-grade technology, globally distributed
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manufacturing, high-availability on-orbit performance, and transfer-of-knowledge programs that develop local workforce expertise, we enable partners to confidently build, operate, and evolve customized sovereign space architectures that strengthen national security and modern deterrence. These systems are sold to government customers under fixed price contracts and are often sold with operating and imagery service subscriptions. We retain rights to intellectual property for developed technology of certain systems. We also provide software systems engineering development services to support the integration of high volume and mass quantities of data in their operating platforms.
•Advanced Technology Programs Revenue: We provide advanced technology solutions that enhance customer adoption and operational integration of our technology. These services include support for customer-specific software feature development, systems testing, and training, as well as the integration of our imagery and analytics products into a customer’s existing processes and workflows. These services can also include the development and expansion of our current sensor capabilities. Through these services, we help customers tailor, expand and optimize their use of our platforms and mission capabilities.
Mission solutions and advanced technology programs revenue contain estimates that may result in the recognition of revenue in a current period for performance obligations that were satisfied or partially satisfied in a prior period. For the impacts of changes in estimates on our contracts, see Note 2—“Basis of Presentation and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies” of the notes to the consolidated financial statements contained within this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Costs and Expenses
Our costs and expenses, which includes stock-based compensation expense for those employees who support each category, are incurred from the following categories:
•Space-Based Intelligence & AI services Costs: primarily include third-party data and imagery, ground station service payments, internal labor to support our ground stations and space operations, and compute/storage costs to facilitate our expanding AI/ machine learnings ("ML") functionality. Costs are expensed as they are incurred except for incremental costs to obtain a contract, which are primarily sales commissions on contracts greater than one year, are capitalized and amortized to selling, general, and administrative expenses on a systematic basis consistent with the transfer of goods and services and directly identifiable costs to fulfill a contract. Expense related to stock-based payments is classified in the consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss based upon the classification of each employee's cash compensation.
•Mission Solutions Costs: primarily include the cost of direct materials to build and test specific, customized satellite and payload systems components, such as the communications system, payload demands, and sensor integration, as well as internal labor for design and engineering. These costs are incurred in support of long-term development contracts.
•Advanced Technology Programs Costs: primarily include the cost of internal labor and external subcontract labor costs for our customer-centric software service solutions.
Operating Expenses
Our operating expenses are incurred from the following categories:
•Selling, General, and Administrative Expense: consists of salaries, taxes, and benefit costs, product development costs, professional fees, and other expenses which include other personnel-related costs, stock-based compensation expense for those employees who generally support our business and operations, and occupancy costs.
•Research and Development Expense: consists of employees’ salaries, taxes, and benefits costs incurred while researching next generation space and ground architectures in support of our long-term strategy. With our acquisition of BlackSky Satellite Systems in November 2024, research and development expense also includes our investments in satellite design and functionality. Additionally, we employ and classify third-party vendors who help fulfill our strategic projects as research and development expense. We intend to
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continue to invest appropriate resources in research and development efforts, as we believe that investment is critical to maintaining our competitive position.
•Depreciation Expense: is related to property and equipment, which mainly consist of operational satellites and capitalized internal-use software. Amortization expense is related to intangible assets, which mainly consist of customer relationships. We expect to incur additional depreciation expense when each Gen-3 satellite is launched and placed into service.
Results of Operations for the Years Ended December 31, 2025 and 2024
Effective January 1, 2025, we reclassified our captions on the consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss to better align with our increasing portfolio of mission solutions product offerings and advanced technology program service offerings. Revenue and costs that were previously classified as imagery & software analytical services are now classified as space-based intelligence & AI services. Professional & engineering services are now either classified as mission solutions if they are related to our product offerings or advanced technology programs if they are related to our service offerings. As a result, for the year ended December 31, 2024, the amounts presented have been reclassified to conform to the current year presentation.
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Results of Operations for the Years Ended December 31, 2025 and 2024
The following table provides the components of results of operations for the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024:
| Years Ended December 31, | $ | % | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2024 | Change | Change | |||||||||||||||||||
| (dollars in thousands) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Revenue | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Space-based intelligence & AI services | $ | 65,116 | $ | 70,062 | $ | (4,946) | (7.1) | % | ||||||||||||||
| Mission solutions | 21,214 | 5,930 | 15,284 | 257.7 | % | |||||||||||||||||
| Advanced technology programs | 20,245 | 26,101 | (5,856) | (22.4) | % | |||||||||||||||||
| Total revenue | 106,575 | 102,093 | 4,482 | 4.4 | % | |||||||||||||||||
| Costs and expenses | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Space-based intelligence & AI services costs, excluding depreciation and amortization | 16,592 | 13,907 | 2,685 | 19.3 | % | |||||||||||||||||
| Mission solutions costs, excluding depreciation and amortization | 10,941 | 4,952 | 5,989 | 120.9 | % | |||||||||||||||||
| Advanced technology programs costs, excluding depreciation and amortization | 7,770 | 8,573 | (803) | (9.4) | % | |||||||||||||||||
| Selling, general and administrative | 87,397 | 74,069 | 13,328 | 18.0 | % | |||||||||||||||||
| Research and development | 433 | 1,344 | (911) | (67.8) | % | |||||||||||||||||
| Depreciation and amortization | 30,343 | 43,536 | (13,193) | (30.3) | % | |||||||||||||||||
| Operating loss | (46,901) | (44,288) | (2,613) | (5.9) | % | |||||||||||||||||
| Loss on derivatives | (8,012) | (2,815) | (5,197) | (184.6) | % | |||||||||||||||||
| Income on equity method investments | — | 879 | (879) | (100.0) | % | |||||||||||||||||
| Loss on debt extinguishment | (4,140) | — | (4,140) | (100.0) | % | |||||||||||||||||
| Interest income | 3,804 | 1,560 | 2,244 | 143.8 | % | |||||||||||||||||
| Interest expense | (14,946) | (12,187) | (2,759) | (22.6) | % | |||||||||||||||||
| Other income, net | 60 | 3 | 57 | NM | ||||||||||||||||||
| Loss before income taxes | (70,135) | (56,848) | (13,287) | (23.4) | % | |||||||||||||||||
| Income tax expense | (125) | (370) | 245 | 66.2 | % | |||||||||||||||||
| Net loss | $ | (70,260) | $ | (57,218) | $ | (13,042) | (22.8) | % |
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Revenue
| Years Ended December 31, | $ | % | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2024 | Change | Change | ||||||||||||||||||
| (dollars in thousands) | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Space-based intelligence & AI services | $ | 65,116 | $ | 70,062 | $ | (4,946) | (7.1) | % | |||||||||||||
| % of total revenue | 61.1 | % | 68.6 | % | |||||||||||||||||
| Mission solutions | 21,214 | 5,930 | 15,284 | 257.7 | % | ||||||||||||||||
| % of total revenue | 19.9 | % | 5.8 | % | |||||||||||||||||
| Advanced technology programs | 20,245 | 26,101 | (5,856) | (22.4) | % | ||||||||||||||||
| % of total revenue | 19.0 | % | 25.6 | % | |||||||||||||||||
| Total revenue | $ | 106,575 | $ | 102,093 | $ | 4,482 | 4.4 | % |
Space-Based Intelligence and AI Services Revenue
Space-based intelligence & AI services revenue decreased for the year ended December 31, 2025 as compared to the same period in 2024, as a result of a reduction in imagery revenue from one of our U.S. Government contracts with the National Reconnaissance Office ("NRO"). This decrease was partially offset by new imagery and analytics subscription orders and renewals from other existing customers.
Mission Solutions Revenue
Mission solutions revenue increased for the year ended December 31, 2025 as compared to the same period in 2024, primarily from execution on a contract to deliver a customized Earth observation satellite to a new customer.
Advanced Technology Programs Revenue
Advanced technology programs revenue decreased for the year ended December 31, 2025 as compared to the same period in 2024, largely due to the completion of services performed for existing customers. This decrease was partially offset by a new contract to provide advanced satellite control software to an existing customer.
Costs and Expenses
| Years Ended December 31, | $ | % | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2024 | Change | Change | ||||||||||||||||||||
| (dollars in thousands) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Space-based intelligence & AI services costs, excluding depreciation and amortization | $ | 16,592 | $ | 13,907 | $ | 2,685 | 19.3 | % | |||||||||||||||
| Mission solutions costs, excluding depreciation and amortization | 10,941 | 4,952 | 5,989 | 120.9 | % | ||||||||||||||||||
| Advanced technology programs costs, excluding depreciation and amortization | 7,770 | 8,573 | (803) | (9.4) | % | ||||||||||||||||||
| Total costs | $ | 35,303 | $ | 27,432 | $ | 7,871 | 28.7 | % |
Space-Based Intelligence and AI Service Costs
Space-based intelligence & AI services costs, excluding depreciation and amortization, increased for the year ended December 31, 2025 as compared to the same period in 2024, due to an increase in third-party imagery fulfillment costs.
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Mission Solutions Costs
Mission solutions costs, excluding depreciation and amortization, increased for the year ended December 31, 2025 as compared to the same period in 2024, primarily due to the impact of incurred work in process costs under a satellite procurement contract that began in 2025. This increase was partially offset by fewer direct material costs incurred on several existing contracts as well as contracts completed in 2024 and 2025.
Advanced Technology Programs Costs
Advanced technology programs costs, excluding depreciation and amortization, slightly decreased for the year ended December 31, 2025 as compared to the same period in 2024, primarily due to contracts completed in 2024 and 2025.
Selling, General, and Administrative
| Years Ended December 31, | $ | % | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2024 | Change | Change | ||||||||||||||||||||
| (dollars in thousands) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Salaries and benefit costs | $ | 44,359 | $ | 41,742 | $ | 2,617 | 6.3 | % | |||||||||||||||
| Stock-based compensation expense | 13,564 | 10,526 | 3,038 | 28.9 | % | ||||||||||||||||||
| Information technology and other administrative expenses | 12,187 | 9,051 | 3,136 | 34.6 | % | ||||||||||||||||||
| Professional fees | 6,506 | 4,224 | 2,282 | 54.0 | % | ||||||||||||||||||
| Selling and marketing | 4,559 | 3,783 | 776 | 20.5 | % | ||||||||||||||||||
| Product development costs | 2,104 | 954 | 1,150 | 120.5 | % | ||||||||||||||||||
| Rent expense | 2,080 | 1,852 | 228 | 12.3 | % | ||||||||||||||||||
| Insurance | 2,038 | 1,937 | 101 | 5.2 | % | ||||||||||||||||||
| Selling, general and administrative | $ | 87,397 | $ | 74,069 | $ | 13,328 | 18.0 | % |
Selling, general, and administrative expenses increased during the year ended December 31, 2025 as compared to the same period in 2024, primarily related to the inclusion of BlackSky Satellite Systems's operations for a full year in 2025 versus only two months in 2024. Additionally, information technology and other administrative expenses increased largely due to costs associated with initiatives to optimize corporate business operational systems and maintain our offices and facilities during 2025. Stock-based compensation expense increased as a result of an increase in the average stock price at the time of the grant of new stock awards in 2025. Professional fees increased as a result of one-time transaction costs and accounting fees incurred during 2025 that were associated with finalizing the BlackSky Satellite Systems acquisition that closed in late 2024.
The following is our forecast for total restricted stock units ("RSUs") non-cash stock-based compensation expense as of December 31, 2025, which, in addition to the amounts recognized in selling, general, and administrative expenses, includes the portion that will be capitalized or classified in space-based intelligence & AI services, mission solutions, or advanced technology programs costs:
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| (in thousands) | ||
|---|---|---|
| For the years ending December 31, | ||
| 2026 | $ | 12,343 |
| 2027 | 8,334 | |
| 2028 | 4,374 | |
| 2029 | 410 | |
| $ | 25,461 |
Research and Development
| Years Ended December 31, | $ | % | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2024 | Change | Change | ||||||||||||||||||||
| (dollars in thousands) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Research and development | $ | 433 | $ | 1,344 | $ | (911) | (67.8) | % |
Research and development expense decreased for the year ended December 31, 2025, as compared to the same period in 2024, due to the completion of certain development projects in late 2024 and early 2025.
Depreciation and Amortization
| Years Ended December 31, | $ | % | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2024 | Change | Change | ||||||||||||||||||||
| (dollars in thousands) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Depreciation of satellites | $ | 15,082 | $ | 32,294 | $ | (17,212) | (53.3) | % | |||||||||||||||
| Depreciation of all other property and equipment | 14,237 | 10,631 | 3,606 | 33.9 | % | ||||||||||||||||||
| Amortization | 1,024 | 611 | 413 | 67.6 | % | ||||||||||||||||||
| Depreciation and amortization | $ | 30,343 | $ | 43,536 | $ | (13,193) | (30.3) | % |
Depreciation expense from satellites decreased for the year ended December 31, 2025 as compared to the same period in 2024 because a number of Gen-2 satellites became fully depreciated in 2024. These decreases were partially offset by the depreciation expense for our Gen-3 satellites launched in 2025.
Depreciation expense from all other property and equipment increased for the year ended December 31, 2025 as compared to the same period in 2024. This increase was primarily driven by the depreciation of increasing asset balances for internal-use software as we continue to invest in our BlackSky Spectra software platform, features for our Gen-3 constellation, and internal infrastructure. The increase was also related to the recognition of depreciation expense for assets recorded as part of our November 2024 acquisition of BlackSky Satellite Systems.
Amortization expense increased for the year ended December 31, 2025 as compared to the same period in 2024 as a result of intangible assets acquired by the Company in the fourth quarter of 2024.
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Non-Operating Expenses
| Years Ended December 31, | $ | % | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2024 | Change | Change | ||||||||||||||||||||
| (dollars in thousands) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Loss on derivatives | $ | (8,012) | $ | (2,815) | $ | (5,197) | (184.6) | % | |||||||||||||||
| Income on equity method investments | — | 879 | (879) | (100.0) | % | ||||||||||||||||||
| Loss on debt extinguishment | (4,140) | — | (4,140) | (100.0) | % | ||||||||||||||||||
| Interest income | 3,804 | 1,560 | 2,244 | 143.8 | % | ||||||||||||||||||
| Interest expense | (14,946) | (12,187) | (2,759) | (22.6) | % | ||||||||||||||||||
| Other income, net | 60 | 3 | 57 | NM |
Loss on derivatives
Our common stock price significantly drives fluctuations in our equity warrants and other equity instruments that we classify as derivative liabilities in our consolidated balance sheets and measure at fair value. Fluctuations to these instruments are inversely related to changes in our common stock price, the volatility of the markets, and the duration of the equity warrants.
We re-measure our outstanding derivative liabilities to fair value at each reporting date. In July 2025, holders exercised 611 thousand of our March 2023 Private Placement Warrants and the exercised warrants were re-measured to fair value on their exercise dates. Any gains or losses recorded upon re-measurement in the applicable period are non-cash fair value adjustments. These re-measurements of derivative liabilities generated a net loss during each of the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024.
Income on equity method investments
In November 2024, we acquired the remaining 50% of the common units of BlackSky Satellite Systems, f/k/a LeoStella, which is now a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company. As of the date of acquisition, BlackSky Satellite Systems's results of operations are now included in our consolidated financial statements. In conjunction with this business combination, we recognized a gain of $0.9 million related to the step up acquisition during the year ended December 31, 2024.
Loss on debt extinguishment
The loss on debt extinguishment incurred during the year ended December 31, 2025 was due to prepayment fees and third-party costs from the early repayment of the related party loans and commercial bank line in July 2025.
Interest income
Interest income increased during the year ended December 31, 2025 as a result of higher short-term investment balances during the period as compared to the same period in 2024.
Interest expense
Interest expense increased during the year ended December 31, 2025, as compared to the same period in 2024 because our outstanding debt increased from $109.0 million as of December 31, 2024 to $207.9 million as of December 31, 2025. In July 2025, we decreased the average interest rate of our outstanding debt when we repaid $100.2 million of loans from related parties in their entirety, which had a stated interest rate of 12% upon repayment, and issued $185.0 million of Convertible Senior Notes with a stated interest rate of 8.25%.
Non-GAAP Financial Measures
In addition to our results determined in accordance with GAAP, management utilizes certain non-GAAP performance measures, such as Adjusted EBITDA, for purposes of evaluating our ongoing operations and for internal planning and forecasting purposes. Our management and board of directors believe that this non-GAAP
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operating measure, when reviewed with our GAAP financial information, provides useful supplemental information to investors in assessing our operating performance.
Adjusted EBITDA
Adjusted EBITDA is defined as net income or loss attributable to us before interest income, interest expense, income tax expense or benefit, depreciation and amortization, as well as significant non-cash and/or non-recurring expenses as our management believes these items are not useful in evaluating our core operating performance. These items include, but are not limited to, stock-based compensation expense; unrealized (gain) loss on certain warrants/shares classified as derivative liabilities; loss on debt extinguishment; non-recurring transaction costs; litigation, settlements, and related costs; severance; and impairment, obsolescence, and asset disposals. We have presented Adjusted EBITDA because it is a key measure used by our management and board of directors to understand and evaluate our operating performance, generate future operating plans and make strategic decisions regarding the allocation of capital. In particular, we believe that the exclusion of certain items in calculating Adjusted EBITDA can produce a useful measure for period-to-period comparisons of our business. Accordingly, we believe that Adjusted EBITDA provides useful information in understanding and evaluating our operating results. In addition, we believe that Adjusted EBITDA provides additional information for investors to use in evaluating our ongoing operating results and trends. This non-GAAP measure provides investors with incremental information for the evaluation of our performance after isolation of certain items deemed unrelated to our core business operations.
Adjusted EBITDA is presented as a supplemental measure to our GAAP measures of performance. When evaluating Adjusted EBITDA, you should be aware that we may incur future expenses similar to those excluded when calculating this measure. In addition, our presentation of this measure should not be construed as an inference that our future results will be unaffected by unusual or non-recurring items. Furthermore, our computation of Adjusted EBITDA may not be directly comparable to similarly titled measures computed by other companies, as the nature of the adjustments that other companies may include or exclude when calculating Adjusted EBITDA may differ from the adjustments reflected in our measure. Because of these limitations, Adjusted EBITDA should not be considered in isolation, nor should this measure be viewed as a substitute for the most directly comparable GAAP measure, which is net loss. We compensate for the limitations of non-GAAP measures by relying primarily on our GAAP results. You should review the reconciliation of our net loss to Adjusted EBITDA below and not rely on any single financial measure to evaluate our performance.
The table below reconciles our net loss to Adjusted EBITDA for the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024. As noted above, on November 6, 2024, we acquired the remaining 50% of the common units of BlackSky Satellite Systems, f/k/a LeoStella, which is now a wholly-owned subsidiary of BlackSky. In conjunction with the business combination, the Company recognized a gain of $0.9 million related to the step up acquisition during the year ended December 31, 2024. Other than the gain related to the step up acquisition, we did not record any percentage of BlackSky Satellite Systems's estimated net loss during the year ended December 31, 2024 since our investment in
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LeoStella was $0 as of December 31, 2023. After the acquisition in 2024, BlackSky Satellite Systems's financial results are fully consolidated in our consolidated financial statements.
| Years Ended December 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2024 | |||||||||
| (in thousands) | ||||||||||
| Net loss | $ | (70,260) | $ | (57,218) | ||||||
| Interest income | (3,804) | (1,560) | ||||||||
| Interest expense | 14,946 | 12,187 | ||||||||
| Income tax expense | 125 | 370 | ||||||||
| Depreciation and amortization | 30,343 | 43,536 | ||||||||
| Stock-based compensation expense | 14,232 | 11,169 | ||||||||
| Loss on derivatives | 8,012 | 2,815 | ||||||||
| Loss on debt extinguishment | 4,140 | — | ||||||||
| Non-recurring transaction costs | 1,556 | 512 | ||||||||
| Litigation, settlements, and related costs | 645 | 355 | ||||||||
| Severance | 600 | 219 | ||||||||
| Impairment, obsolescence, and asset disposals | 364 | 131 | ||||||||
| Income on equity method investment | — | (879) | ||||||||
| Adjusted EBITDA | $ | 899 | $ | 11,637 |
Liquidity and Capital Resources
As of December 31, 2025, our existing sources of liquidity included cash and cash equivalents and short-term investments. Our cash and cash equivalents excluding restricted cash totaled $42.4 million and $13.1 million as of December 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively, and our short-term investments totaled $82.0 million and $39.4 million as of December 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively. We have incurred year to date losses and generated negative cash flows from operations since our inception in September 2014. As of December 31, 2025, we had an accumulated deficit of $726.4 million.
Our short-term liquidity as of December 31, 2025 was comprised of the following:
| (in thousands) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Cash and cash equivalents | $ | 42,445 |
| Restricted cash | 1,103 | |
| Short-term investments(1) | 82,006 | |
| $ | 125,554 |
(1) Short-term investments were included in cash flows from investing activities in the consolidated statements of cash flows.
Our short-term liquidity as of December 31, 2025 was $125.6 million. We expect cash and cash equivalents, short-term investments, and cash generated from operating activities to be sufficient to meet our working capital and capital expenditure needs for the foreseeable future. Our future long-term capital requirements will depend on many factors, including our Gen-3 satellite and mission solutions production needs, launch and insurance costs, our growth rate, customer demand for capacity, the timing and extent of spending to support solution development efforts, our ongoing investments in technology infrastructure, and the continuing market acceptance of our products and services.
Convertible Senior Notes
In July 2025, we issued $185.0 million aggregate principal amount of Convertible Senior Notes in a private offering. The Convertible Senior Notes will mature on August 1, 2033 unless earlier converted, redeemed or
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repurchased. The Convertible Senior Notes will bear interest at a rate of 8.25% per year, payable semiannually in arrears on February 1 and August 1 of each year, beginning on February 1, 2026.
Holders may convert their Convertible Senior Notes at their option at any time prior to the close of business on the second scheduled trading day immediately preceding the maturity date. Upon conversion, we will pay or deliver, as the case may be, shares of our Class A common stock, cash, or a combination of cash and shares of our Class A common stock, at our election. The conversion rate of the Convertible Senior Notes will initially be 27.1909 shares of BlackSky’s Class A common stock per $1,000 principal amount of Convertible Senior Notes (equivalent to an initial conversion price of approximately $36.78 per share of Class A common stock). We may not redeem the Convertible Senior Notes prior to August 4, 2028. We may redeem for cash all or any portion of the Convertible Senior Notes, at our option, on or after August 4, 2028 and prior to the 26th scheduled trading day immediately preceding the maturity date, if (1) the last reported sale price of our Class A common stock has been at least 130% of the conversion price then in effect for at least 20 trading days (whether or not consecutive) during any 30 consecutive trading day period (including the last trading day of such period) ending on, and including, the trading day immediately preceding the date on which we provide notice of redemption and (2) certain liquidity conditions are satisfied, at a redemption price equal to 100% of the principal amount of the Convertible Senior Notes to be redeemed, plus accrued and unpaid interest to, but excluding, the redemption date.
Satellite Launch Vendor Financing
We have also entered into two vendor financing agreements to fund the costs of multiple satellite launches. Our November 2023 agreement provides for a $27.0 million borrowing commitment and payments accrue interest at 12.6% per annum while our November 2025 agreement is for a $30.6 million borrowing commitment and payments accrue interest at 9.50% per annum. A portion of the vendor financing agreements can be drawn down equally per satellite launch and will be repaid quarterly on a pro-rata basis across a three-year period after each successful launch milestone. Interest begins to accrue on each launch date.
We may prepay either agreement at any time until the maturity date without premium or penalty. The outstanding debt related to the vendor financing agreements is guaranteed by the Company’s subsidiaries and secured by substantially all of the assets of the Company and its subsidiaries. During the year ended December 31, 2025, we incurred $19.7 million of additional debt related to the satellite launch vendor financing agreements. As of December 31, 2025, we have $31.9 million of additional vendor financing available to us for future launches.
At-the-Market ("ATM") Transactions
During the year ended December 31, 2025, we issued and sold shares of our Class A common stock under our ATM sales agreement, dated December 15, 2022, with Jefferies LLC as our sales agent (the “2022 ATM Agreement”), resulting in gross proceeds of $42.5 million. We had the ability to offer and sell up to $75.0 million of newly issued shares of our Class A common stock in open trading windows at market prices through a designated broker dealer pursuant to an ATM offering program. We terminated the 2022 ATM Agreement in November 2025.
On December 12, 2025, we entered into an ATM sales agreement with Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. and Craig-Hallum Capital Group LLC as our sales agents (the “2025 ATM Agreement”), under which we may offer and sell from time to time up to $100.0 million of shares of our Class A common stock in negotiated transactions or transactions that are deemed to be an ATM offering. During the year ended December 31, 2025, we did not sell any shares of our Class A common stock under the 2025 ATM Agreement.
Current Contract Assets
We had $28.6 million and $27.9 million of current contract assets as of December 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively. We expect to continue billing for and receiving payments on our contract assets over the next 12 months as interim milestones on a few major customer contracts are met. The timing of customer billing and payment varies from contract to contract and we may continue to generate additional contract assets in 2026 and beyond as we enter into new contracts.
From time to time, we may seek additional equity or debt financing to fund capital expenditures, strategic initiatives or investments and our ongoing operations. If we decide, or are required, to seek additional financing from outside sources, we may not be able to raise it on terms acceptable to us or at all. If we are unable to raise
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additional capital when desired, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be adversely affected.
Funding Requirements
We cannot be sure our revenues will exceed expenses in the near term due to the ongoing investments we are making in sales, marketing and products to increase our market share. We expect to continue to incur capital expenditures as we procure, build, and launch Gen-3 satellites, as well as invest in our BlackSky Spectra software platform to significantly expand our product capabilities in the future.
Short-Term Liquidity Requirements
As of December 31, 2025, our current assets were $206.8 million, consisting primarily of short-term investments, cash and cash equivalents, accounts receivable, and contract assets.
As of December 31, 2025, our current liabilities were $59.5 million, consisting primarily of contract liabilities, other current liabilities, which includes a $7.6 million contingent liability expected to be offset by an insurance recovery of $7.4 million, and accounts payable and accrued liabilities. Accordingly, we have sufficient cash and working capital to fund our short-term liquidity requirements.
Long-Term Liquidity Requirements
We anticipate that our most significant long-term liquidity and capital needs will relate to continued funding of operations, including procurement of materials for our missions solutions programs, satellite development capital expenditures, launch capital expenditures, and ongoing investments to optimize our BlackSky Spectra software platform and corporate business and operational systems that will enable us to continue to scale the business efficiently and securely. These ongoing investments in our operational systems include a multi-year minimum commitment for compute/storage costs to facilitate our expanding AI/ML functionality.
Upcoming satellite development capital expenditures include plans to expand our current high frequency monitoring constellation with multispectral, large-area collection satellites. We expect that these new satellites will be designed to support country scale digital mapping, navigation, maritime, and 3D digital twin applications. We can manage the timing for a large part of our capital expenditures, including the design, build, and launch of our new satellites currently under development, to provide us with additional flexibility to optimize our long-term liquidity requirements. Macroeconomic conditions and credit markets could also impact the availability and/or the cost of potential future debt or equity financing.
Cash Flow Analysis
The following table provides a summary of cash flow data for the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024. Our short-term liquidity at December 31, 2025 was $125.6 million. Short-term investments of $82.0 million are not classified as cash, cash equivalents, or restricted cash.
| Years Ended December 31, | $ | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2024 | Change | ||||||||
| (in thousands) | ||||||||||
| Net cash used in operating activities | $ | (28,311) | $ | (6,384) | $ | (21,927) | ||||
| Net cash used in investing activities | (86,595) | (68,330) | (18,265) | |||||||
| Net cash provided by financing activities | 144,076 | 55,658 | 88,418 | |||||||
| Net increase (decrease) in cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash | 29,170 | (19,056) | 48,226 | |||||||
| Cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash – beginning of year | 14,378 | 33,434 | (19,056) | |||||||
| Cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash – end of period | $ | 43,548 | $ | 14,378 | $ | 29,170 |
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Operating Activities
For the year ended December 31, 2025, net cash used in operating activities was $28.3 million, which is an increase compared to the same period in 2024. The increase reflected in the year ended December 31, 2025 includes $29.1 million of paid in kind interest associated with our related party debt that we repaid utilizing the proceeds from our Convertible Senior Notes issued in July 2025. See "Financing activities" below for further detail on the remainder of the cash inflows and outflows related to our debt transactions during the year ended December 31, 2025.
Additionally, the increase in net cash used in operating activities reflected a larger accounts receivable balance in our consolidated balance sheet as of December 31, 2025. We subsequently reduced our accounts receivable balance when we collected on a significant invoice in January 2026. The increase in net cash used in operating activities also includes an increase in our operating loss, adjusted for depreciation, amortization, stock-based compensation expense, loss on derivatives, and other non-cash items inclusive of our BlackSky Satellite Systems operations. Prior to the acquisition of the remaining 50% of the common units of BlackSky Satellite Systems in November 2024, our consolidated statements of cash flows included the income on equity method investment as a non-cash adjustment to reconcile net loss to net cash used in operating activities. Subsequent to the acquisition, we fully consolidated BlackSky Satellite Systems's financial results in our consolidated financial statements and BlackSky Satellite Systems's cash inflows and outflows are primarily included within our operating activities.
The increases in net cash used in operating activities were partially offset by a cash receipt for prepaid capacity for future purchase orders that is recorded as a contract liability as of December 31, 2025 in our consolidated balance sheets.
Investing Activities
The change in net cash used in investing activities was primarily due to increased purchases of short-term investments in government securities of $127.8 million during the year ended December 31, 2025 compared to $52.9 million of purchases during the year ended December 31, 2024.
We continue to have significant cash outflows for satellite procurement and launch-related services. We also incur labor costs for internally developed capitalized software as we add innovative new services and tools to our BlackSky Spectra software platform and our corporate business and operational systems. For most of 2024, we paid BlackSky Satellite Systems, f/k/a LeoStella, as a third-party and classified such payments as cash outflows for investing activities. Following the acquisition of BlackSky Satellite Systems, we have classified their internal operations costs in our consolidated results. As a result, the total amount paid for capital expenditures decreased during the year ended December 31, 2025 as compared to the year ended December 31, 2024. We expect cash outflows for satellite production to increase as we continue to build out our satellite constellation.
Financing Activities
The most significant impact on the change in net cash provided by financing activities during the year ended December 31, 2025 as compared to the year ended December 31, 2024 was the receipt of $185.0 million in proceeds from the issuance of our Convertible Senior Notes in July 2025, which was partially offset by debt repayments of $110.3 million and $7.3 million of debt issuance costs. The debt repayments included $81.2 million of principal and accrued interest as well as paid in kind interest of $29.1 million, which is included in net cash used in operating activities.
Additionally, we received $40.8 million in net proceeds from our equity issuances during the year ended December 31, 2025 as compared to $47.0 million in net proceeds during the year ended December 31, 2024. Our equity issuances during the year ended December 31, 2025 consisted of the sale of 3.7 million shares of our Class A common stock under the 2022 ATM Agreement, which resulted in $42.5 million in gross proceeds. In comparison, for the year ended December 31, 2024, we sold 0.5 million shares of our Class A common stock under our 2022 ATM Agreement, which resulted in $4.8 million in gross proceeds. Our equity issuances during the year ended December 31, 2024 also included a public offering of 11.5 million shares of Class A common stock resulting in
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$46.0 million in gross proceeds. Finally, in 2025, we received $10.8 million of proceeds from warrant exercises of 611 thousand of the March 2023 Private Placement Warrants during the year ended December 31, 2025.
Contractual Obligations and Commitments
During the year ended December 31, 2025, we entered into a commitment for non-refundable multi-launch and integration services. We also entered into a commercial borrowing agreement with financing terms for multiple launches providing for $3.4 million to be paid upfront, and for $30.6 million, of which a portion will be drawn down equally per launch and will be repaid quarterly on a pro-rata basis across a three-year period after each successful launch milestone. Payments will accrue interest at 9.5% per annum. We may prepay at any time until the maturity date without premium or penalty. As of December 31, 2025, the minimum commitment associated with the multi-launch and integration services agreements was $8.0 million. Under certain circumstances, a default interest rate will apply on all outstanding and payable obligations during the existence of an event of default under the Loan Agreement at 18.9% per annum above the applicable interest rate.
In addition to the above, we entered into various operational commitments for the next several years totaling $30.1 million as of December 31, 2025.
Critical Accounting Estimates
The preparation of our consolidated financial statements and related notes requires management to make judgments, estimates, and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenue, and expenses. Management has based its estimates on historical experience and on various other assumptions that are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances, the results of which form the basis for making judgments about the carrying values of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. Actual results may differ from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions.
For a description of our significant accounting policies, see Note 2—“Basis of Presentation and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies” of the notes to the consolidated financial statements. An accounting policy is considered to be critical if it requires an accounting estimate to be made based on assumptions about matters that are highly uncertain at the time the estimate is made, and if different estimates that reasonably could have been used, or changes in the accounting estimates that are reasonably likely to occur periodically, could materially impact the consolidated financial statements. Management believes the following critical accounting policies reflect the more significant estimates and assumptions used in the preparation of our consolidated financial statements.
Revenue Recognition
The recognition and measurement of revenue requires the use of judgments and estimates. Specifically, judgment is used in interpreting complex arrangements with nonstandard terms and conditions and determining when all criteria for revenue recognition have been met, as further discussed below.
We generate revenue from the sale of space-based intelligence & AI services, mission solutions, and advanced technology programs.
Identifying the Contract with the Customer
We evidence approval of the contract with the customer with dual signatures or approved purchase orders that detail the rights of each party and define payment terms. We have never had significant collection issues on contracts with new or recurring domestic and international government customers and we consider this historical trend when assessing the collectability risk for contracts with bespoke effective terms. We also consider the probability of the customer funding the total contract value as a component of the collectability risk.
Identifying the Performance Obligations in a Contract
We execute contracts for a single promise or multiple promises. Specifically, our firm-fixed price contracts may include multiple promises which may be accounted for as separate performance obligations if they are capable of
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being distinct within the context of the contract. Significant judgment is required in determining performance obligations and these decisions could change the amount of revenue and profit or loss recorded in each period.
Classification of Revenue
We classify revenue as space-based intelligence & AI services, mission solutions, and advanced technology programs in our consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss based on the predominant attributes of the performance obligations.
Determination of and Allocation of Transaction Price
Each customer contract sets forth the transaction price for the products and services purchased under the arrangement. We estimate any variable consideration, and whether the transaction price is constrained, upon execution of each contract. Variable consideration is estimated as the most likely amount that is dependent upon the occurrence or non-occurrence of a future event. We continually review, and may reassess, the transaction price based on forecasted service level provisions within a limited number of our customer purchase orders, costs incurred to date and historical experience. As a result, we may update our estimated constraints on revenue, which are generally on a prospective basis. For contracts with multiple performance obligations, we evaluate whether the stated selling prices for the products or services represent their standalone selling prices. When it is necessary to allocate the transaction price to multiple performance obligations, management uses the volume adjusted list price for imagery and analytics subscriptions and the expected cost plus a reasonable profit margin to estimate the standalone selling price of each product or service, which is mostly professional services.
Determination of when Performance Obligations are Satisfied
Space-based intelligence & AI services revenue is recognized over the subscription period based on the promise to continuously provide contractual satellite capacity for tasked imagery or software analytical services at the discretion of the customer. Mission solutions revenue is primarily recognized from firm-fixed price long-term customized satellites and ground station contracts. Advanced technology programs revenue is primarily generated from cost-plus contracts, and time and materials basis contracts and firm-fixed price service solutions contracts.
Due to the long-term nature of some of our contracts, we recognize revenue over time using a cost-to-complete measure of progress because it best depicts the transfer of control to the customer as we incur costs on the contracts. Under this measure of progress, the extent of progress towards completion is measured based on the ratio of costs incurred to date to the total estimated costs to complete the performance obligation(s). Calculating total estimated costs at completion is subject to many variables and requires significant judgment. We recognize changes in the estimation of total costs at completion on a cumulative catch-up basis in the period in which the changes are identified. Such changes in estimates can result in the recognition of revenue in a current period for performance obligations that were satisfied or partially satisfied in a prior period. If, at any time, the estimate of contract profitability indicates a probable anticipated loss on the contract, we recognize the total loss as and when known.
Equity Valuations
Equity valuations impact various amounts and accounting conclusions reflected in our consolidated financial statements, including the recognition of equity-based compensation and warrant valuations. The following discussion provides additional details regarding the significant estimates, assumptions, and judgments that impacted the determination of the fair values of equity-based compensation awards, warrants, and the common stock that comprise our capital structure. The following discussion also explains why these estimates, assumptions, and judgments could be subject to uncertainties and future variability.
Equity-Based Compensation
We have equity and equity-based awards outstanding under our 2021 Equity Incentive Plan ("2021 Plan") and our 2014 Equity Incentive Plan ("2014 Plan"). Outstanding awards issued include stock options and RSUs. In addition, our eligible employees can participate in our 2021 Employee Stock Purchase Plan ("ESPP") pursuant to purchase right offerings that are established under the ESPP.
For purposes of recognizing equity-based compensation related to RSUs and stock options granted to employees and other service providers, management estimates the grant date fair values of such awards to measure
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the costs to be recognized as services are received. For awards with time-based vesting conditions, we recognize compensation costs based upon the straight-line amortization of the grant date fair value of the awards over the requisite service period. When equity-based compensation awards include a performance condition, no compensation is recognized until the performance condition is deemed probable to occur; we then recognize compensation costs based on the accelerated attribution method, which accounts for awards with discrete vesting dates as if they were separate awards.
Stock Option and Class A Common Stock Warrant Valuations
We use the Black-Scholes option-pricing model to value all options, including options under our ESPP, and Class A common stock warrants. Estimating the fair value of stock options using the Black-Scholes option-pricing model requires the application of significant assumptions, such as the estimated term of the options, risk-free interest rates, the expected volatility of the price of our Class A common stock, and an expected dividend yield. Each of these assumptions is subjective, requires significant judgment, and is based upon management’s best estimates. If any of these assumptions were to change significantly in the future, equity-based compensation related to future awards may differ significantly, as compared with awards previously granted.
We grant RSUs to the bulk of our employees. For these RSUs, the grant date fair value is equal to the trading price fair value of our Class A common stock on the date of grant. For stock options, which are primarily granted to certain management employees, we use the following inputs under Black-Scholes as follows:
Expected Dividend Yield: The Black-Scholes valuation model requires an expected dividend yield as an input. The dividend yield is based on historical experience and expected future changes. We historically have not paid, and currently have no plans to pay dividends on our Class A common stock. Accordingly, we have assumed no dividend yield upon valuation of our stock options.
Expected Volatility: As there was no observable volatility with respect to Legacy BlackSky Class A common stock and due to the lack of sufficient history of BlackSky Class A common stock, we estimated the expected volatility of Legacy BlackSky and BlackSky Class A common stock based upon the historical share price volatility of guideline comparable companies.
Risk-free Interest Rate: We used the yield on actively traded, non-inflation indexed U.S. Treasury notes to extrapolate an average risk-free interest rate based on the expected term of the underlying grants.
Expected Term: For options granted since 2021, as there is not a significant history of option exercises as a public company, we consider the option vesting terms and contractual period, as well as the demographics of the holders, in estimating the expected term. We will continue to review our estimate and adjust it, if necessary, due to changes in our historical exercises.
Private Placement Warrants and Sponsor Shares
We have classified the Private Placement Warrants issued in October 2019 and March 2023 and the Osprey pre-merger Class B common shares that were exchanged for shares of our Class A common stock (the "Sponsor Shares") as long-term liabilities in our consolidated balance sheets as of December 31, 2025 and 2024. Although some of the warrants have expiration dates within one year of December 31, 2025, current liabilities are used principally to designate obligations whose liquidation is reasonably expected to require the use of existing resources properly classifiable as current assets, or the creation of other current liabilities. The Private Placement Warrants issued in October 2019 and the Sponsor Shares were initially recorded at fair value on the date of the Merger, whereas the Private Placement Warrants issued in March 2023 were recorded at fair value on the date of issuance. The Private Placement Warrants were recorded at fair value using a Black-Scholes option pricing model and the Sponsor Shares were recorded at fair value using a Monte Carlo simulation model. These liabilities are re-measured to fair value at each subsequent reporting date and immediately prior to each warrant exercise date. The remeasurements are recorded to loss on derivatives in our consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss. We will continue to adjust the liability for changes in fair value until the financial instruments are exercised, redeemed, cancelled or released.
The fair value models require inputs including, but not limited to, the fair value of our Class A common stock, the risk-free interest rate, expected term, expected dividend yield and expected volatility. The fair value of our Class
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A common stock is the closing stock price on the NYSE as of the measurement date. The risk-free interest rate assumption is determined by using U.S. Treasury rates for the same period as the expected terms of the financial instruments. The dividend yield assumption is based on the dividends expected to be paid over the expected life of the financial instruments. Expected stock volatility is based on our public warrant historical volatility. Changes in these assumptions can materially affect the estimate of the fair value of these instruments and ultimately the change in fair value.
Goodwill Impairment
We assess goodwill for impairment at the reporting unit level, which is defined as an operating segment or one level below an operating segment. Goodwill is tested annually for impairment as of October 1st, or more frequently if events or circumstances indicate the carrying value may be impaired. A significant amount of judgment is involved in determining if an indicator of impairment has occurred. Indicators of impairment may include (a) a significant decline in our common stock value, (b) a significant decline in our expected future cash flows, (c) a significant adverse change in legal factors or the business climate, (d) unanticipated competition, or (e) slower growth rates. We measure potential impairment by comparing the fair value of each of our reporting units with its carrying amount, including goodwill. If the carrying amount of a reporting unit exceeds its fair value, an impairment loss is recognized in an amount equal to that excess.
We performed an annual qualitative goodwill assessment related to the BlackSky reporting unit as of October 1, 2025. We determined that no triggering events occurred during the year ended December 31, 2025 that would require a quantitative assessment. During our qualitative assessment, we determined that it is more likely than not that the fair value of the BlackSky reporting unit sufficiently exceeds its carrying value, including goodwill. As of December 31, 2025, we believe that the estimated fair value of the BlackSky reporting unit is still in excess of its respective carrying value and we did not identify any triggering events that indicate a risk of impairment.
Long-Lived Asset Impairment
We evaluate long-lived assets, including intangible assets, property and equipment, satellite work in process and other long-term assets, for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amounts of such assets may not be fully recoverable. Significant judgments in this area involve determining whether a triggering event has occurred and determining the future cash flows for the relevant assets. A triggering event for assessing impairment can be a change in the estimated useful life of an intangible asset. Once a triggering event is identified and we conduct an analysis for impairment, we compare the undiscounted cash flows expected to be generated from the long-lived assets (or asset group) to the related net book values. If the undiscounted cash flows exceed the net book value, the long-lived assets are considered not to be impaired. If the net book value exceeds the undiscounted cash flows, an impairment charge is measured and recognized based upon the difference between the carrying value of long-lived assets (or asset group) and their fair value.
Business Combination
Upon acquisition of a company, we determine if the transaction is a business combination, which is accounted for using the acquisition method of accounting. Under the acquisition method, once control is obtained of a business, the assets acquired, and liabilities assumed, are recorded at fair value.
The most significant estimates and assumptions evaluated in a business combination relate to the determination of (1) the enterprise value of the acquired company using an income approach, (2) the fair values of identified intangible assets, (3) the allocation of the fair value acquired to the net assets acquired and (4) the period and pattern of amortization for intangible assets that are assigned a definite life. The enterprise value is determined based on projected cash flows attributable to the operations of the acquiree. The projected cash flows include various assumptions, including estimated revenue growth rates, operating margins, research and development expenditures, capital expenditures, royalty rates, and appropriate risk-adjusted discount rates used to discount the projected cash flows. The use of different assumptions would result in the assignment of different fair values to the acquired identifiable intangible assets and, accordingly, could also impact the amount of purchase consideration assigned to
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goodwill. Similarly, changes in the planned usage of the acquired identifiable intangible assets and/or their estimated economic lives, if any, could impact the recoverability of the assets and/or amortization period and expense attributable to the assets in the future.
Measurement period adjustments are reflected at the time identified, through the conclusion of the measurement period, which is the time at which all information for determination of the values of assets acquired and liabilities assumed is received. The measurement period is not to exceed one year from the acquisition date. We may continue to record adjustments to the fair value of any tangible and intangible assets acquired and liabilities assumed within the relevant measurement period with the corresponding offset to goodwill.
MD&A history
Prior-year 10-K MD&A spans are extracted from SEC filings with the same bounded parser used for the latest filing. The latest 10-K appears above; prior years are below.
FY 2024 10-K MD&A
SEC filing source: 0001753539-25-000030.
ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
The following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with our consolidated financial statements and related notes appearing elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. As discussed in the section titled “Special Note Regarding Forward Looking Statements,” the following discussion and analysis contains forward looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, as well as assumptions that, if they never materialize or prove incorrect, could cause our results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause or contribute to these differences include, but are not limited to, those discussed in the section titled “Risk Factors” under Part I, Item IA in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Unless the context otherwise requires, references in this “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” to “BlackSky,” “the Company,” “we,” “us” and “our” refer to the business and operations of Legacy BlackSky and its consolidated subsidiaries prior to the Merger and to BlackSky Technology Inc. and its consolidated subsidiaries, following the closing of the Merger.
In September 2024, we effected a one-for-eight reverse stock split (the “Reverse Stock Split”) of our issued Class A common stock, par value $0.0001 per share (“common stock”). As a result, every eight shares of our issued common stock were combined into one share of our common stock. No fractional shares of our common stock were issued as a result of the Reverse Stock Split. Each stockholder who would otherwise have been entitled to receive a fractional share as a result of the Reverse Stock Split received a cash payment equal to the product obtained by multiplying the number of shares of our common stock held by such stockholder before the Reverse Stock Split that would otherwise have been exchanged for such fractional share interest by the closing price per share of our common stock as reported on the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) on September 6, 2024, the date of the effective time of the Reverse Stock Split. As a result of the Reverse Stock Split, proportionate adjustments were made to the per share exercise price and the number of shares issuable upon the exercise of all outstanding warrants to purchase shares of our common stock. This “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” gives retroactive effect to the Reverse Stock Split for all periods presented. The shares of common stock retained a par value of $0.0001 per share.
Company Overview
BlackSky is a space-based intelligence company that delivers real-time imagery, analytics and high-frequency monitoring of the world’s most critical and strategic locations, economic assets, and events. BlackSky is trusted by many of the most demanding U.S. and international government agencies and commercial businesses around the world. We are defining a new category of space-based intelligence products and services with real-time imagery and automated analytics, delivered through an easy-to-use interface coupled with our high-revisit and low latency satellite constellation both designed to help customers see, understand and anticipate change for a decisive strategic advantage.
We own and operate one of the industry's leading high-performance low earth orbit (“LEO”) small satellite constellations. Our constellation is optimized to cost-efficiently capture imagery at high revisit rates where and when our customers need it. Because of its orbital configuration, our constellation is able to image certain locations on average in under 90 minutes, from dawn-to-dusk, providing our customers with insights and situational awareness over specific locations of interest throughout the day. The constellation is optimized for agility and capacity and delivers high revisit imaging and analytic products without a dependency on an individual satellite. This approach enables us to strategically deploy capacity to meet customer needs and tailor the capability over time to meet market demand. We believe that our focus on critical strategic and economic infrastructure and our proprietary artificial intelligence (“AI”)-enabled tasking methodology differentiates us from many of our competitors, who are primarily dedicated to mapping the entirety of the Earth on a routine basis. Our differentiated approach to space enables us to deliver highly targeted and valuable intelligence with a smaller constellation fleet that has the added benefit of greater operating and capital efficiencies.
BlackSky’s constellation provides unique value with the ability to collect imagery and analytics from dawn-to-dusk at a higher cadence and at lower cost than traditional providers. U.S. and allied militaries rely on our services for high-revisit monitoring of airfields, vehicle depots, troop movements, and other high-value locations to detect changes in pattern-of-life. BlackSky can distinguish landscape features such as roads and buildings, and gauge
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commercial activities and patterns in ship or aircraft movements, progress at construction sites, and changes in production by estimating the number of cars in a parking lot.
Our proprietary constellation can produce high and very-high resolution electro-optical imagery resolution and short-wave infrared imagery for expanded imaging capabilities in low-light or nighttime. The constellation also has advanced data communications capabilities that significantly increase the end-to-end delivery speed of intelligence products. We believe these advanced features improve our analytics and increase the value we can deliver to our customers.
Our BlackSky Spectra software platform can, among other things, process millions of observations a day from our proprietary satellite constellation and from multiple external data sources including imaging, radar and radio frequency satellites, environmental sensors, asset tracking sensors, Internet-of-Things connected devices, internet-enabled narrative sources, and a variety of geotemporal data feeds. BlackSky Spectra employs advanced, proprietary AI and machine learning (“ML”) techniques to process, analyze, and transform these data feeds into alerts, information, and insights that our customers receive, all fully automated. Customers can access BlackSky Spectra's data and analytics through easy-to-use web services or through platform APIs. The combination of our high-revisit, small satellite constellation, our BlackSky Spectra platform, and low constellation cost is transforming the market for real-time, space-based imagery and analytics.
Our operating strategy is to continue to enhance the capabilities of our satellite constellation, to increase the data processed by our BlackSky Spectra platform, and to expand our analytics offerings in order to increase the value we deliver to our customers. Our two strategic assets—our satellite constellation and our BlackSky Spectra platform—are mutually reinforcing: as we capture more information about the world’s most important strategic and economic assets and locations, our proprietary database expands and increases its utility, enabling us to better detect, understand, and predict changes that matter most to our customers. As such, we believe that our business will benefit from a natural and powerful “flywheel” effect: the more data we collect and analyze, the more valuable the insights we can deliver to our customers.
Our current customer base and end market mix are weighted towards U.S. and international defense and intelligence customers and markets. We believe there are significant opportunities to expand our imagery and software analytical services, as well as our professional and engineering service offerings, to a broad set of customers both domestically and internationally. In addition, our services and products can benefit customers in a variety of commercial markets including, but not limited to, energy and utilities, insurance, commodities, mining, manufacturing, logistics, supply chain management, agriculture, environmental monitoring, disaster and risk management, engineering and construction, and retail and consumer behavior.
We generate revenue by selling subscription-based On-Demand and Assured product and service offerings that support national security, supply chain intelligence, crisis management, critical infrastructure monitoring, economic intelligence, and others. These offerings include a variety of pricing options accessible via our subscription plan through our BlackSky Spectra software platform, plus professional and engineering services provided to customers on a project-by-project basis. We offer a range of pricing tiers that enables the customer to manage collection priorities, when during critical events they can pay a premium to prioritize their monitoring and collection requirements. At other times, customers can select lower priority collections to allow for more economical utilization. Variable and fixed price plans allow our customers to choose what matters most to them—platform licensing-levels, priority for imagery tasking, and whether to apply analytics or monitoring capabilities overtop the imaging service.
On November 6, 2024, we acquired the remaining 50% of common units of LeoStella LLC (“LeoStella”) and LeoStella became a wholly-owned subsidiary of BlackSky. The acquisition allows us to improve control over the Gen-3 satellite supply chain and production operations. We have manufacturing capacity to produce up to 40 satellites per year. This vertical integration enables BlackSky to control our satellites through the entire design, manufacturing, and operation process and optimize performance per unit cost. LeoStella's financial results have been included in our operating results for the period following the acquisition date.
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Components of Operating Results
Revenue
Our revenue is generated by selling imagery and software analytics services through our BlackSky Spectra platform and by providing professional and engineering services to strategic customers on a project basis.
•Imagery and Software Analytical Services Revenue
◦Imagery: We offer our customers high-revisit, on-demand high resolution electro optical satellite imaging services. Through our BlackSky Spectra software platform, customers can directly task our proprietary satellite constellation to collect and deliver imagery over specific locations, sites, and regions that are critical to their operations. We offer customers several service level options that include annual plans for access to capacity subscriptions for on-demand tasking or multi-year assured access programs, where customers can secure priority access and imaging capacity at a premium over a region of interest on a take or pay basis.
◦Data, Software, and Analytics: Our analytics services are also offered on a subscription basis and provide customers with access to our site monitoring, event monitoring and global data services. We leverage our proprietary AI and ML algorithms to analyze data coming from both our proprietary sensor network and third-party space sources in real-time to provide data, insights, and analytics for our customers. We provide services related to object, change and anomaly detection, site monitoring, and enhanced analytics through which we can detect key pattern of life changes in critical locations. These critical locations can include strategic locations and infrastructure such as ports, airports, and construction sites; retail activity; commodities stockpiles; and other sites that contain critical commodities and supply chain inventory.
We expect continued revenue growth in our offerings year over year as a result of increases in our sales orders with new customers and incremental sales orders driven by stronger customer demand with existing customers.
•Professional and Engineering Services Revenue—We develop and deliver advanced satellites and payload systems for specific strategic customers that desire to leverage our capabilities in mission systems engineering and operations, ground station operations, software, analytics and systems development. These systems are sold to government customers under fixed price contracts and are often sold with operating and imagery service subscriptions. We retain rights to intellectual property for developed technology of certain systems.
We also provide technology enabled professional service solutions, which are highly-interrelated, to support customer-specific feature requests and to support the integration, testing, and training of our imagery and software analytical services into the customer's organizational processes and workflows. We also provide software systems engineering development services to support the integration of high volume and mass quantities of data in their operating platforms.
We expect continued meaningful contribution from our professional and engineering services revenue, which we expect will be primarily from contracts with existing U.S. and international defense and intelligence customers with whom we have contracted to perform development work prior to the implementation of their subscription service contracts.
Costs and Expenses
Our costs and expenses are incurred from the following categories:
•Imagery and software analytical services costs primarily include third-party data and imagery, ground station service payments, and internal labor to support the ground stations and space operations. Costs are expensed as incurred except for incremental costs to obtain a contract, which are primarily sales commissions on contracts greater than one year and are capitalized and amortized to selling, general, and administrative expenses on a systematic basis consistent with the transfer of goods and services and directly identifiable costs to fulfill a contract. Expense related to stock-based payments is classified in the consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss based upon the classification of each
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employee's cash compensation. We recognize stock-based compensation expense for those employees whose work supports the imagery and software analytical services costs we provide to customers, under imagery and software analytical service costs, excluding depreciation and amortization.
•Professional and engineering service costs primarily include the cost of internal labor for design and engineering in support of long-term development contracts for customer satellites and payload systems as well as subcontract direct materials and external labor costs to build and test specific components, such as the communications system, payload demands, and sensor integration. In addition, we recognize internal labor costs and external subcontract labor costs for our customer-centric software service solutions. We also recognize stock-based compensation expense for those employees who provide professional and engineering services support to customers, under professional and engineering service costs, excluding depreciation and amortization.
Operating Expenses
Our operating expenses are incurred from the following categories:
•Selling, general, and administrative expense consists of salaries and benefit costs, development costs, professional fees, and other expenses which include other personnel-related costs, stock-based compensation expenses for those employees who generally support our business and operations, and occupancy costs. Our development costs include internal labor costs to design and plan critical real-time software and geospatial analytic solutions and solution enhancements, including mapping, analysis, site target monitoring, and news feeds.
•Research and development expense consists of employees’ salaries, taxes, and benefits costs incurred while researching next generation space and ground architectures in support of our long-term strategy. With our acquisition of LeoStella in November 2024, research and development expense also includes our investments in satellite design and functionality. Additionally, we employ and classify third-party vendors who fulfill our strategic projects as research and development expense. We intend to continue to invest appropriate resources in research and development efforts, as we believe that investment is critical to maintaining our competitive position.
•Depreciation expense is related to property and equipment, which mainly consist of operational satellites. Amortization expense is related to intangible assets, which mainly consist of customer relationships.
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Results of Operations for the Years Ended December 31, 2024 and 2023
The following table provides the components of results of operations for the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023:
| Years Ended December 31, | $ | % | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2023 | Change | Change | |||||||||||||||||||
| (dollars in thousands) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Revenue | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Imagery & software analytical services | $ | 70,062 | $ | 65,391 | $ | 4,671 | 7.1 | % | ||||||||||||||
| Professional & engineering services | 32,031 | 29,101 | 2,930 | 10.1 | % | |||||||||||||||||
| Total revenue | 102,093 | 94,492 | 7,601 | 8.0 | % | |||||||||||||||||
| Costs and expenses | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Imagery & software analytical service costs, excluding depreciation and amortization | 13,907 | 13,793 | 114 | 0.8 | % | |||||||||||||||||
| Professional & engineering service costs, excluding depreciation and amortization | 13,525 | 19,988 | (6,463) | (32.3) | % | |||||||||||||||||
| Selling, general and administrative | 74,069 | 72,617 | 1,452 | 2.0 | % | |||||||||||||||||
| Research and development | 1,344 | 643 | 701 | 109.0 | % | |||||||||||||||||
| Depreciation and amortization | 43,536 | 43,431 | 105 | 0.2 | % | |||||||||||||||||
| Operating loss | (44,288) | (55,980) | 11,692 | 20.9 | % | |||||||||||||||||
| (Loss) gain on derivatives | (2,815) | 7,679 | (10,494) | (136.7) | % | |||||||||||||||||
| Income on equity method investments | 879 | 4,165 | (3,286) | (78.9) | % | |||||||||||||||||
| Interest income | 1,560 | 2,063 | (503) | (24.4) | % | |||||||||||||||||
| Interest expense | (12,187) | (9,306) | (2,881) | (31.0) | % | |||||||||||||||||
| Other income (expense), net | 3 | (1,807) | 1,810 | 100.2 | % | |||||||||||||||||
| Loss before income taxes | (56,848) | (53,186) | (3,662) | (6.9) | % | |||||||||||||||||
| Income tax expense | (370) | (673) | 303 | 45.0 | % | |||||||||||||||||
| Net loss | $ | (57,218) | $ | (53,859) | $ | (3,359) | (6.2) | % |
Revenue
| Years Ended December 31, | $ | % | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2023 | Change | Change | ||||||||||||||||||
| (dollars in thousands) | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Imagery & software analytical revenue | $ | 70,062 | $ | 65,391 | $ | 4,671 | 7.1 | % | |||||||||||||
| % of total revenue | 68.6 | % | 69.2 | % | |||||||||||||||||
| Professional & engineering services revenue | 32,031 | 29,101 | 2,930 | 10.1 | % | ||||||||||||||||
| % of total revenue | 31.4 | % | 30.8 | % | |||||||||||||||||
| Total revenue | $ | 102,093 | $ | 94,492 | $ | 7,601 | 8.0 | % |
Imagery and Software Analytical Services Revenue
Imagery and software analytical services revenue increased for the year ended December 31, 2024 as compared to the same period in 2023, primarily driven by incremental imagery and analytics subscription orders and renewals from existing customers for additional services.
Professional and Engineering Services Revenue
Professional and engineering services revenue increased for the year ended December 31, 2024, as compared to the same period in 2023, primarily due to new contracts with existing and new customers. Professional and
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engineering services revenue contain estimates that can result in the recognition of revenue in a current period for performance obligations which were satisfied or partially satisfied in a prior period. For the impacts of changes in estimates on our contracts, see Note 2—“Basis of Presentation and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies” of the notes to the consolidated financial statements contained within this Annual Report on Form 10-K. The increase in revenue from the new contracts in 2024 was partially offset by a decrease in revenue from in-process contracts with less costs incurred year-over-year as they near maturity.
Costs and Expenses
| Years Ended December 31, | $ | % | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2023 | Change | Change | ||||||||||||||||||||
| (dollars in thousands) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Imagery & software analytical service costs, excluding depreciation and amortization | $ | 13,907 | $ | 13,793 | $ | 114 | 0.8 | % | |||||||||||||||
| Professional & engineering service costs, excluding depreciation and amortization | 13,525 | 19,988 | (6,463) | (32.3) | % | ||||||||||||||||||
| Total costs | $ | 27,432 | $ | 33,781 | $ | (6,349) | (18.8) | % |
Imagery and Software Analytical Service Costs
Imagery & software analytical service costs, excluding depreciation and amortization, remained flat for the year ended December 31, 2024, as compared to the same period in 2023.
Professional and Engineering Service Costs
Professional & engineering service costs, excluding depreciation and amortization, decreased for the year ended December 31, 2024 as compared to the same period in 2023, primarily due to fewer direct material costs incurred on two long-term engineering contracts, which was driven by an increase in the program's maturity year-over-year and from contributed non-recurring costs that were incurred for programs in 2023 that did not reoccur in 2024.
Selling, General, and Administrative
| Years Ended December 31, | $ | % | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2023 | Change | Change | ||||||||||||||||||||
| (dollars in thousands) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Salaries and benefit costs | $ | 41,742 | $ | 40,720 | $ | 1,022 | 2.5 | % | |||||||||||||||
| Stock-based compensation expense | 10,526 | 10,118 | 408 | 4.0 | % | ||||||||||||||||||
| Information technology and other administrative expenses | 9,051 | 8,938 | 113 | 1.3 | % | ||||||||||||||||||
| Selling and marketing | 3,783 | 3,789 | (6) | (0.2) | % | ||||||||||||||||||
| Professional fees | 4,224 | 3,498 | 726 | 20.8 | % | ||||||||||||||||||
| Insurance | 1,937 | 2,755 | (818) | (29.7) | % | ||||||||||||||||||
| Rent expense | 1,852 | 1,762 | 90 | 5.1 | % | ||||||||||||||||||
| Development costs | 954 | 1,037 | (83) | (8.0) | % | ||||||||||||||||||
| Selling, general and administrative | $ | 74,069 | $ | 72,617 | $ | 1,452 | 2.0 | % |
Selling, general, and administrative expenses increased slightly during the year ended December 31, 2024 as compared to the same period in 2023. Salaries and benefits costs increased primarily due to the investments in AI
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capabilities that were ratably hired in 2023 in addition to the workforce acquired in our acquisition of LeoStella in the fourth quarter of 2024. Professional fees increased as a result of increased transaction costs stemming from the business acquisition in 2024 and the increase in stock-based compensation was due to the acceleration of expense for stock options that were voluntarily forfeited during the first quarter of 2024. These increases were partially offset by decreases in corporate insurance premiums year over year as we have been able to negotiate better rates.
The following is our forecast for total RSU expense as of December 31, 2024, which, in addition to the amounts recognized in selling, general, and administrative expenses, includes the portion that will be capitalized or classified in imagery and software analytical service costs and professional and engineering service costs:
| (in thousands) | ||
|---|---|---|
| For the years ending December 31, | ||
| 2025 | 9,530 | |
| 2026 | 6,805 | |
| 2027 | 3,715 | |
| 2028 | 1,352 | |
| $ | 21,402 |
Research and Development
| Years Ended December 31, | $ | % | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2023 | Change | Change | ||||||||||||||||||||
| (dollars in thousands) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Research and development | $ | 1,344 | $ | 643 | $ | 701 | 109.0 | % |
Research and development expense increased for the year ended December 31, 2024, as compared to the same period in 2023. The fluctuations were driven by our increased investments in satellite design and functionality as a result of our LeoStella acquisition in November 2024 as well as the timing of contracts from third-party vendors who fulfill our strategic projects, the costs of which were included in research and development expense. We have continued to invest in our research and development initiatives to significantly expand our product capabilities in the future.
Depreciation and Amortization
| Years Ended December 31, | $ | % | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2023 | Change | Change | ||||||||||||||||||||
| (dollars in thousands) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Depreciation of satellites | $ | 32,294 | $ | 37,270 | $ | (4,976) | (13.4) | % | |||||||||||||||
| Depreciation of all other property and equipment | 10,631 | 5,600 | 5,031 | 89.8 | % | ||||||||||||||||||
| Amortization | 611 | 561 | 50 | 8.9 | % | ||||||||||||||||||
| Depreciation and amortization | $ | 43,536 | $ | 43,431 | $ | 105 | 0.2 | % |
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Depreciation expense from satellites decreased for the year ended December 31, 2024 as compared to the same period in 2023 as satellites became fully depreciated.
Depreciation expense from all other property and equipment increased for the year ended December 31, 2024 as compared to the same period in 2023, primarily driven by the depreciation of increased asset balances for internal-use software as well as the build-out of new office space in 2024.
Amortization expense remained relatively flat for the year ended December 31, 2024 as compared to the same period in 2023.
Non-Operating Expenses
| Years Ended December 31, | $ | % | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2023 | Change | Change | ||||||||||||||||||||
| (dollars in thousands) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| (Loss) gain on derivatives | $ | (2,815) | $ | 7,679 | $ | (10,494) | (136.7) | % | |||||||||||||||
| Income on equity method investments | 879 | 4,165 | (3,286) | (78.9) | % | ||||||||||||||||||
| Interest income | 1,560 | 2,063 | (503) | (24.4) | % | ||||||||||||||||||
| Interest expense | (12,187) | (9,306) | (2,881) | (31.0) | % | ||||||||||||||||||
| Other income (expense), net | 3 | (1,807) | 1,810 | 100.2 | % |
(Loss) gain on derivatives
Fluctuations in our equity warrants and other equity instruments that we classify as derivative liabilities in the consolidated balance sheets and measure at fair value are significantly driven by our common stock price. Fluctuations to these instruments are inversely related to changes in our common stock price, the volatility of the markets, and the duration of the equity warrants. The gains or losses recognized in the period are non-cash fair value adjustments. These instruments generated a loss during the year ended December 31, 2024 versus a gain during the year ended December 31, 2023.
Income on equity method investments
The fluctuations in income on equity method investments were due to a gain of $9.5 million from the sale of our investment in X-Bow in 2023, which was partially offset by the 2023 operating results of our former joint venture LeoStella. We did not recognize any percentage of LeoStella's estimated net loss during the year ended December 31, 2024 since our investment in LeoStella was $0 as of December 31, 2023. In November 2024, when we acquired the remaining common units of LeoStella, LeoStella became a wholly-owned subsidiary of BlackSky Holdings, Inc. and their results of operations were included in our consolidated financial statements after the date of acquisition. In conjunction with the business combination, the Company recognized a gain of $0.9 million related to the step up acquisition.
Interest income
Interest income decreased during the year ended December 31, 2024 as a result of lower cash balances during the period as compared to the same period in 2023.
Interest expense
Interest expense increased during the year ended December 31, 2024, as compared to the year ended December 31, 2023, as a result of increased debt outstanding during the year ended December 31, 2024, as compared to the same period in 2023, and a higher effective interest rate on our loans from related parties that were amended during the second quarter of 2023.
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Other income (expense), net
For the year ended December 31, 2024 as compared to the year ended December 31, 2023, other income (expense), net changed related to $0.9 million of one-time only transaction costs associated with the issuance of new warrants in 2023 that are accounted for as derivative liabilities and $0.8 million of one-time only transaction costs associated with our debt modification during 2023.
Non-GAAP Financial Measures
In addition to our results determined in accordance with GAAP, management utilizes certain non-GAAP performance measures, such as Adjusted EBITDA, for purposes of evaluating our ongoing operations and for internal planning and forecasting purposes. Our management and board of directors believe that this non-GAAP operating measure, when reviewed with our GAAP financial information, provides useful supplemental information to investors in assessing our operating performance.
Adjusted EBITDA
Adjusted EBITDA is defined as net income or loss attributable to us before interest income, interest expense, income tax expense or benefit, depreciation and amortization, as well as significant non-cash and/or non-recurring expenses as our management believes these items are not useful in evaluating our core operating performance. These items include, but are not limited to, stock-based compensation expense; unrealized (gain) loss on certain warrants/shares classified as derivative liabilities; non-recurring transaction costs; severance; litigation, settlements, and related costs; impairment losses; income on equity method investment; transaction costs associated with debt and equity financings; and investment loss on short-term investments. We have presented Adjusted EBITDA because it is a key measure used by our management and board of directors to understand and evaluate our operating performance, generate future operating plans and make strategic decisions regarding the allocation of capital. In particular, we believe that the exclusion of certain items in calculating Adjusted EBITDA can produce a useful measure for period-to-period comparisons of our business. Accordingly, we believe that Adjusted EBITDA provides useful information in understanding and evaluating our operating results. In addition, we believe that Adjusted EBITDA provides additional information for investors to use in evaluating our ongoing operating results and trends. This non-GAAP measure provides investors with incremental information for the evaluation of our performance after isolation of certain items deemed unrelated to our core business operations.
Adjusted EBITDA is presented as a supplemental measure to our GAAP measures of performance. When evaluating Adjusted EBITDA, you should be aware that we may incur future expenses similar to those excluded when calculating this measure. In addition, our presentation of this measure should not be construed as an inference that our future results will be unaffected by unusual or non-recurring items. Furthermore, our computation of Adjusted EBITDA may not be directly comparable to similarly titled measures computed by other companies, as the nature of the adjustments that other companies may include or exclude when calculating Adjusted EBITDA may differ from the adjustments reflected in our measure. Because of these limitations, Adjusted EBITDA should not be considered in isolation, nor should this measure be viewed as a substitute for the most directly comparable GAAP measure, which is net loss. We compensate for the limitations of non-GAAP measures by relying primarily on our GAAP results. You should review the reconciliation of our net loss to Adjusted EBITDA below and not rely on any single financial measure to evaluate our performance.
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The table below reconciles our net loss to Adjusted EBITDA for the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023:
| Years Ended December 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2023 | |||||||||
| (in thousands) | ||||||||||
| Net loss | $ | (57,218) | $ | (53,859) | ||||||
| Interest income | (1,560) | (2,063) | ||||||||
| Interest expense | 12,187 | 9,306 | ||||||||
| Income tax expense | 370 | 673 | ||||||||
| Depreciation and amortization | 43,536 | 43,431 | ||||||||
| Stock-based compensation expense | 11,169 | 10,862 | ||||||||
| Loss (gain) on derivatives | 2,815 | (7,679) | ||||||||
| Non-recurring transaction costs | 512 | — | ||||||||
| Litigation, settlements, and related costs | 355 | — | ||||||||
| Severance | 219 | 590 | ||||||||
| Impairment losses | 131 | 81 | ||||||||
| Income on equity method investment | (879) | (4,165) | ||||||||
| Transaction costs associated with debt and equity financings | — | 1,738 | ||||||||
| Investment loss on short-term investments | — | 55 | ||||||||
| Adjusted EBITDA | $ | 11,637 | $ | (1,030) |
Liquidity and Capital Resources
As of December 31, 2024, our existing sources of liquidity included cash and cash equivalents and short-term investments. Our cash and cash equivalents excluding restricted cash totaled $13.1 million and $32.8 million as of December 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively, and our short-term investments totaled $39.4 million and $19.7 million as of December 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively. We have incurred year to date losses and generated negative cash flows from operations since our inception in September 2014. As of December 31, 2024, we had an accumulated deficit of $656.2 million.
Our short-term liquidity as of December 31, 2024 was comprised of the following:
| (in thousands) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Cash and cash equivalents | $ | 13,056 |
| Restricted cash | 1,322 | |
| Short-term investments(1) | 39,406 | |
| $ | 53,784 |
(1) Short-term investments were included in cash flows from investing activities in the consolidated statements of cash flows.
Our short-term liquidity as of December 31, 2024 was $53.8 million. We expect cash and cash equivalents and cash generated from operating activities to be sufficient to meet our working capital and capital expenditure needs for the foreseeable future. Our future long-term capital requirements will depend on many factors including our Gen-3 satellite production needs, manufacturing costs, launch costs and increased insurance costs, as well as our growth rate, customer demand for capacity, the timing and extent of spending to support solution development efforts, the expansion of sales and marketing activities, the ongoing investments in technology infrastructure, the introduction of new and enhanced solutions, and the continuing market acceptance of our solutions.
Our equity issuances during the year ended December 31, 2024 included a public offering of shares as well as an at-the-market (“ATM”) offering. In September 2024, we completed a public offering comprised of 11.5 million shares of common stock for a public offering price of $4.00 per share. We received $46.0 million in gross proceeds
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from this public offering. We also have the ability to offer and sell from time to time up to $75.0 million of newly issued shares in open trading windows at market prices through a designated broker dealer pursuant to an ATM offering program, of which we sold $4.8 million during the year ended December 31, 2024.
We have current contract assets of $27.9 million and we anticipate receiving this amount in payments over the next 12 months as interim milestones on a few major customer contracts are met and expected to be billed, further enhancing our liquidity.
In April 2024, we entered into a commercial bank line with Stifel Bank, as lender. The commercial bank line provides for a $20.0 million revolving credit facility, including a $0.5 million sub-facility for the issuance of letters of credit and other ancillary banking services. The commercial bank line matures on June 30, 2026. As of December 31, 2024, we had borrowed $10.0 million in revolving loans. We may increase or decrease our borrowings at our discretion with no penalty.
The commercial bank line accrues interest at a rate equal to the greater of (A) the prime rate or (B) 6%. Interest on the loan is payable quarterly in arrears. We are required to pay an unused line fee of 0.25% per annum, payable quarterly in arrears. We may borrow, prepay, and re-borrow revolving loans, without premium or penalty. The principal amount of outstanding loans, together with accrued and unpaid interest, is due on the loan maturity date. We are also obligated to pay a fee to the lender upon the occurrence of certain change of control events or the refinancing, repayment, or termination of the commercial bank line, along with other customary fees for a loan facility of this size and type.
The commercial bank line contains customary affirmative and negative covenants, including covenants limiting our ability to, among other things, incur debt, grant liens, pay dividends and distributions on our capital stock, make investments and acquisitions, and make capital expenditures, in each case subject to customary exceptions for a loan facility of this size and type. As part of the commercial bank line, we are required to maintain the following financial covenants:
•$10.0 million of minimum cash and cash equivalents balance, measured quarterly as of the last day of each fiscal quarter.
•Adjusted EBITDA, measured quarterly as of the last day of each fiscal quarter, of not less than:
•$5.0 million for the trailing four quarter period ending as of December 31, 2024 through September 30, 2025 and
•$10.0 million for the trailing four quarter period ending as of December 31, 2025 and as of the end of each fiscal quarter thereafter.
•Quarterly minimum revenue targets agreed upon by us and the bank at the beginning of each year.
•Unrestricted and unencumbered cash and cash equivalents in an amount equal to at least one hundred percent of the outstanding debt at all times.
If we fail to meet the minimum cash covenant, the commercial bank line provides us with the ability to cure the breach with the deposit of proceeds from the issuance of capital stock or subordinated debt. The commercial bank line includes customary events of default, including payment defaults, covenant breach defaults, cross defaults with certain other material indebtedness, bankruptcy and insolvency defaults, and a material adverse effect default, as well as an event of default for certain impairments of the availability of our ATM facility. The occurrence of an event of default could result in the acceleration of our obligations under the commercial bank line, the termination of Stifel Bank’s commitments, a 5% increase in the applicable rate of interest, and the exercise by Stifel Bank of other rights and remedies provided for under the commercial bank line.
We were in compliance with all covenants as of December 31, 2024 and expect to remain in compliance with all covenants in the next 12 months from the issuance of the financial statements.
We entered into a vendor financing agreement for multiple satellite launches providing for $27.0 million, of which a portion will be drawn down equally per satellite launch and will be repaid quarterly on a pro-rata basis across a three-year period after each successful launch milestone. Payments will accrue interest at 12.6% per annum, beginning on each launch date. As of December 31, 2024, we estimate we will repay approximately $2.0 million of
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short-term debt related to the vendor financing agreement in the next 12 months. We may prepay at any time until the maturity date without premium or penalty. See Note 14—“Debt and Other Financing” of the notes to the consolidated financial statements for further information on our debt and financing arrangements and Note 23 - “Commitments and Contingencies” of the notes to the consolidated financial statements for further information on our contractual obligations.
From time to time, we may seek additional equity or debt financing to fund capital expenditures, strategic initiatives or investments and our ongoing operations. If we decide, or are required, to seek additional financing from outside sources, we may not be able to raise it on terms acceptable to us or at all. If we are unable to raise additional capital when desired, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be adversely affected.
Funding Requirements
We continue to generate positive Adjusted EBITDA; however, we cannot be sure our revenues will continue to exceed expenses in the near term due to the ongoing investments we are making in sales, marketing and products to increase our market share. We expect to continue to incur capital expenditures as we procure and launch Gen-3 satellites, as well as invest in our BlackSky Spectra software platform to significantly expand our product capabilities in the future. Please refer to the section entitled “Non-GAAP Financial Measures” for additional information on our definition of Adjusted EBITDA.
Short-Term Liquidity Requirements
As of December 31, 2024, our current assets were $106.7 million, consisting primarily of short-term investments, contract assets, accounts receivable, and cash and cash equivalents.
As of December 31, 2024, our current liabilities were $26.0 million, consisting primarily of accounts payable and accrued liabilities. Accordingly, we have sufficient cash and working capital to fund our short-term liquidity requirements.
Long-Term Liquidity Requirements
We anticipate that our most significant long-term liquidity and capital needs will relate to continued funding of operations, satellite development capital expenditures, launch capital expenditures, and ongoing investments in our BlackSky Spectra software platform and internal infrastructure that will enable us to continue to scale the business efficiently and securely. We can manage the timing for a large part of our capital expenditures, including the design, build, and launch of our new satellites currently under development, to provide us with additional flexibility to optimize our long-term liquidity requirements. Macroeconomic conditions and credit markets could also impact the availability and/or the cost of potential future debt or equity financing.
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Cash Flow Analysis
The following table provides a summary of cash flow data for the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023. Our short-term liquidity at December 31, 2024 was $53.8 million. Short-term investments of $39.4 million are not classified as cash, cash equivalents, or restricted cash.
| Years Ended December 31, | $ | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2023 | Change | ||||||||
| (in thousands) | ||||||||||
| Net cash used in operating activities | $ | (6,384) | $ | (17,421) | $ | 11,037 | ||||
| Net cash used in investing activities | (68,330) | (15,211) | (53,119) | |||||||
| Net cash provided by financing activities | 55,658 | 29,050 | 26,608 | |||||||
| Net decrease in cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash | (19,056) | (3,582) | (15,474) | |||||||
| Cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash – beginning of year | 33,434 | 37,016 | (3,582) | |||||||
| Cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash – end of period | $ | 14,378 | $ | 33,434 | $ | (19,056) |
Operating activities
For the year ended December 31, 2024, net cash used in operating activities was $6.4 million. The contributor to the significant decrease in cash used during the year ended December 31, 2024 as compared to the year ended December 31, 2023 was the decrease in the operating loss, adjusted for non-cash items, as well as a decrease in the net cash used for working capital. The operating loss decrease in the year ended December 31, 2024 as compared to the year ended December 31, 2023 was due to increased imagery revenue primarily driven by incremental imagery and analytics subscription orders and renewals from existing customers for additional services. The decrease in cash used for working capital was largely related to the fact that our contract assets increased at a lower rate in 2024 than they did in 2023.
Investing activities
The change in net cash used in investing activities was primarily due to decreased proceeds from the redemption and maturity of $34.2 million of our short-term investments in corporate debt and governmental securities in addition to decreased purchases of these same type of investments of $52.9 million during the year ended December 31, 2024. Comparatively, during the year ended December 31, 2023, we recognized $59.1 million related to the redemption and maturity of short-term investments, largely due to restructuring our banking relationships with new and existing financial institutions; during the year ended December 31, 2023, we purchased $40.1 million of short-term investments to replace maturing investments. Additionally, we received proceeds of $9.5 million from the sale of our investment in X-Bow in 2023.
We continue to have significant cash outflows for satellite procurement and launch related services and incur labor costs for internally developed capitalized software as we add innovative new services and tools to our BlackSky Spectra software platform. The total amount paid for capital expenditures increased during the year ended December 31, 2024 as compared to the year ended December 31, 2023 as we continued to build and prepare for the launch of our Gen-3 satellites.
Financing activities
The most significant impact on the change in net cash provided by financing activities was the receipt of $47.0 million in proceeds from our equity issuances, net of equity issuance costs, in the year ended December 31, 2024 as compared to $32.7 million in the year ended December 31, 2023. Our equity issuances during the year ended December 31, 2024 included a public offering of 11.5 million shares of common stock resulting in $46.0 million in gross proceeds as well as the sale of 0.5 million shares under our ATM offering program which
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resulted in $4.8 million in gross proceeds. Our equity issuances in the year ended December 31, 2023 included a private placement of 2.1 million shares, which resulted in $29.4 million in gross proceeds, as well as the sale of 0.4 million shares under our ATM offering program, which resulted in $5.0 million in gross proceeds.
In addition, we also had borrowings from our revolving credit facility of $20.0 million during the year ended December 31, 2024, which were partially offset by $10.0 million of payments towards the same revolving credit facility.
Contractual Obligations and Commitments
As of December 31, 2024, we had a debt facility from related parties with an outstanding principal amount of $93.0 million, which matures in October 2026, and interest due to related parties of $1.9 million, of which $0.4 million was included in other current liabilities and $1.5 million was included in other liabilities. See Note 14—“Debt and Other Financing” and Note 21 - “Related Party Transactions” of the notes to the consolidated financial statements for further information on this facility.
In November 2023, we entered into a commercial agreement with financing terms for multiple satellite launches providing for $27.0 million, of which a portion can be drawn down equally per satellite launch and will be repaid quarterly on a pro-rata basis across a three-year period after each successful launch milestone. Payments will accrue interest at 12.6% per annum, beginning on each launch date. We may prepay at any time until the maturity date without premium or penalty. During the year ended December 31, 2024, we incurred $6.0 million of debt related to this financing agreement.
We also entered into a non-refundable commitment during the year ended December 31, 2024 for launch insurance, which will cover the risk of total or partial loss for multiple satellite launches. The minimum commitment associated with the launch insurance is $6.0 million.
In addition to the above, we entered into various operational commitments for the next several years totaling $5.6 million as of December 31, 2024.
Critical Accounting Estimates
The preparation of our consolidated financial statements and related notes requires management to make judgments, estimates, and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenue, and expenses. Management has based its estimates on historical experience and on various other assumptions that are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances, the results of which form the basis for making judgments about the carrying values of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. Actual results may differ from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions.
For a description of our significant accounting policies, see Note 2—“Basis of Presentation and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies” of the notes to the consolidated financial statements. An accounting policy is considered to be critical if it requires an accounting estimate to be made based on assumptions about matters that are highly uncertain at the time the estimate is made, and if different estimates that reasonably could have been used, or changes in the accounting estimates that are reasonably likely to occur periodically, could materially impact the consolidated financial statements. Management believes the following critical accounting policies reflect the more significant estimates and assumptions used in the preparation of our consolidated financial statements.
Revenue Recognition
The recognition and measurement of revenue requires the use of judgments and estimates. Specifically, judgment is used in interpreting complex arrangements with nonstandard terms and conditions and determining when all criteria for revenue recognition have been met, as further discussed below.
We generate revenue from the sale of imagery, data, software, and analytics, as well as professional and engineering services.
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Identifying the Contract with the Customer
We evidence approval of the contract with the customer with dual signatures or approved purchase orders that detail the rights of each party and define payment terms. We have never had significant collection issues on contracts with new or recurring domestic and international government customers and we consider this historical trend when assessing the collectability risk for contracts with bespoke effective terms.
Identifying the Performance Obligations in a Contract
We execute contracts for a single promise or multiple promises. Specifically, our firm-fixed price contracts may include multiple promises which may be accounted for as separate performance obligations if they are capable of being distinct and distinct within the context of the contract. Significant judgment is required in determining performance obligations, including if some of the customized services are highly-interrelated, and these decisions could change the amount of revenue and profit or loss recorded in each period.
Classification of Revenue
We classify revenue as imagery and software analytical services, and professional and engineering services in our consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss based on the predominant attributes of the performance obligations.
Determination of and Allocation of Transaction Price
Each customer contract sets forth the transaction price for the products and services purchased under the arrangement. We estimate any variable consideration, and whether the transaction price is constrained, upon execution of each contract. We may adjust the transaction price over time for any estimated constraints that become probable based on service level provisions within some of our customer purchase orders. For contracts with multiple performance obligations, we evaluate whether the stated selling prices for the products or services represent their standalone selling prices. When it is necessary to allocate the transaction price to multiple performance obligations, management uses the volume adjusted list price for imagery and analytics subscriptions and the expected cost plus a reasonable profit margin to estimate the standalone selling price of each product or service, which is mostly professional services.
Determination of when Performance Obligations are Satisfied
Imagery and analytics revenue is recognized ratably over the subscription period based on the promise to continuously provide contractual satellite capacity for tasked imagery or software analytical services at the discretion of the customer. Professional and engineering services revenue is generated from time and materials basis contracts, cost-plus contracts, firm-fixed price service solutions contracts and firm-fixed price long-term engineering and construction contracts. Due to the long-term nature of some of our engineering and construction contracts, we recognize revenue over time using a cost-to-complete measure of progress because it best depicts the transfer of control to the customer as we incur costs on the contracts. Under this measure of progress, the extent of progress towards completion is measured based on the ratio of costs incurred to date to the total estimated costs to complete the performance obligation(s). The estimation of total estimated costs at completion is subject to many variables and requires significant judgment. We recognize changes in the estimation of total costs at completion on a cumulative catch-up basis in the period in which the changes are identified. Such changes in estimates can result in the recognition of revenue in a current period for performance obligations which were satisfied or partially satisfied in a prior period. If at any time, the estimate of contract profitability indicates a probable anticipated loss on the contract, we recognize the total loss as and when known.
Equity Valuations
Equity valuations impact various amounts and accounting conclusions reflected in our consolidated financial statements, including the recognition of equity-based compensation and warrant valuations. The following discussion provides additional details regarding the significant estimates, assumptions, and judgments that impacted the determination of the fair values of equity-based compensation awards, warrants, and the common stock that comprise our capital structure. The following discussion also explains why these estimates, assumptions, and judgments could be subject to uncertainties and future variability.
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Equity-Based Compensation
We have equity and equity-based awards outstanding under our 2021 Equity Incentive Plan ("2021 Plan") and our 2014 Equity Incentive Plan ("2014 Plan"). Outstanding awards issued include stock options and restricted stock units ("RSUs"). In addition, our eligible employees are able to participate in our 2021 Employee Stock Purchase Plan ("ESPP") pursuant to purchase right offerings that are established under the ESPP.
For purposes of recognizing equity-based compensation related to RSUs and stock options granted to employees and other service providers, management estimates the grant date fair values of such awards to measure the costs to be recognized as services are received. For awards with time-based vesting conditions, we recognize compensation costs based upon the straight-line amortization of the grant date fair value of the awards over the requisite service period. When equity-based compensation awards include a performance condition, no compensation is recognized until the performance condition is deemed probable to occur; we then recognize compensation costs based on the accelerated attribution method, which accounts for awards with discrete vesting dates as if they were separate awards.
Stock Option and Class A Common Stock Warrant Valuations
We use the Black-Scholes option-pricing model to value all options, including options under our ESPP, and Class A common stock warrants. Estimating the fair value of stock options using the Black-Scholes option-pricing model requires the application of significant assumptions, such as the estimated term of the options, risk-free interest rates, the expected volatility of the price of our Class A common stock, and an expected dividend yield. Each of these assumptions is subjective, requires significant judgment, and is based upon management’s best estimates. If any of these assumptions were to change significantly in the future, equity-based compensation related to future awards may differ significantly, as compared with awards previously granted.
We have largely moved towards granting RSUs to the bulk of our employees, for which the grant date fair value is equal to the trading price fair value of our Class A common stock on the date of grant. For stock options, which are primarily granted to certain management employees, we use the following inputs under Black-Scholes as follows:
Expected Dividend Yield—The Black-Scholes valuation model requires an expected dividend yield as an input. The dividend yield is based on historical experience and expected future changes. We historically have not paid, and currently have no plans to pay dividends on our Class A common stock and, accordingly, have assumed no dividend yield upon valuation of our stock options.
Expected Volatility—As there was no observable volatility with respect to Legacy BlackSky Class A common stock and due to the lack of sufficient history of BlackSky Class A common stock, the expected volatility of Legacy BlackSky and BlackSky Class A common stock was estimated based upon the historical share price volatility of guideline comparable companies.
Risk-free Interest Rate—The yield on actively traded, non-inflation indexed U.S. Treasury notes was used to extrapolate an average risk-free interest rate based on the expected term of the underlying grants.
Expected Term—For options granted since 2021, as there is not a significant history of option exercises as a public company, we consider the option vesting terms and contractual period, as well as the demographics of the holders, in estimating the expected term. For options granted prior to 2021 when we were a private company, the expected term was the estimated duration to a liquidation event based on a weighted average consideration of the most likely exit prospects for that stage of development. We will continue to review our estimate in the future and adjust it, if necessary, due to changes in our historical exercises.
Private Placement Warrants and Sponsor Shares
We have classified the Private Placement Warrants issued in October 2019 and March 2023 and the Osprey pre-merger Class B common shares that were exchanged for shares of our Class A common stock (the "Sponsor Shares") as long-term liabilities in our consolidated balance sheets as of December 31, 2024 and 2023. The Private Placement Warrants issued in October 2019 and the Sponsor Shares were initially recorded at fair value on the date of the merger and the Private Placement Warrants issued in March 2023 were recorded at fair value on the date of
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issuance. The Private Placement Warrants were recorded at fair value using a Black-Scholes option pricing model and the Sponsor Shares were recorded at fair value using a Monte Carlo simulation model. These liabilities are re-measured to fair value at each subsequent reporting date and recorded to (loss) gain on derivatives in our consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss. We will continue to adjust the liability for changes in fair value until the financial instruments are exercised, redeemed, cancelled or released.
The fair value models require inputs including, but not limited to, the fair value of our Class A common stock, the risk-free interest rate, expected term, expected dividend yield and expected volatility. The fair value of our Class A common stock is the closing stock price on the NYSE as of the measurement date. The risk-free interest rate assumption is determined by using U.S. Treasury rates for the same period as the expected terms of the financial instruments. The dividend yield assumption is based on the dividends expected to be paid over the expected life of the financial instruments. We have historically been a private company and lacked sufficient company-specific historical and implied volatility information. Therefore, the expected stock volatility includes both our Class A common stock and public warrant historical volatility as well as the historical volatility of a set of publicly traded peer companies. Changes in these assumptions can materially affect the estimate of the fair value of these instruments and ultimately the change in fair value.
Goodwill Impairment
We assess goodwill for impairment at the reporting unit level, which is defined as an operating segment or one level below an operating segment. Goodwill is tested annually for impairment as of October 1st, or more frequently if events or circumstances indicate the carrying value may be impaired. A significant amount of judgement is involved in determining if an indicator of impairment has occurred. Such indicators may include (a) a significant decline in our common stock value; (b) a significant decline in our expected future cash flows; (c) a significant adverse change in legal factors or the business climate; (d) unanticipated competition; or (e) slower growth rates. We identify potential impairment by comparing the fair value of each of our reporting units with its carrying amount, including goodwill. If the carrying amount of a reporting unit exceeds its fair value, an impairment loss is recognized in an amount equal to that excess.
We performed an annual qualitative goodwill assessment over the balance of goodwill we held related to the BlackSky reporting unit as of October 1, 2024. We also determined that no triggering events occurred during the year ended December 31, 2024 that would require a quantitative assessment. We determined that it is more likely than not that the fair value of the BlackSky reporting unit sufficiently exceeds its carrying value, including goodwill. Although we have a history of recurring losses from operations, negative cash flows from operations, and a significant accumulated deficit, as of the October 1, 2024 analysis, the fair value was greater than 31% in excess of the carrying value for BlackSky. As of December 31, 2024, we believe that the estimated fair values of the BlackSky reporting unit is still in excess of its respective carrying value and therefore is not at-risk of being impaired.
Long Lived Asset Impairment
We evaluate long-lived assets, including intangible assets, property and equipment, satellite work in process and other long-term assets, for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amounts of the assets may not be fully recoverable. Significant judgments in this area involve determining whether a triggering event has occurred and determining the future cash flows for assets involved. In conducting this analysis, we compare the undiscounted cash flows expected to be generated from the long-lived assets (or asset group) to the related net book values. If the undiscounted cash flows exceed the net book value, the long-lived assets are considered not to be impaired. If the net book value exceeds the undiscounted cash flows, an impairment charge is measured and recognized based upon the difference between the carrying value of long-lived assets (or asset group) and their fair value.
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Business Combination
Upon acquisition of a company, we determine if the transaction is a business combination, which is accounted for using the acquisition method of accounting. Under the acquisition method, once control is obtained of a business, the assets acquired, and liabilities assumed, are recorded at fair value.
The most significant estimates and assumptions evaluated in a business combination relate to the determination of (1) the enterprise value of the acquired company using an income approach, (2) the fair values of identified intangible assets, (3) the allocation of the fair value acquired to the net assets acquired and (4) the period and pattern of amortization for intangible assets that are assigned a definite life. The enterprise value is determined based on projected cash flows attributable to the operations of the acquiree. The projected cash flows include various assumptions, including estimated revenue growth rates, operating margins, R&D expenditures, capital expenditures, royalty rates, and appropriate risk-adjusted discount rates used to discount the projected cash flows. The usage of different assumptions would result in the assignment of different fair values to the acquired identifiable intangible assets and, accordingly, could also impact the amount of purchase consideration assigned to goodwill. Similarly, changes in the planned usage of the acquired identifiable intangible assets and/or their estimated economic lives, if any, could impact the recoverability of the assets and/or amortization period and expense attributable to the assets in the future.
Measurement period adjustments are reflected at the time identified, up through the conclusion of the measurement period, which is the time at which all information for determination of the values of assets acquired and liabilities assumed is received, and is not to exceed one year from the acquisition date. We may record adjustments to the fair value of these tangible and intangible assets acquired and liabilities assumed, with the corresponding offset to goodwill.
FY 2023 10-K MD&A
SEC filing source: 0001753539-24-000032.
ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
The following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with our consolidated financial statements and related notes appearing elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. As discussed in the section titled “Special Note Regarding Forward Looking Statements,” the following discussion and analysis contains forward looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, as well as assumptions that, if they never materialize or prove incorrect, could cause our results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause or contribute to these differences include, but are not limited to, those discussed in the section titled “Risk Factors” under Part I, Item IA in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Unless the context otherwise requires, references in this “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” to “BlackSky,” “the Company,” “we,” “us” and “our” refer to the business and operations of Legacy BlackSky and its consolidated subsidiaries prior to the Merger and to BlackSky Technology Inc. and its consolidated subsidiaries, following the closing of the Merger.
Company Overview
We own and operate one of the industry's leading high-performance low earth orbit small satellite constellations. Our constellation is optimized to cost-efficiently capture imagery at high revisit rates where and when our customers need it. The orbital configuration of our constellation is designed to collect data on the most critical and strategic locations in the world. Our constellation is able to image certain locations approximately every 90 minutes, from dawn-to-dusk, providing our customers with insights and situational awareness throughout the day. Our satellites are designed with agile pointing capabilities that enable our customers to task our constellation on demand to collect specific locations of interest. The constellation is optimized for agility and capacity and delivers high revisit imaging and analytic products without a dependency on an individual satellite. This approach enables us to strategically deploy capacity to meet customer needs and tailor the capability over time to meet market demand. Our tasking methodology employs proprietary artificial intelligence (“AI”)-enabled software to efficiently collect images of the most important strategic and economic assets and areas of interest to our customers. We believe that our focus on critical strategic and economic infrastructure and the AI-enabled tasking of our constellation differentiates us from many of our competitors, who are primarily dedicated to mapping the entirety of the Earth on a routine basis. Our differentiated approach to space enables us to deliver highly targeted and valuable intelligence with a smaller constellation fleet that has the added benefit of greater operating and capital efficiencies.
Our BlackSky Spectra software platform can, among other things, process millions of observations a day from our proprietary satellite constellation and from multiple external data sources including imaging, radar and radio frequency satellites, environmental sensors, asset tracking sensors, Internet-of-Things connected devices, internet-enabled narrative sources, and a variety of geotemporal data feeds. BlackSky Spectra employs advanced, proprietary AI and machine learning (“ML”) techniques to process, analyze, and transform these data feeds into alerts, information, and insights that our customers receive, all fully automated. Customers can access BlackSky Spectra's data and analytics through easy-to-use web services or through platform application programming interfaces.
Our next generation satellites (“Gen-3”), expected to launch in 2024, are designed to improve imaging resolution even further and include short wave infrared imaging technology for a broad set of imaging conditions, including nighttime and low-light. We believe these advancements will expand the relevance and certainty of our analytics to continue to ensure our importance to our customers. We also believe the combination of our high-revisit, small satellite constellation, our BlackSky Spectra platform, and low constellation cost is transforming the market for real-time, space-based imagery and analytics.
Our operating strategy is to continue to enhance the capabilities of our satellite constellation, to increase the number of third-party data sources processed by our BlackSky Spectra platform, and to expand our analytics offerings in order to increase the value we deliver to our customers. Our two strategic assets—our satellite constellation and our BlackSky Spectra platform—are mutually reinforcing: as we capture more information about the world’s most important strategic and economic assets and locations, our proprietary database expands and increases its utility, enabling us to better detect, understand, and predict changes that matter most to our customers. Our business has a natural and powerful “flywheel” effect: the more data we collect and analyze, the more valuable the insights we can deliver to our customers.
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Our current customer base and end market mix are weighted towards U.S. and international defense and intelligence customers and markets. We believe there are significant opportunities to expand our imagery and software analytical services, as well as our professional and engineering service offerings, to a broad set of customers both domestically and internationally. In addition, our services and products can benefit customers in a variety of commercial markets including, but not limited to, energy and utilities, insurance, commodities, mining, manufacturing, logistics, supply chain management, agriculture, environmental monitoring, disaster and risk management, engineering and construction, and retail and consumer behavior.
We generate revenue by selling On-Demand and Assured product and service offerings that support a broad range of applications including national security, supply chain intelligence, crisis management, critical infrastructure monitoring, economic intelligence, and others. These offerings are comprised of a predefined, standard set of imagery and software analytics products accessible via our basic subscription plan through our BlackSky Spectra software platform, plus professional and engineering services provided to customers on a project-by-project basis. We offer a variety of pricing and utilization options for our imagery and software analytical service offerings, with the majority of our agreements structured as subscription contracts, followed by usage-based pricing and transactional licenses. These options provide customers flexibility to utilize our imagery and software analytical services in a manner that best suits their business needs. We offer a range of pricing tiers that enables the customer to manage collection priorities, when during critical events they can pay a premium to prioritize their monitoring and collection requirements. At other times, customers can select lower priority collections to allow for more economical utilization. Variable and fixed price plans allow our customers to choose what matters most to them—platform licensing-levels, priority for imagery tasking, and whether to apply analytics or monitoring capabilities overtop the imaging service.
Components of Operating Results
Revenue
Our revenue is generated by selling imagery and software analytics services through our Blacksky Spectra platform and by providing professional and engineering services to strategic customers on a project basis.
•Imagery and Software Analytical Services Revenue
◦Imagery: We offer our customers high-revisit, on-demand high resolution electro optical satellite imaging services. Through our BlackSky Spectra software platform, customers can directly task our proprietary satellite constellation to collect and deliver imagery over specific locations, sites, and regions that are critical to their operations. We offer customers several service level options that include basic plans for on-demand tasking or multi-year assured access programs, where customers can secure priority access and imaging capacity at a premium over a region of interest on a take or pay basis.
◦Data, Software, and Analytics: Our analytics services are also offered on a subscription or consumption basis and provide customers with access to our site monitoring, event monitoring and global data services. We leverage our proprietary AI and ML algorithms to analyze data coming from both our proprietary sensor network and third-party space sources in real-time to provide data, insights, and analytics for our customers. We provide services related to object, change and anomaly detection, site monitoring, and enhanced analytics through which we can detect key pattern of life changes in critical locations. These critical locations can include strategic locations and infrastructure such as ports, airports, and construction sites; retail activity; commodities stockpiles; and other sites that contain critical commodities and supply chain inventory.
We expect continued imagery and software analytical services revenue growth as a result of increases in our sales orders driven by stronger customer demand.
•Professional and Engineering Services Revenue—We develop and deliver advanced satellites and payload systems for specific strategic customers that desire to leverage our capabilities in mission systems engineering and operations, ground station operations, software, analytics and systems development. These systems are sold to government customers under fixed price contracts and are often sold with imagery
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service subscriptions. We generally retain rights to intellectual property for developed technology of certain systems.
We also provide technology enabled professional service solutions, that are highly-interrelated, to support customer-specific feature request and to support the integration, testing, and training of our imagery and software analytical services into the customer's organizational processes and workflows. We also provide software systems engineering development services to support the integration of high volume and mass quantities of data in their operating platforms.
We expect continued meaningful contribution from our professional and engineering services revenue, which we expect will be primarily from contracts with existing U.S. and international defense and intelligence customers with whom we have contracted to perform development work prior to the implementation of their subscription service contracts.
Costs and Expenses
Our costs and expenses are incurred from the following categories:
•Imagery and software analytical services costs primarily include internal aerospace and geospatial software development labor, third-party data and imagery, internal labor to support the ground stations and space operations, and cloud computing and hosting services. Costs are expensed as incurred except for incremental costs to obtain a contract, primarily sales commissions on contracts greater than one year, which are capitalized and amortized to selling, general, and administrative expenses on a systematic basis consistent with the transfer of goods and services and directly identifiable costs to fulfill a contract. Expense related to stock-based payments is classified in the consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss based upon the classification of each employees’ cash compensation. We recognize stock-based compensation expense for those employees whose work supports the imagery and software analytical service costs we provide to customers, under imagery and software analytical service costs, excluding depreciation and amortization.
•Professional and engineering service costs primarily include the cost of internal labor for design and engineering in support of long-term development contracts for satellites and payload systems as well as subcontract direct materials and external labor costs to build and test specific components, such as the communications system, payload demands, and sensor integration. In addition, we also recognize internal labor costs and external subcontract labor costs for our customer-centric software service solutions. We recognize stock-based compensation expense for those employees who provide professional and engineering services support to customers, under professional and engineering service costs, excluding depreciation and amortization.
Operating Expenses
Our operating expenses are incurred from the following categories:
•Selling, general, and administrative expense consists of salaries and benefit costs, development costs, professional fees, and other expenses which includes other personnel-related costs, stock-based compensation expenses for those employees who generally support our business and operations, and occupancy costs. Our development costs include internal labor costs to design and plan critical real-time software and geospatial analytic solutions and solution enhancements, including mapping, analysis, site target monitoring, and news feeds.
•Research and development expense consists of employees’ salaries, taxes, and benefits costs incurred for data science modeling and algorithm development related to our Blacksky Spectra software platform, and for the strategic development efforts to support our long-term strategy. In addition, we employ and classify third-party vendors who fulfill our strategic projects as research and development expense. We intend to continue to invest appropriate resources in research and development efforts, as we believe that investment is critical to maintaining our competitive position.
•Depreciation expense is related to property and equipment which mainly consists of operational satellites. Amortization expense is related to intangible assets which mainly consists of customer relationships.
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Results of Operations for the Years Ended December 31, 2023 and 2022
The following table provides the components of results of operations for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022:
| Years Ended December 31, | $ | % | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2022 | Change | Change | |||||||||||||||||||
| (dollars in thousands) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Revenue | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Imagery & software analytical services | $ | 65,391 | $ | 47,415 | $ | 17,976 | 37.9 | % | ||||||||||||||
| Professional & engineering services | 29,101 | 17,935 | 11,166 | 62.3 | % | |||||||||||||||||
| Total revenue | 94,492 | 65,350 | 29,142 | 44.6 | % | |||||||||||||||||
| Costs and expenses | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Imagery & software analytical service costs, excluding depreciation and amortization | 13,793 | 14,462 | (669) | (4.6) | % | |||||||||||||||||
| Professional & engineering service costs, excluding depreciation and amortization | 19,988 | 21,365 | (1,377) | (6.4) | % | |||||||||||||||||
| Selling, general and administrative | 72,617 | 79,672 | (7,055) | (8.9) | % | |||||||||||||||||
| Research and development | 643 | 739 | (96) | (13.0) | % | |||||||||||||||||
| Depreciation and amortization | 43,431 | 35,661 | 7,770 | 21.8 | % | |||||||||||||||||
| Operating loss | (55,980) | (86,549) | 30,569 | 35.3 | % | |||||||||||||||||
| Gain on derivatives | 7,679 | 11,812 | (4,133) | (35.0) | % | |||||||||||||||||
| Income on equity method investments | 4,165 | 2,087 | 2,078 | 99.6 | % | |||||||||||||||||
| Interest income | 2,063 | 1,116 | 947 | 84.9 | % | |||||||||||||||||
| Interest expense | (9,306) | (5,426) | (3,880) | (71.5) | % | |||||||||||||||||
| Other (expense) income, net | (1,807) | 2,081 | (3,888) | (186.8) | % | |||||||||||||||||
| Loss before income taxes | (53,186) | (74,879) | 21,693 | 29.0 | % | |||||||||||||||||
| Income tax expense | (673) | — | (673) | (100.0) | % | |||||||||||||||||
| Loss from continuing operations | (53,859) | (74,879) | 21,020 | 28.1 | % | |||||||||||||||||
| Discontinued operations: | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Gain from discontinued operations | — | 707 | (707) | (100.0) | % | |||||||||||||||||
| Income tax (expense) benefit | — | — | — | — | % | |||||||||||||||||
| Gain from discontinued operations, net of income taxes | — | 707 | (707) | (100.0) | % | |||||||||||||||||
| Net loss | $ | (53,859) | $ | (74,172) | $ | 20,313 | 27.4 | % |
Revenue
| Years Ended December 31, | $ | % | ||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2022 | Change | Change | |||||||||||||||||
| (dollars in thousands) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Imagery & software analytical revenue | $ | 65,391 | $ | 47,415 | $ | 17,976 | 37.9 | % | ||||||||||||
| % of total revenue | 69.2 | % | 72.6 | % | ||||||||||||||||
| Professional & engineering services revenue | 29,101 | 17,935 | 11,166 | 62.3 | % | |||||||||||||||
| % of total revenue | 30.8 | % | 27.4 | % | ||||||||||||||||
| Total revenue | $ | 94,492 | $ | 65,350 | $ | 29,142 | 44.6 | % |
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Imagery and Software Analytical Services Revenue
Imagery and software analytical services revenue increased for the year ended December 31, 2023 as compared to the same period in 2022, driven by increased imagery and analytics orders from existing customers and several firm-fixed price subscription contracts with new domestic and international customers.
Professional and Engineering Services Revenue
Professional and engineering services revenue increased for the year ended December 31, 2023 as compared to the year ended December 31, 2022 primarily due to several new contracts with international governments. This was partially offset by a lower percentage of completion achieved in two engineering services contracts as a result of an increase in the program's maturity year-over-year. For the impacts of changes in estimates on our contracts, see "Note 2—Basis of Presentation and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies" of the notes to the consolidated financial statements contained within this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Costs and Expenses
| Years Ended December 31, | $ | % | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2022 | Change | Change | ||||||||||||||||||||
| (dollars in thousands) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Imagery & software analytical service costs, excluding depreciation and amortization | $ | 13,793 | $ | 14,462 | $ | (669) | (4.6) | % | |||||||||||||||
| Professional & engineering service costs, excluding depreciation and amortization | 19,988 | 21,365 | (1,377) | (6.4) | % | ||||||||||||||||||
| Total costs | $ | 33,781 | $ | 35,827 | $ | (2,046) | (5.7) | % |
Imagery and Software Analytical Service Costs
Imagery & software analytical service costs, excluding depreciation and amortization decreased slightly for the year ended December 31, 2023 as compared to the same period in 2022. The majority of these costs are fixed and may not materially increase with revenue growth.
Professional and Engineering Service Costs
Professional & engineering service costs, excluding depreciation and amortization, decreased for the year ended December 31, 2023 as compared to the same period in 2022, primarily due to fewer costs incurred on two engineering services contracts, driven by an increase in the programs' maturity year-over-year. This was partially offset by satellite procurement work under a firm-fixed price contract. The estimation of total costs to complete on long-term projects is subject to many variables and requires significant judgment and we may have future changes in estimates, which have an impact on future professional and engineering service costs and associated revenue recognition.
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Selling, General, and Administrative
| Years Ended December 31, | $ | % | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2022 | Change | Change | ||||||||||||||||||||
| (dollars in thousands) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Salaries and benefit costs | $ | 40,720 | $ | 36,517 | $ | 4,203 | 11.5 | % | |||||||||||||||
| Stock-based compensation expense | 10,118 | 18,131 | (8,013) | (44.2) | % | ||||||||||||||||||
| Information technology and other administrative expenses | 8,938 | 6,290 | 2,648 | 42.1 | % | ||||||||||||||||||
| Selling and marketing | 3,789 | 5,553 | (1,764) | (31.8) | % | ||||||||||||||||||
| Professional fees | 3,498 | 5,082 | (1,584) | (31.2) | % | ||||||||||||||||||
| Insurance | 2,755 | 4,452 | (1,697) | (38.1) | % | ||||||||||||||||||
| Rent expense | 1,762 | 2,821 | (1,059) | (37.5) | % | ||||||||||||||||||
| Development costs | 1,037 | 826 | 211 | 25.5 | % | ||||||||||||||||||
| Selling, general and administrative | $ | 72,617 | $ | 79,672 | $ | (7,055) | (8.9) | % |
Selling, general, and administrative expenses decreased during the year ended December 31, 2023 as compared to the same period in 2022. Stock-based compensation expense decreased $8.0 million related to the 2022 cumulative vesting of restricted stock units ("RSUs") triggered by the successful execution of the Merger in 2021. Salaries and payroll-related benefits increased due to expansion of our sales team and investments in AI capabilities.
The following is our forecast for total RSU expense as of December 31, 2023, which, in addition to the amounts recognized in selling, general, and administrative expenses, includes the portion that will be capitalized or classified in imagery and software analytical service costs and professional and engineering service costs:
| (in thousands) | ||
|---|---|---|
| For the years ending December 31, | ||
| 2024 | 8,571 | |
| 2025 | 6,971 | |
| 2026 | 4,731 | |
| 2027 | 1,566 | |
| $ | 21,838 |
Research and Development
| Years Ended December 31, | $ | % | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2022 | Change | Change | ||||||||||||||||||||
| (dollars in thousands) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Research and development | $ | 643 | $ | 739 | $ | (96) | (13.0) | % |
Research and development expense decreased slightly for the year ended December 31, 2023 as compared to the same period in 2022.
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Depreciation and Amortization
| Years Ended December 31, | $ | % | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2022 | Change | Change | ||||||||||||||||||||
| (dollars in thousands) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Depreciation of satellites | $ | 37,270 | $ | 33,053 | $ | 4,217 | 12.8 | % | |||||||||||||||
| Depreciation of all other property and equipment | 5,600 | 2,047 | 3,553 | 173.6 | % | ||||||||||||||||||
| Amortization | 561 | 561 | — | — | % | ||||||||||||||||||
| Depreciation and amortization | $ | 43,431 | $ | 35,661 | $ | 7,770 | 21.8 | % |
Depreciation expense from satellites increased for the year ended December 31, 2023 as compared to the same period in 2022, driven by an increase in the number of satellites in service.
Depreciation expense from all other property and equipment increased for the year ended December 31, 2023 as compared to the same period in 2022, primarily driven by capitalization of software and the buildout of new office space.
Amortization expense remained flat for the year ended December 31, 2023 as compared to the same period in 2022.
Non-Operating Expenses
| Years Ended December 31, | $ | % | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2022 | Change | Change | ||||||||||||||||||||
| (dollars in thousands) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Gain on derivatives | $ | 7,679 | $ | 11,812 | $ | (4,133) | (35.0) | % | |||||||||||||||
| Income on equity method investments | 4,165 | 2,087 | 2,078 | 99.6 | % | ||||||||||||||||||
| Interest income | 2,063 | 1,116 | 947 | 84.9 | % | ||||||||||||||||||
| Interest expense | (9,306) | (5,426) | (3,880) | (71.5) | % | ||||||||||||||||||
| Other (expense) income, net | (1,807) | 2,081 | (3,888) | (186.8) | % |
Gain on derivatives
Fluctuations in our equity warrants and other equity instruments that we classify as derivative liabilities in the consolidated balance sheets and measure at fair value are significantly driven by our common stock price. Fluctuations to these instruments are inversely related to changes in our common stock price, the volatility of the markets, and the duration of the equity warrants. The gains or losses recognized in the period are non-cash fair value adjustments and generated gains during the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022.
Income on equity method investments
The fluctuations in earnings from our equity method investment is directly related to the operating performance of our joint venture LeoStella. Additionally, during 2023, we recognized a gain of $9.5 million from the sale of our investment in X-Bow.
Interest income
Interest income increased during the year ended December 31, 2023 as a result of the short-term investments we began purchasing in the second quarter of 2022 as well as an increase in the effective interest rate received for our investments.
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Interest expense
Interest expense increased during the year ended December 31, 2023 as a result of a higher effective interest rate on our loan modification with related parties.
Other (expense) income, net
For the year ended December 31, 2023, other (expense) income, net, included $0.9 million of allocated transaction costs associated with new warrants that are accounted for as derivative liabilities and $0.8 million of transaction costs associated with our loan modification during the second quarter of 2023.
Gain from discontinued operations, net of income taxes
| Years Ended December 31, | $ | % | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2022 | Change | Change | ||||||||||||||||||||
| (dollars in thousands) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Gain from discontinued operations, net of income taxes | $ | — | $ | 707 | $ | (707) | (100.0) | % |
On June 12, 2020, we completed the sale of 100% of our interests in Spaceflight, Inc. to M&Y Space Co., Ltd for a final purchase price of $31.6 million. During the year ended December 31, 2022, the Company received an indemnification claim notice regarding certain collection and tax payments related to the Share Purchase Agreement among BlackSky Holdings, Inc., Spaceflight, Inc., and M&Y Space Co., Ltd. The parties agreed to the framework for a global settlement of such indemnification claims, to include a settlement payment by the Company of $1.0 million and a holdback amount of $0.1 million subject to M&Y Space Co.’s ability to collect against certain receivables. As a result, we reduced our existing contingent liability by $0.7 million.
Non-GAAP Financial Measures
In addition to our results determined in accordance with GAAP, management utilizes certain non-GAAP performance measures, such as Adjusted EBITDA, for purposes of evaluating our ongoing operations and for internal planning and forecasting purposes. Our management and board of directors believe that this non-GAAP operating measure, when reviewed with our GAAP financial information, provides useful supplemental information to investors in assessing our operating performance.
Adjusted EBITDA
Adjusted EBITDA is defined as net income or loss attributable to us before interest income, interest expense, income tax expense or benefit, depreciation and amortization, as well as significant non-cash and/or non-recurring expenses as our management believes these items are not useful in evaluating our core operating performance. These items include, but are not limited to stock-based compensation expense, unrealized (gain) loss on certain warrants/shares classified as derivative liabilities, severance, impairment losses, income on equity method investment, investment loss on short-term investments, transaction costs associated with debt and equity financings, forgiveness of non-trade receivables, and gain from discontinued operations, net of income taxes. We have presented Adjusted EBITDA because it is a key measure used by our management and board of directors to understand and evaluate our operating performance, generate future operating plans and make strategic decisions regarding the allocation of capital. In particular, we believe that the exclusion of certain items in calculating Adjusted EBITDA can produce a useful measure for period-to-period comparisons of our business. Accordingly, we believe that Adjusted EBITDA provides useful information in understanding and evaluating our operating results. In addition, we believe that Adjusted EBITDA provides additional information for investors to use in evaluating our ongoing operating results and trends. This non-GAAP measure provides investors with incremental information for the evaluation of our performance after isolation of certain items deemed unrelated to our core business operations.
Adjusted EBITDA is presented as a supplemental measure to our GAAP measures of performance. When evaluating Adjusted EBITDA, you should be aware that we may incur future expenses similar to those excluded when calculating this measure. In addition, our presentation of this measure should not be construed as an inference that our future results will be unaffected by unusual or non-recurring items. Furthermore, our computation of
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Adjusted EBITDA may not be directly comparable to similarly titled measures computed by other companies, as the nature of the adjustments that other companies may include or exclude when calculating Adjusted EBITDA may differ from the adjustments reflected in our measure. Because of these limitations, Adjusted EBITDA should not be considered in isolation, nor should this measure be viewed as a substitute for the most directly comparable GAAP measure, which is net loss. We compensate for the limitations of non-GAAP measures by relying primarily on our GAAP results. You should review the reconciliation of our net loss to Adjusted EBITDA below and not rely on any single financial measure to evaluate our performance.
The table below reconciles our net loss to Adjusted EBITDA for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022:
| Years Ended December 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2022 | |||||||||
| (in thousands) | ||||||||||
| Net loss | $ | (53,859) | $ | (74,172) | ||||||
| Interest income | (2,063) | (1,116) | ||||||||
| Interest expense | 9,306 | 5,426 | ||||||||
| Income tax expense | 673 | — | ||||||||
| Depreciation and amortization | 43,431 | 35,661 | ||||||||
| Stock-based compensation expense | 10,862 | 20,025 | ||||||||
| Gain on derivatives | (7,679) | (11,812) | ||||||||
| Income on equity method investment | (4,165) | (2,087) | ||||||||
| Transaction costs associated with debt and equity financings | 1,738 | — | ||||||||
| Severance | 590 | 1,196 | ||||||||
| Impairment losses | 81 | — | ||||||||
| Investment loss on short-term investments | 55 | — | ||||||||
| Proceeds from earn-out payment | — | (2,000) | ||||||||
| Gain from discontinued operations, net of income taxes | — | (707) | ||||||||
| Forgiveness of non-trade receivables | — | 106 | ||||||||
| Adjusted EBITDA | $ | (1,030) | $ | (29,480) |
Liquidity and Capital Resources
As of December 31, 2023, our existing sources of liquidity included cash and cash equivalents and short-term investments. Our cash and cash equivalents excluding restricted cash totaled $32.8 million and $34.2 million as of December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively, and our short-term investments totaled $19.7 million and $38.0 million as of December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively. We have incurred losses and generated negative cash flows from operations since our inception in September 2014. As of December 31, 2023, we had an accumulated deficit of $599.0 million.
Our short-term liquidity as of December 31, 2023 was comprised of the following:
| (in thousands) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Cash and cash equivalents | $ | 32,815 |
| Restricted cash | 619 | |
| Short-term investments(1) | 19,697 | |
| $ | 53,131 |
(1) Short-term investments are included in cash flows from investing activities in the consolidated statements of cash flows.
We expect cash and cash equivalents and cash generated from operating activities to be sufficient to meet our working capital and capital expenditure needs for the foreseeable future. Our future long-term capital requirements
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will depend on many factors including our growth rate, customer demand for capacity, the timing and extent of spending to support solution development efforts, the expansion of sales and marketing activities, the ongoing investments in technology infrastructure, the introduction of new and enhanced solutions, and the continuing market acceptance of our solutions. From time to time, we may seek additional equity or debt financing to fund capital expenditures, strategic initiatives or investments and our ongoing operations. We do not have a line of credit or access to immediate funds. However, an additional source of liquidity is our ability to offer and sell from time to time up to $75.0 million of newly issued shares in open trading windows at market prices through a designated broker dealer pursuant to an at-the-market (“ATM”) offering, of which we have sold $5.0 million through December 31, 2023. If we decide, or are required, to seek additional financing from outside sources, we may not be able to raise it on terms acceptable to us or at all. If we are unable to raise additional capital when desired, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be adversely affected.
In November 2023, the Company entered into a commercial agreement with a launch provider with financing terms providing for a $3.0 million initial payment, and for $27.0 million to be repaid quarterly on a pro-rata basis across a three-year period after each successful launch milestone, with payments to accrue interest at 12.6% per annum. We may prepay at any time until the maturity date without premium or penalty. Under certain circumstances, a default interest rate will apply on all outstanding and payable obligations during the existence of an event of default under the Loan Agreement at 18.9% per annum above the applicable interest rate. As of December 31, 2023, the Company has not drawn or accrued any interest on the agreement.
On May 9, 2023, we entered into the Second Amendment (the “Amendment”) to our Amended and Restated Loan and Security Agreement with Intelsat Jackson Holdings SA and Seahawk SPV Investment LLC, dated October 31, 2019 and previously amended on September 9, 2021.
The Amendment amends the secured loan facility to, among other things: (i) extend the maturity date of the loan from October 31, 2024 to October 31, 2026, (ii) roll the cash interest payment due on May 1, 2023 into the outstanding principal to be paid on the maturity date; (iii) increase the interest rate on the loan as of the Amendment date from 9% to 12%, of which (x) 9.6% will be paid in kind as principal due on the maturity date, with the remainder paid as cash interest on a semi-annual basis, until May 1, 2025 and (y) after May 1, 2025, up to 4% can be paid in kind as principal due on the maturity date, with the remainder to be paid as cash interest on a semi-annual basis, and (iv) add certain financial covenants. As part of our new financial covenants, we are required to maintain a minimum cash and cash equivalents balance of not less than $10.0 million, measured quarterly as of the last day of each fiscal quarter.
In addition, we are required to maintain Adjusted EBITDA, measured quarterly as of the last day of each fiscal quarter, of not less than:
•$5.0 million for the trailing four quarter period ending as of December 31, 2024 through September 30, 2025 and
•$10.0 million for the trailing four quarter period ending as of December 31, 2025 and as of the end of each fiscal quarter thereafter.
The Company was in compliance with all covenants as of December 31, 2023 and expects to remain in compliance with all covenants the next 12 months from the issuance of the financial statements. The Company was not subject to any financial covenants as of December 31, 2022. Please refer to the section entitled "Non-GAAP Financial Measures" for additional information on our definition of Adjusted EBITDA.
Funding Requirements
While our expenses may continue to exceed our revenues in the near term due to investments we are making in sales, marketing and products to increase our market share, this difference has declined as we progress to becoming operating cash flow positive. We expect to continue to incur capital expenditures as we procure and launch Gen-3 satellites, as well as our BlackSky Spectra software platform to significantly expand our product capabilities in the future.
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Short-Term Liquidity Requirements
As of December 31, 2023, our current assets were $79.3 million, consisting primarily of cash and cash equivalents, short-term investments, and contract assets.
As of December 31, 2023, our current liabilities were $27.5 million, consisting primarily of accounts payable and accrued liabilities. Accordingly, we have sufficient cash and working capital to fund our short-term liquidity requirements.
Long-Term Liquidity Requirements
We anticipate that our most significant long-term liquidity and capital needs will relate to continued funding of operations, satellite development capital expenditures, launch capital expenditures, and ongoing investments in our Blacksky Spectra software platform and internal infrastructure that will enable us to continue to scale the business efficiently and securely. We can manage the timing for a large part of our capital expenditures, including the design, build, and launch of our new satellites currently under development, to provide us with additional flexibility to optimize our long-term liquidity requirements. Macroeconomic conditions and credit markets could also impact the availability and, or, the cost of potential future debt or equity financing.
Cash Flow Analysis
The following table provides a summary of cash flow data for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022. Our short-term liquidity at December 31, 2023 was $53.1 million. Short-term investments of $19.7 million are not classified as cash, cash equivalents, or restricted cash.
| Years Ended December 31, | $ | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2022 | Change | ||||||||
| (in thousands) | ||||||||||
| Net cash used in operating activities | $ | (17,421) | $ | (44,456) | $ | 27,035 | ||||
| Net cash used in investing activities(1) | (15,211) | (81,579) | 66,368 | |||||||
| Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities | 29,050 | (5,053) | 34,103 | |||||||
| Net decrease in cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash | (3,582) | (131,088) | 127,506 | |||||||
| Cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash – beginning of year | 37,016 | 168,104 | (131,088) | |||||||
| Cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash – end of period | $ | 33,434 | $ | 37,016 | $ | (3,582) |
(1) 2023 includes $43.7 million of capital expenditures partially offset by net proceeds of $19.0 million of short-term investments not categorized as cash, cash equivalents, or restricted cash
Operating activities
For the year ended December 31, 2023, net cash used in operating activities was $17.4 million. The contributor to the significant decrease in cash used during the year ended December 31, 2023 as compared to the year ended December 31, 2022 was the decrease in the operating loss, adjusted for depreciation, amortization, stock-based compensation expense, gain on derivatives, and other non-cash items. The operating loss decrease in the year ended December 31, 2023 as compared to the year ended December 31, 2022 was primarily due to increased revenue and decreased cost of sales.
Investing activities
The decrease in net cash used in investing activities was primarily due to increased proceeds from the redemption and maturity of $59.1 million of our short-term investments in corporate debt and governmental securities in addition to decreased purchases of these same type of investments of $40.1 million during the year ended December 31, 2023, as compared to $13.0 million of proceeds and $50.3 million of purchases during the year
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ended December 31, 2022. Additionally, we received proceeds of $9.5 million from the sale of our investment in X-Bow in 2023.
We continue to have significant cash outflows for satellite procurement and launch related services and incur labor costs for internally developed capitalized software as we add innovative new services and tools to our Blacksky Spectra software platform; however, the total amount paid for capital expenditures decreased slightly year over year.
Financing activities
The most significant impact in the change in cash flows from financing activities in the year ended December 31, 2023 as compared to the year ended December 31, 2022 is the receipt of $32.7 million in proceeds from our equity issuances, net of equity issuance costs, of which $17.7 million was allocated to the liability-classified warrants in accordance with our accounting policy. Our equity issuances in the year ended December 31, 2023 included a private placement of 16.4 million shares at a purchase price of $1.79 per share, which resulted in $29.4 million in gross proceeds, as well as the sale of 3.5 million shares under our ATM offering program, which resulted in $5.0 million in gross proceeds.
In addition, withholding tax payments on the vesting of RSUs decreased from $5.1 million in the year ended December 31, 2022 to $1.4 million in the year ended December 31, 2023. We also incurred $0.9 million of transaction costs related to derivative liabilities and $1.3 million of payments related to debt modification costs in the year ended December 31, 2023.
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Contractual Obligations and Commitments
As of December 31, 2023, we had a debt facility from related parties with an outstanding principal amount of $84.6 million, which matures in October 2026, and interest due to related parties of $1.7 million, of which $0.3 million was included in other current liabilities and $1.4 million was included in other liabilities. Please see Note 20 for further information on this facility.
We have significant operational commitments with vendors for the development and production of our Gen-3 satellites over the next several years that contain termination for convenience options, subject to applicable termination fees. For example, we have work orders to manufacture our Gen-3 satellites at LeoStella, our satellite manufacturing joint venture. Our work orders with LeoStella and other manufacturing partners all contain termination for convenience options that allow us to manage the satellite production process from design through manufacturing. We also have minimum cash commitments for office leases and remote ground station service arrangements of $13.8 million and $2.2 million, respectively. In addition, we have approximately $7.3 million of minimum cash commitments for an office space lease that has not yet commenced. The lease commenced in January 2024 with a lease term of 13 years. Please see Note 22 for further information.
During the year ended December 31, 2023, we entered into a commitment for non-refundable multi-launch and integration services. We also entered into a commercial agreement with financing terms providing for multiple satellite launches of which $3.0 million is to be paid upfront, and $27.0 million will be drawn down in equal portions per launch and will be repaid quarterly on a pro-rata basis across a three-year period after each successful launch milestone. Payments will accrue interest at 12.6% per annum. We may prepay at any time until the maturity date without premium or penalty. As of December 31, 2023, the minimum commitment associated with the agreement was $8.4 million. Under certain circumstances, a default interest rate will apply on all outstanding and payable obligations during the existence of an event of default under the Loan Agreement at 18.9% per annum above the applicable interest rate. As of December 31, 2023, the Company has not drawn or accrued any interest on the agreement.
In addition to the above, we have entered into various non-refundable operational commitments for the next several years totaling $6.6 million as of December 31, 2023.
Critical Accounting Estimates
The preparation of our consolidated financial statements and related notes requires management to make judgments, estimates, and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenue, and expenses. Management has based its estimates on historical experience and on various other assumptions that are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances, the results of which form the basis for making judgments about the carrying values of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. Actual results may differ from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions.
For a description of our significant accounting policies see Note 2—“Basis of Presentation and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies,” of the notes to the consolidated financial statements. An accounting policy is considered to be critical if it requires an accounting estimate to be made based on assumptions about matters that are highly uncertain at the time the estimate is made, and if different estimates that reasonably could have been used, or changes in the accounting estimates that are reasonably likely to occur periodically, could materially impact the consolidated financial statements. Management believes the following critical accounting policies reflect the more significant estimates and assumptions used in the preparation of our consolidated financial statements.
Revenue Recognition
The recognition and measurement of revenue requires the use of judgments and estimates. Specifically, judgment is used in interpreting complex arrangements with nonstandard terms and conditions and determining when all criteria for revenue recognition have been met.
We primarily generate revenue from the sale of imagery, data, software, and analytics, as well as, professional and engineering services.
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Identifying the contract with the customer, identifying the performance obligations contained in a contract, determining transaction price, allocating transaction price, and determining when performance obligations are satisfied can require the application of significant judgment, as further discussed below.
Identifying the Contract with the Customer
We evidence approval of the contract with the customer with dual signatures or approved purchase orders that detail the rights of each party and define payment terms. We also consider the probability of collectability in our assessment, specifically the presence of any collectability issues as the significant majority of our customers are domestic or international governments.
Identifying the Performance Obligations in a Contract
We execute contracts for a single promise or multiple promises. Specifically, our firm fixed price contracts typically include multiple promises which may be accounted for as separate performance obligations if they are capable of being distinct and distinct within the context of the contract. Significant judgment is required in determining performance obligations, including if some of the customized services are highly-interrelated, and these decisions could change the amount of revenue and profit or loss recorded in each period.
Classification of Revenue
We classify revenue as imagery and software analytical services, and professional and engineering services in our consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss based on the predominant attributes of the performance obligations.
Determination of and Allocation of Transaction Price
Each customer contract sets forth the transaction price for the products and services purchased under the arrangement. The Company estimates any variable consideration, and whether the transaction price is constrained, upon execution of each contract. We may adjust the transaction price over time for any estimated constraints that become probable based on service level provisions within some of our customer purchase orders. For contracts with multiple performance obligations, we evaluate whether the stated selling prices for the products or services represent their standalone selling prices. When it is necessary to allocate the transaction price to multiple performance obligations, management uses the listed price for imagery and analytics subscriptions and the expected cost plus a reasonable profit margin to estimate the standalone selling price of each product or service, which is mostly professional services. In these situations, the observable standalone revenue transactions are used to determine the standalone selling price.
Determination of when Performance Obligations are Satisfied
Imagery and analytics revenue is recognized ratably over the subscription period based on the promise to continuously provide contractual satellite capacity for tasked imagery or software analytical services at the discretion of the customer. Professional and engineering services revenue is generated from time and materials basis contracts, firm-fixed price service solutions contracts and firm-fixed price long-term engineering and construction contracts. Due to the long-term nature of our engineering and construction contracts, we generally recognize revenue over time using a cost-to-complete measure of progress because it best depicts the transfer of control to the customer as we incur costs on the contracts. Under this measure of progress, the extent of progress towards completion is measured based on the ratio of costs incurred to date to the total estimated costs to complete the performance obligation(s). The estimation of total estimated costs at completion is subject to many variables and requires significant judgment. We recognize changes in the estimation of total costs at completion on a cumulative catch-up basis in the period in which the changes are identified. Such changes in estimates can result in the recognition of revenue in a current period for performance obligations which were satisfied or partially satisfied in a prior period. If at any time, the estimate of contract profitability indicates a probable anticipated loss on the contract, we recognize the total loss as and when known.
Equity Valuations
Equity valuations impact various amounts and accounting conclusions reflected in our consolidated financial statements, inclusive of the recognition of equity-based compensation and warrant valuations. The following
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discussion provides additional details regarding the significant estimates, assumptions, and judgments that impacted the determination of the fair values of equity-based compensation awards, warrants, and the common stock that comprise our capital structure. The following discussion also explains why these estimates, assumptions, and judgments could be subject to uncertainties and future variability.
Equity-Based Compensation
We have equity and equity-based awards outstanding under our 2021 Equity Incentive Plan ("2021 Plan"), 2014 Equity Incentive Plan ("2014 Plan"), and Amended and Restated 2011 Equity Incentive Plan ("2011 Plan"). Awards issued include stock options, restricted stock awards (“RSAs”), and RSUs. In addition, the Company's eligible employees are able to participate in our 2021 Employee Stock Purchase Plan ("ESPP") pursuant to purchase right offerings that are established under the ESPP.
For purposes of recognizing equity-based compensation related to RSAs, RSUs, and stock options granted to employees and other service providers, management estimates the grant date fair values of such awards to measure the costs to be recognized as services are received. For awards with time-based vesting conditions, we recognize compensation costs based upon the straight-line amortization of the grant date fair value of the awards over the requisite service period. When equity-based compensation awards include a performance condition, no compensation is recognized until the performance condition is deemed probable to occur; we then recognize compensation costs based on the accelerated attribution method, which accounts for awards with discrete vesting dates as if they were a separate award.
Stock Option and Class A Common Stock Warrant Valuations
We use the Black-Scholes option-pricing model to value all options, including options under our ESPP, and Class A common stock warrants. Estimating the fair value of stock options using the Black-Scholes option-pricing model requires the application of significant assumptions, such as the estimated term of the options, risk-free interest rates, the expected volatility of the price of our Class A common stock, and an expected dividend yield. Each of these assumptions is subjective, requires significant judgment, and is based upon management’s best estimates. If any of these assumptions were to change significantly in the future, equity-based compensation related to future awards may differ significantly, as compared with awards previously granted.
We have largely moved towards granting RSUs to the bulk of our employees, for which the grant date fair value is equal to the trading price fair value of our Class A common stock on the date of grant. For stock options, which are primarily granted to certain management employees, we use the following inputs under Black-Scholes as follows:
Expected Dividend Yield—The Black-Scholes valuation model requires an expected dividend yield as an input. The dividend yield is based on historical experience and expected future changes. We historically have not paid, and currently have no plans to pay dividends on our Class A common stock and, accordingly, have assumed no dividend yield upon valuation of our stock options.
Expected Volatility—As there was no observable volatility with respect to Legacy BlackSky Class A common stock and due to the lack of sufficient history of BlackSky Class A common stock, the expected volatility of Legacy BlackSky and BlackSky Class A common stock was estimated based upon the historical share price volatility of guideline comparable companies.
Risk-free Interest Rate—The yield on actively traded, non-inflation indexed U.S. Treasury notes was used to extrapolate an average risk-free interest rate based on the expected term of the underlying grants.
Expected Term—For options granted since 2021, as there is not a significant history of option exercises as a public company, we considered the option vesting terms and contractual period, as well as the demographics of the holders, in estimating the expected term. For options granted prior to 2021 when we were a private company, the expected term was the estimated duration to a liquidity event based on a weighted average consideration of the most likely exit prospects for that stage of development. We will continue to review our estimate in the future and adjust it, if necessary, due to changes in our historical exercises.
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Private Placement Warrants and Sponsor Shares
We have classified the Private Placement Warrants issued in October 2019 and March 2023 and the Osprey pre-merger Class B common shares that were exchanged for shares of our Class A common stock (the "Sponsor Shares") as long-term liabilities in our consolidated balance sheets as of December 31, 2023 and December 31, 2022. The Private Placement Warrants issued in October 2019 and the Sponsor Shares were initially recorded at fair value on the date of the merger and the Private Placement Warrants issued in March 2023 were recorded at fair value on the date of issuance. The Private Placement Warrants were recorded at fair value using a Black-Scholes option pricing model and the Sponsor Shares were recorded at fair value using a Monte Carlo simulation model. These liabilities are re-measured to fair value at each subsequent reporting date and recorded to gain on derivatives in our consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss. We will continue to adjust the liability for changes in fair value until the financial instruments are exercised, redeemed, cancelled or released.
The fair value models require inputs including, but not limited to, the fair value of our Class A common stock, the risk-free interest rate, expected term, expected dividend yield and expected volatility. The fair value of our Class A common stock is the closing stock price on the NYSE as of the measurement date. The risk-free interest rate assumption is determined by using U.S. Treasury rates for the same period as the expected terms of the financial instruments. The dividend yield assumption is based on the dividends expected to be paid over the expected life of the financial instruments. We have historically been a private company and lacked sufficient company-specific historical and implied volatility information. Therefore, the expected stock volatility includes both our Class A common stock and public warrant historical volatility as well as the historical volatility of a publicly traded set of peer companies. Changes in these assumptions can materially affect the estimate of the fair value of these instruments and ultimately the change in fair value.
Goodwill Impairment
We assess goodwill for impairment at the reporting unit level, which is defined as an operating segment or one level below an operating segment. Goodwill is tested annually for impairment as of October 1st, or more frequently if events or circumstances indicate the carrying value may be impaired. A significant amount of judgement is involved in determining if an indicator of impairment has occurred. Such indicators may include (a) a significant decline in our common stock value; (b) a significant decline in our expected future cash flows; (c) a significant adverse change in legal factors or the business climate; (d) unanticipated competition; or (e) slower growth rates. We identify potential impairment by comparing the fair value of each of our reporting units with its carrying amount, including goodwill. If the carrying amount of a reporting unit exceeds its fair value, an impairment loss is recognized in an amount equal to that excess.
We performed an annual qualitative goodwill assessment over the balance of goodwill we held related to the BlackSky reporting unit as of October 1, 2023. We also determined that no triggering events occurred during the year ended December 31, 2023 that would require a quantitative assessment. We determined that it is more likely than not that the fair value of the BlackSky reporting unit sufficiently exceeds its carrying value, including goodwill. Although we have a history of recurring losses from operations, negative cash flows from operations, and a significant accumulated deficit, as of the October 1, 2023 analysis, the fair value was greater than 82% in excess of the carrying value for BlackSky. As of December 31, 2023, we believe that the estimated fair values of the BlackSky reporting unit is still in excess of its respective carrying value and therefore is not at-risk of being impaired.
Long Lived Asset Impairment
We evaluate long-lived assets, including finite-lived intangible assets, property and equipment, satellite procurement work in process and other long-term assets, for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amounts of the assets may not be fully recoverable. Significant judgments in this area involve determining whether a triggering event has occurred and determining the future cash flows for assets involved. In conducting this analysis, we compare the undiscounted cash flows expected to be generated from the long-lived assets (or asset group) to the related net book values. If the undiscounted cash flows exceed the net book value, the long-lived assets are considered not to be impaired. If the net book value exceeds the undiscounted
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cash flows, an impairment charge is measured and recognized based upon the difference between the carrying value of long-lived assets (or asset group) and their fair value.
FY 2022 10-K MD&A
SEC filing source: 0001753539-23-000020.
ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
The following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with our consolidated financial statements and related notes appearing elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. As discussed in the section titled “Special Note Regarding Forward Looking Statements,” the following discussion and analysis contains forward looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, as well as assumptions that, if they never materialize or prove incorrect, could cause our results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause or contribute to these differences include, but are not limited to, those discussed in the section titled “Risk Factors” under Part I, Item IA in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Unless the context otherwise requires, references in this “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” to “BlackSky”, “the Company”, “we”, “us” and “our” refer to the business and operations of Legacy BlackSky and its consolidated subsidiaries prior to the Merger and to BlackSky Technology Inc. and its consolidated subsidiaries, following the closing of the Merger.
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General Overview
On September 9, 2021, Osprey consummated the Merger with Legacy BlackSky. Immediately following the Merger, Osprey changed its name to “BlackSky Technology Inc.” Legacy BlackSky survived the Merger and is now a wholly owned subsidiary of BlackSky Technology Inc. As a special purpose acquisition company, Osprey had no pre-Merger operations other than to identify and consummate a merger. Therefore, BlackSky’s operations post-Merger are attributable to those of Legacy BlackSky and its subsidiaries, and references to “BlackSky” or the “Company” should be read to include BlackSky’s wholly owned subsidiaries. References in this report to Company actions, assets/liabilities, or contracts may be references to actions taken, assets/liabilities held, or contracts entered into by one or more Company current subsidiaries; however, the Company has distinguished between the actions taken by Legacy BlackSky or Osprey for certain time based, historical transactions.
The Company’s results of operations and statements of assets and liabilities may not be comparable between periods as a result of the Merger.
Company Overview
We own and operate one of the industry's leading high-performance low earth orbit (“LEO”) small satellite constellations. Our constellation is optimized to cost-efficiently capture imagery at high revisit rates where and when our customers need it. The orbital configuration of our constellation is designed to collect data on the most critical and strategic locations in the world. With fourteen satellites in orbit as of December 31, 2022, our constellation is able to image certain locations every 60 to 90 minutes, from dawn to dusk, providing our customers with insights and situational awareness throughout the day. Our satellites are designed with agile pointing capabilities that enable our customers to task our constellation on demand to collect specific locations of interest. Our tasking methodology employs proprietary artificial intelligence (“AI”)-enabled software to efficiently collect images of the most important strategic and economic assets and areas of interest to our customers. We believe that our focus on critical strategies and economic infrastructure and the AI-enabled tasking of our constellation differentiates us from our competitors, who are dedicated primarily to mapping the entirety of the Earth on a routine basis and who, therefore, require up to hundreds of satellites or incrementally more expensive satellites to support their mission. Our differentiated approach to space enables us to deliver highly targeted and valuable intelligence with a smaller constellation fleet that has the added benefit of greater operating and capital efficiencies.
Our Spectra AI software platform can, among other things, process millions of observations a day from our proprietary satellite constellation and from multiple external data sources including imaging, radar and radio frequency satellites, environmental sensors, asset tracking sensors, Internet-of-Things (“IoT”) connected devices, internet-enabled narrative sources, and a variety of geotemporal data feeds. Spectra AI employs advanced, proprietary AI and machine learning (“ML”) techniques to process, analyze, and transform these data feeds into alerts, information, and insights that our customers receive, all fully automated. Customers can access Spectra AI's data and analytics through easy-to-use web services or through platform application programming interfaces.
Our next generation satellites (“Gen-3”), expected to launch in 2024, are designed to improve our imaging resolution even further and include short wave infrared imaging technology for a broad set of imaging conditions, including nighttime and low-light. We believe these advancements will expand the relevance and certainty of our analytics to continue to ensure our importance to our customers. We also believe the combination of our high-revisit, small satellite constellation, our Spectra AI platform, and low constellation cost is transforming the market for geospatial imagery and space-based data and analytics.
Our operating strategy is to continue to enhance the capabilities of our satellite constellation, to increase the number of third-party data sources processed by our Spectra AI platform, and to expand our analytics offerings in order to increase the value we deliver to our customers. Our two strategic assets—our satellite constellation and our Spectra AI platform—are mutually reinforcing: as we capture ever more information about the world’s most important strategic and economic assets and locations, our proprietary database expands and increases its utility; enabling us to better detect, understand, and predict changes that matter most to our customers. Our business has a natural and powerful “flywheel” effect: the more data we collect and analyze, the more valuable the insights we can deliver to our customers.
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Our current customer base and end market mix are weighted towards U.S. and international defense and intelligence customers and markets. We believe there are significant opportunities to expand our imagery and software analytical services, as well as our professional and engineering service offerings, to a broad set of customers both domestically and internationally. In addition, our services and products can benefit customers in a variety of commercial markets including, but not limited to, energy and utilities, insurance, commodities, mining, manufacturing, logistics, supply chain management, agriculture, environmental monitoring, disaster and risk management, engineering and construction, retail and consumer behavior.
We offer a variety of pricing and utilization options for our imagery and software analytical service offerings, with the majority of our agreements structured as subscription contracts, followed by usage-based pricing and transactional licenses. These options provide customers flexibility to utilize our imagery and software analytical services in a manner that best suits their business needs. We offer a range of pricing tiers that enables the customer to manage collection priorities, when during critical events they can pay a premium to prioritize their monitoring and collection requirements. At other times, customers can select lower priority collections to allow for more economical utilization. We currently derive revenue from variable and fixed pricing plans that allow our customers to choose what matters most to them—platform licensing-levels, priority for imagery tasking, and whether to apply analytics or monitoring capabilities overtop the imaging service.
Merger with Osprey Technology Acquisition Corp
Upon the consummation of the Merger, a number of parties purchased an aggregate of 18.0 million shares of our Class A common stock (the “PIPE Shares”), for a purchase price of $10.00 per share, or an aggregate purchase price of $180.0 million, pursuant to a separate subscription agreement.
78,993,201 shares of Osprey common stock were issued for all of the issued and outstanding equity interests of Legacy BlackSky, inclusive of shares of Osprey’s common stock issued in exchange for both Legacy BlackSky’s issued and outstanding preferred stock and issued and outstanding convertible notes, (inclusive of interest accrued thereon), as if each had converted into Legacy BlackSky common stock immediately prior to the Merger.
The Merger was accounted for as a Reverse Recapitalization in accordance with GAAP. Under this method of accounting, Osprey is treated as the acquired company for financial reporting purposes, and Legacy BlackSky is treated as the accounting acquiror. In accordance with this accounting, the Merger is treated as the equivalent of Legacy BlackSky issuing stock for Osprey’s net assets, accompanied by a recapitalization. Osprey’s net assets are stated at historical cost, with no goodwill or other intangible assets recorded, and the Legacy BlackSky operations will be those of BlackSky. Legacy BlackSky was considered the acquirer based on the facts and circumstances, including the following factors evaluated at the time of the Merger:
•Legacy BlackSky’s former stockholders held a majority ownership interest in BlackSky;
•Legacy BlackSky’s senior management team comprise senior management of BlackSky;
•Legacy BlackSky was able to designate all but one director to BlackSky’s initial board;
•Legacy BlackSky was the larger of the companies based on historical operating activity and employee base; and
•Legacy BlackSky’s operations comprise the ongoing operations of BlackSky.
We received approximately $283.0 million in gross proceeds upon consummation of the Merger, comprised of approximately $103.0 million in cash held in trust by Osprey and the proceeds of a $180.0 million sale of PIPE Shares. Transaction expenses paid on closing totaled approximately $39.9 million and we paid post-closing transaction expenses of $6.3 million. Additionally, we repaid approximately $21.4 million in debt and accrued interest and $6.1 million in other close-related expenses. On September 13, 2021, we raised an additional $8.0 million through a direct sale of Class A common stock to Palantir Technologies at $10.00 per share. Net cash proceeds from the Merger, the PIPE Shares, and the Palantir financing, less transaction costs, debt repayments, accrued interest and other closing payments, totaled approximately $223.6 million.
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As a public company, we are required to comply with Securities and Exchange Commission rules and regulations and New York Stock Exchange listing requirements.
Components of Operating Results
Revenue
Our revenue is generated by selling imagery and software analytics services through our Spectra AI platform and by providing professional and engineering services to strategic customers on a project basis.
•Imagery and Software Analytical Services Revenue
◦Imagery: We offer our customers high-revisit, on-demand high resolution electro optical satellite imaging services. Through our Spectra AI platform, customers can directly task our proprietary satellite constellation to collect and deliver imagery over specific locations, sites, and regions that are critical to their operations. We offer customers several service level options that include basic plans for on-demand tasking or multi-year assured access programs, where customers can secure priority access and imaging capacity at a premium over a region of interest on a take or pay basis.
◦Data, Software, and Analytics: Our analytics services are also offered on a subscription basis and provide customers with access to our site monitoring, event monitoring and global data services. We leverage our proprietary AI and ML algorithms to analyze data coming from both our proprietary sensor network and third-party space sources in real-time to provide data, insights, and analytics for our customers. We provide services related to object, change and anomaly detection, site monitoring, and enhanced analytics through which we can detect key pattern of life changes in critical locations. These critical locations can include strategic locations and infrastructure such as ports, airports, and construction sites; retail activity; commodities stockpiles; and other sites that contain critical commodities and supply chain inventory.
We expect continued imagery and software analytical services revenue growth in the year ending December 31, 2023, as compared to the prior year, as a result of increases in our sales orders driven by stronger customer demand.
•Professional and Engineering Services Revenue—We develop and deliver advanced launch vehicle, satellite and payload systems for specific strategic customers that desire to leverage our capabilities in mission systems engineering and operations, ground station operations, software, analytics and systems development. These systems are sold to government customers under fixed price contracts and are often bundled with our imagery services offerings. In certain cases, we retain rights to intellectual property for developed technology of certain systems, and this paid effort offsets some of our product development effort.
We also provide technology enabled professional service solutions to support customer-specific feature request and to support the integration, testing, and training of our imagery and software analytical services into the customers organizational processes and workflows. We also provide software systems engineering development services to support the integration of high volume and mass quantities of data in their operating platforms. We expect continued meaningful contribution from our professional and engineering services revenue.
Costs and Expenses
Our costs and expenses are incurred from the following categories:
•Imagery and software analytical services costs primarily include internal aerospace and geospatial software development labor, third-party data and imagery, internal labor to support the ground stations and space operations, and cloud computing and hosting services. Costs are expensed as incurred except for incremental costs to obtain a contract, primarily sales commissions, which are capitalized and amortized to selling, general, and administrative expenses on a systematic basis consistent with the transfer of goods and services. Expense related to stock-based payments is classified in the consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss based upon the classification of each employees’ cash compensation. We recognize
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stock-based compensation expense for those employees whose work supports the imagery and software analytical service costs we provide to customers, under imagery and software analytical service costs, excluding depreciation and amortization.
•Professional and engineering service costs primarily include the cost of internal labor for design and engineering in support of long-term development contracts for launch vehicle, satellite, and payload systems as well as subcontract direct materials and external labor costs to build and test specific components, such as the communications system, payload demands, and sensor integration. In addition, we also recognize internal labor costs and external subcontract labor costs for our customer-centric software service solutions. We recognize stock-based compensation expense for those employees who provide professional and engineering services support to customers, under professional and engineering service costs, excluding depreciation and amortization.
Operating Expenses
Our operating expenses are incurred from the following categories:
•Selling, general, and administrative expense consists of salaries and benefit costs, development costs, professional fees, and other expenses which includes other personnel-related costs, stock-based compensation expenses for those employees who generally support our business and operations, and occupancy costs. Our development costs include internal labor costs to develop critical real-time software and geospatial analytic solutions and solution enhancements, including mapping, analysis, site target monitoring, and news feeds.
•Research and development expense consists of employees’ salaries, taxes, and benefits costs incurred for data science modeling and algorithm development related to our Spectra AI platform, and for the strategic development efforts to support our long-term strategy. In addition, we employ and classify third-party vendors who fulfill our strategic projects as research and development expense. We intend to continue to invest appropriate resources in research and development efforts, as we believe that investment is critical to maintaining our competitive position.
•Depreciation expense is related to property and equipment which mainly consists of operational satellites. Amortization expense is related to intangible assets which mainly consists of customer relationships.
Results of Operations for the Years Ended December 31, 2022 and 2021
Effective January 1, 2022, the Company reorganized its captions on the consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss to better align the Company’s broad portfolio. As a result, for the year ended December 31, 2021, the amounts presented to reflect the impact of the reorganization have been recasted. This resulted in a $9.7 million reclassification between imagery & software analytical services revenue and professional & engineering services revenue and an $8.5 million reclassification between imagery & software analytical service costs, excluding depreciation and amortization and professional & engineering service costs, excluding depreciation and amortization in the Company's consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss. Period to period
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comparisons are not necessarily indicative of future results. The following table provides the components of results of operations for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021:
| Years Ended December 31, | $ | % | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2021 | Change | Change | |||||||||||||||||||
| (dollars in thousands) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Revenue | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Imagery & software analytical services | $ | 47,415 | $ | 15,365 | $ | 32,050 | 208.6 | % | ||||||||||||||
| Professional & engineering services | 17,935 | 18,720 | (785) | (4.2) | % | |||||||||||||||||
| Total revenue | 65,350 | 34,085 | 31,265 | 91.7 | % | |||||||||||||||||
| Costs and expenses | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Imagery & software analytical service costs, excluding depreciation and amortization | 14,462 | 13,013 | 1,449 | 11.1 | % | |||||||||||||||||
| Professional & engineering service costs, excluding depreciation and amortization | 21,365 | 21,735 | (370) | (1.7) | % | |||||||||||||||||
| Selling, general and administrative | 79,672 | 86,655 | (6,983) | (8.1) | % | |||||||||||||||||
| Research and development | 739 | 112 | 627 | 559.8 | % | |||||||||||||||||
| Depreciation and amortization | 35,661 | 14,306 | 21,355 | 149.3 | % | |||||||||||||||||
| Satellite impairment loss | — | 18,407 | (18,407) | NM | ||||||||||||||||||
| Operating loss | (86,549) | (120,143) | 33,594 | 28.0 | % | |||||||||||||||||
| Gain on debt extinguishment | — | 4,059 | (4,059) | NM | ||||||||||||||||||
| Gain on derivatives | 11,812 | 23,885 | (12,073) | (50.5) | % | |||||||||||||||||
| Income on equity method investment | 2,087 | 1,027 | 1,060 | 103.2 | % | |||||||||||||||||
| Interest income | 1,116 | — | 1,116 | NM | ||||||||||||||||||
| Interest expense | (5,426) | (5,165) | (261) | (5.1) | % | |||||||||||||||||
| Other income (expense), net | 2,081 | (147,656) | 149,737 | 101.4 | % | |||||||||||||||||
| Loss before income taxes | (74,879) | (243,993) | 169,114 | 69.3 | % | |||||||||||||||||
| Income tax (expense) benefit | — | — | — | — | % | |||||||||||||||||
| Loss from continuing operations | (74,879) | (243,993) | 169,114 | 69.3 | % | |||||||||||||||||
| Discontinued operations: | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Gain (loss) from discontinued operations, net of income taxes | 707 | (1,650) | 2,357 | 142.8 | % | |||||||||||||||||
| Income tax (expense) benefit | — | — | — | — | % | |||||||||||||||||
| Gain (loss) from discontinued operations, net of income taxes | 707 | (1,650) | 2,357 | 142.8 | % | |||||||||||||||||
| Net loss | $ | (74,172) | $ | (245,643) | $ | 171,471 | 69.8 | % |
•NM – Fluctuation in terms of percentage change is not meaningful.
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Revenue
| Years Ended December 31, | $ | % | ||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2021 | Change | Change | |||||||||||||||||
| (dollars in thousands) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Imagery & software analytical revenue | $ | 47,415 | $ | 15,365 | $ | 32,050 | 208.6 | % | ||||||||||||
| % of total revenue | 72.6 | % | 45.1 | % | ||||||||||||||||
| Professional & engineering services revenue | 17,935 | 18,720 | (785) | (4.2) | % | |||||||||||||||
| % of total revenue | 27.4 | % | 54.9 | % | ||||||||||||||||
| Total revenue | $ | 65,350 | $ | 34,085 | $ | 31,265 | 91.7 | % |
Imagery and Software Analytical Services Revenue
Imagery and software analytical services revenue significantly increased for the year ended December 31, 2022, as compared to the same period in 2021, driven by increased imagery and analytics orders from existing customers and several firm-fixed price subscription contracts with new domestic and international customers. In May 2022, we were awarded a subscription contract to deliver advanced high frequency imagery services with an initial contract value of $85.8 million, over a five-year base period, with future year options that, if exercised in full, would increase the contract value to over $1.0 billion and increase the contract term up to ten years. This contract is expected to have a material impact to future revenue. In addition, we were awarded a multi-million dollar contract to provide on-demand satellite imagery and analytics for an international government, which significantly contributed to the increased revenue in the year ended December 31, 2022 compared to the same period in 2021. In addition, analytics revenue also increased primarily from the fulfillment of recently awarded firm-fixed price delivery orders for economic activity monitoring. Expansion of our constellation after placing seven satellites into orbit in 2021 and the growing capabilities of our constellation also contributed to meeting increased customer demand for imagery and analytics orders.
Professional and Engineering Services Revenue
Professional and engineering services revenue decreased slightly for the year ended December 31, 2022, as compared to the same period in 2021, primarily due to fewer active contracts in 2022, partially offset by increases in the percentage completion of two engineering services contracts, driven by achievement of critical design milestones and delivery of major components of the contract requirements.
Costs and Expenses
| Years Ended December 31, | $ | % | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2021 | Change | Change | ||||||||||||||||||||
| (dollars in thousands) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Imagery & software analytical service costs, excluding depreciation and amortization | $ | 14,462 | $ | 13,013 | $ | 1,449 | 11.1 | % | |||||||||||||||
| Professional & engineering service costs, excluding depreciation and amortization | 21,365 | 21,735 | (370) | (1.7) | % | ||||||||||||||||||
| Total costs | $ | 35,827 | $ | 34,748 | $ | 1,079 | 3.1 | % |
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Imagery and Software Analytical Service Costs
Imagery and software analytical service costs increased for the year ended December 31, 2022, as compared to the same period in 2021, primarily due to increased data sourced from different sensors such as synthetic aperture radar, third-party service costs such as increased hosting costs due to increased data volumes and maintaining the growth of our satellite and ground stations networks, and third-party subcontractor costs to meet specific needs of new customer programs partially offset by lower stock-based compensation expense. We recorded $0.6 million of stock-based compensation expense during the year ended December 31, 2022 as compared to $1.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2021 primarily related to vesting of restricted stock units (“RSUs”) triggered by the completion of the Merger.
Professional and Engineering Service Costs
Professional and engineering service costs decreased slightly for the year ended December 31, 2022 as compared to the same period in 2021, primarily due to fewer active contracts in 2022, partially offset by an increase of $1.3 million in the estimate to complete on two contracts in 2022 as compared to the prior year. The estimation of total estimated costs to complete on long-term projects are subject to many variables and requires judgment and we may have future changes in estimates, which may have an impact on professional and engineering service costs and associated revenues.
Selling, General, and Administrative
| Years Ended December 31, | $ | % | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2021 | Change | Change | ||||||||||||||||||||
| (dollars in thousands) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Stock-based compensation expense | $ | 18,131 | $ | 38,450 | $ | (20,319) | (52.8) | % | |||||||||||||||
| Salaries and benefit costs | 36,517 | 27,323 | 9,194 | 33.6 | % | ||||||||||||||||||
| Development costs | 826 | 1,419 | (593) | (41.8) | % | ||||||||||||||||||
| Professional fees | 5,082 | 6,061 | (979) | (16.2) | % | ||||||||||||||||||
| Information technology, recruiting, and other administrative expenses | 6,290 | 5,823 | 467 | 8.0 | % | ||||||||||||||||||
| Selling and marketing | 5,553 | 3,817 | 1,736 | 45.5 | % | ||||||||||||||||||
| Rent expense | 2,821 | 1,958 | 863 | 44.1 | % | ||||||||||||||||||
| Insurance | 4,452 | 1,804 | 2,648 | 146.8 | % | ||||||||||||||||||
| Selling, general and administrative | $ | 79,672 | $ | 86,655 | $ | (6,983) | (8.1) | % |
Selling, general, and administrative expenses decreased during the year ended December 31, 2022 as compared to the same period in 2021. Stock-based compensation expense decreased approximately $20.3 million related to the cumulative vesting of RSUs triggered by the successful execution of the Merger in the third quarter of 2021. Salaries and payroll-related benefits increased due to headcount growth in sales, software engineers, and administrative functions. In addition, our public company insurance costs increased during the year ended December 31, 2022 as a result of increased time as a public company caused by the Merger in the third quarter of 2021 and selling and marketing increased due to more advertising, commissions, and trade show expenses.
The following is our forecast for total RSU expense as of December 31, 2022, which, in addition to the amounts recognized in selling, general, and administrative expenses, includes the portion that will be capitalized or classified in imagery and software analytical service costs and professional and engineering service costs:
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| (in thousands) | ||
|---|---|---|
| For the years ending December 31, | ||
| 2023 | $ | 9,043 |
| 2024 | 4,384 | |
| 2025 | 3,352 | |
| 2026 | 1,200 | |
| $ | 17,979 |
Research and Development
| Years Ended December 31, | $ | % | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2021 | Change | Change | ||||||||||||||||||||
| (dollars in thousands) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Research and development | $ | 739 | $ | 112 | $ | 627 | 559.8 | % |
Research and development expense increased for the year ended December 31, 2022 as compared to the same period in 2021. The increase was driven by contracting third-party vendors who fulfill our strategic projects as research and development expense.
Depreciation and Amortization
| Years Ended December 31, | $ | % | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2021 | Change | Change | ||||||||||||||||||||
| (dollars in thousands) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Depreciation of satellites | $ | 33,053 | $ | 12,493 | $ | 20,560 | 164.6 | % | |||||||||||||||
| Depreciation of all other property and equipment | 2,047 | 455 | 1,592 | 349.9 | % | ||||||||||||||||||
| Amortization | 561 | 1,358 | (797) | (58.7) | % | ||||||||||||||||||
| Depreciation and amortization | $ | 35,661 | $ | 14,306 | $ | 21,355 | 149.3 | % |
Depreciation expense from satellites increased for the year ended December 31, 2022 as compared to 2021. The increase was driven by six satellites placed in service in the last quarter of 2021 and two satellites placed in service in the first half of 2022.
Depreciation expense from all other property and equipment increased for the year ended December 31, 2022 as compared to 2021, primarily driven by capitalization of software in 2022 and additional computer equipment that was placed into service.
Amortization expense decreased for the year ended December 31, 2022 as compared to 2021 primarily as a result of in-process research and development from a prior acquisition being fully amortized in 2021.
Satellite Impairment Loss
We recorded a satellite impairment loss for the year ended December 31, 2021 resulting from the loss of two of our satellites, which occurred on May 15, 2021 when a rocket carrying those satellites suffered a failure during flight. This resulted in an impairment loss of $18.4 million, the full carrying value of the satellites, recorded to earnings during the year ended December 31, 2021. The $18.4 million loss included satellite procurement, launch, shipping, launch support, and other associated costs. There were no satellite impairment losses in the year ended December 31, 2022.
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Non-Operating Expenses
| Years Ended December 31, | $ | % | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2021 | Change | Change | |||||||||||||||||||
| (dollars in thousands) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Gain on debt extinguishment | $ | — | $ | 4,059 | $ | (4,059) | NM | |||||||||||||||
| Gain on derivatives | 11,812 | 23,885 | (12,073) | (50.5) | % | |||||||||||||||||
| Income on equity method investment | 2,087 | 1,027 | 1,060 | 103.2 | % | |||||||||||||||||
| Interest income | 1,116 | — | 1,116 | NM | ||||||||||||||||||
| Interest expense | (5,426) | (5,165) | (261) | (5.1) | % | |||||||||||||||||
| Other income (expense), net | 2,081 | (147,656) | 149,737 | 101.4 | % |
•NM – Fluctuation in terms of percentage change is not meaningful.
Gain on derivatives
Fluctuations in our equity warrants and other equity instruments that we classify as derivative liabilities and measure at fair value are significantly driven by our common stock price; these instruments generated a gain during the year ended December 31, 2022.
During the year ended December 31, 2021, we recorded a gain on derivative liabilities primarily due to the change in our common stock price following the Merger.
Income on equity method investment
The fluctuations in earnings from our equity method investment is directly related to the operating performance of our joint venture LeoStella.
Interest income
Interest income increased during the year ended December 31, 2022 as a result of our short-term investments purchased in 2022.
Interest expense
Interest expense was consistent year over year.
Other income (expense), net
For the year ended December 31, 2022, other income (expense), net primarily included $2.0 million of proceeds from an earnout payment from Spaceflight, Inc.
For the year ended December 31, 2021, we incurred an initial loss of $99.7 million upon issuances of the Bridge Notes and Bridge Notes Rights Offering executed in the first half of 2021 as the fair value of these notes and the accompanying Legacy BlackSky common shares and Class A common stock warrants that were granted to certain investors was in excess of the proceeds received.
We also incurred $47.7 million in debt issuance costs in 2021 related to the Bridge Notes and the modification of existing debt arrangements. We expensed the debt issuance costs because the Bridge Notes were carried in the consolidated balance sheets at fair value. Upon consummation of the Merger, the Bridge Notes and associated warrant liabilities were converted to equity and extinguished. We do not expect similar charges in future periods.
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Gain (loss) from discontinued operations, net of income taxes
| Years Ended December 31, | $ | % | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2021 | Change | Change | ||||||||||||
| (dollars in thousands) | |||||||||||||||
| Gain (loss) from discontinued operations, net of income taxes | $ | 707 | $ | (1,650) | $ | 2,357 | 142.8 | % |
On June 12, 2020, we completed the sale of 100% of our interests in Spaceflight to M&Y Space for a final purchase price of $31.6 million. During the year ended December 31, 2021, we recorded a liability for a potential working capital adjustment primarily related to target accounts receivable amount in accordance with the sale.
During the year ended December 31, 2022, the Company received an indemnification claim notice regarding certain collection and tax payments related to the Share Purchase Agreement among BlackSky Holdings, Inc., Spaceflight, Inc., and M&Y Space Co., Ltd. The parties agreed to the framework for a global settlement of such indemnification claims, to include a settlement payment by the Company of $1.0 million and a holdback amount of $0.1 million subject to M&Y Space Co.’s ability to collect against certain receivables. As a result, we reduced our existing contingent liability by $707 thousand.
Non-GAAP Financial Measures
In addition to our results determined in accordance with GAAP, management utilizes certain non-GAAP performance measures, Adjusted EBITDA, and free cash flow for purposes of evaluating our ongoing operations and for internal planning and forecasting purposes. Our management and board of directors believe that these non-GAAP operating measures, when reviewed collectively with our GAAP financial information, provide useful supplemental information to investors in assessing our operating performance.
Adjusted EBITDA
Adjusted EBITDA is defined as net income or loss attributable to us before interest income, interest expense, income tax expense or benefit, depreciation and amortization, as well as significant non-cash and/or non-recurring expenses as our management believes these items are not useful in evaluating our core operating performance. These items include, but are not limited to, realized loss on conversion of Bridge Notes, stock-based compensation expense, unrealized (gain) loss on certain warrants/shares classified as derivative liabilities, satellite impairment loss, proceeds from an earnout payment, gain on debt extinguishment, (gain) loss from discontinued operations, net of income taxes, severance, income on equity method investment, transaction-related legal settlements, and transaction costs associated with equity instruments accounted for as derivative liabilities. We have presented Adjusted EBITDA because it is a key measure used by our management and board of directors to understand and evaluate our operating performance, generate future operating plans and make strategic decisions regarding the allocation of capital. In particular, we believe that the exclusion of certain items in calculating Adjusted EBITDA can produce a useful measure for period-to-period comparisons of our business. Accordingly, we believe that Adjusted EBITDA provides useful information in understanding and evaluating our operating results. In addition, we believe that Adjusted EBITDA provides additional information for investors to use in evaluating our ongoing operating results and trends. This non-GAAP measure provides investors with incremental information for the evaluation of our performance after isolation of certain items deemed unrelated to our core business operations.
Adjusted EBITDA is presented as a supplemental measure to our GAAP measures of performance. When evaluating Adjusted EBITDA, you should be aware that we may incur future expenses similar to those excluded when calculating this measure. In addition, our presentation of this measure should not be construed as an inference that our future results will be unaffected by unusual or non-recurring items. Furthermore, our computation of Adjusted EBITDA may not be directly comparable to similarly titled measures computed by other companies, as the nature of the adjustments that other companies may include or exclude when calculating Adjusted EBITDA may differ from the adjustments reflected in our measure. Because of these limitations, Adjusted EBITDA should not be considered in isolation, nor should this measure be viewed as a substitute for the most directly comparable GAAP measure, which is net loss. We compensate for the limitations of non-GAAP measures by relying primarily on our
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GAAP results. You should review the reconciliation of our net loss to Adjusted EBITDA below and not rely on any single financial measure to evaluate our performance.
The table below reconciles our Net loss to Adjusted EBITDA for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021:
| Years Ended December 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2021 | |||||||||
| (in thousands) | ||||||||||
| Net loss | $ | (74,172) | $ | (245,643) | ||||||
| Interest income | (1,116) | — | ||||||||
| Interest expense | 5,426 | 5,165 | ||||||||
| Depreciation and amortization | 35,661 | 14,306 | ||||||||
| Loss on issuance of Bridge Notes, including debt issuance costs expensed for debt carried at fair value | — | 147,387 | ||||||||
| Stock-based compensation expense | 20,025 | 42,571 | ||||||||
| Gain on derivatives | (11,812) | (23,885) | ||||||||
| Satellite impairment loss | — | 18,407 | ||||||||
| Proceeds from earn-out payment | (2,000) | — | ||||||||
| (Gain) loss from discontinued operations, net of income taxes | (707) | 1,650 | ||||||||
| Severance | 1,196 | — | ||||||||
| Income on equity method investment | (2,087) | (1,027) | ||||||||
| Forgiveness of non-trade receivables | 106 | — | ||||||||
| Contingent legal liability | — | 399 | ||||||||
| Transaction costs associated with derivative liabilities | — | 291 | ||||||||
| Gain on debt extinguishment | — | (4,059) | ||||||||
| Adjusted EBITDA | $ | (29,480) | $ | (44,438) |
Free Cash Flow
We define free cash flow as cash flows used in, or provided by, operating activities—continuing operations plus cash flows used in, or provided by, operating activities—discontinued operations less purchase of property and equipment and satellite procurement work in process. We have presented free cash flow because it is used by our management and board of directors as an indicator of the amount of cash we generate or use and to evaluate our ability to satisfy current and future obligations and to fund future business opportunities. Accordingly, we believe that free cash flow provides useful information to investors and others, enhancing the overall understanding of our ability to satisfy our financial obligations and pursue business opportunities, and allowing for greater transparency with respect to a key financial metric used by our management in their financial and operational decision-making.
Free cash flow is not defined by GAAP and should not be considered in isolation of, or as an alternative to, measures prepared in accordance with GAAP. There are a number of limitations related to the use of free cash flow rather than net cash from (used in) operating activities, which is the most directly comparable GAAP equivalent. Some of these limitations are:
•free cash flow is not a measure of cash available for discretionary expenditures since we have certain non-discretionary obligations such as debt repayments or capital lease obligations that are not deducted from the measure; and
•other companies, including companies in our industry, may calculate free cash flow differently, which reduces its usefulness as a comparative measure.
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The table below reconciles our net cash used in operating activities to free cash flow for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021:
| Years Ended December 31, | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2021 | |||||
| (in thousands) | ||||||
| Net cash used in operating activities | $ | (44,456) | $ | (53,872) | ||
| Purchase of property and equipment | (11,677) | (1,266) | ||||
| Satellite procurement work in process | (32,385) | (62,643) | ||||
| Free cash flow | $ | (88,518) | $ | (117,781) | ||
| Net cash used in investing activities | $ | (81,579) | $ | (63,614) | ||
| Net cash (used in) provided by financing activities | (5,053) | 275,017 |
Liquidity and Capital Resources
As of December 31, 2022, our existing sources of liquidity included cash and cash equivalents and short-term investments. Our cash and cash equivalents excluding restricted cash totaled $34.2 million and $165.6 million as of December 31, 2022 and December 31, 2021, respectively, and our short-term investments totaled $38.0 million and $0 as of December 31, 2022 and December 31, 2021, respectively. We have incurred losses and generated negative cash flows from operations since our inception in September 2014. As of December 31, 2022, we had an accumulated deficit of $545.1 million.
Our short-term liquidity as of December 31, 2022 was comprised of the following:
| (in thousands) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Cash and cash equivalents | $ | 34,181 |
| Restricted cash(1) | 2,835 | |
| Short-term investments(2) | 37,982 | |
| $ | 74,998 |
(1) We expect that $1.0 million of restricted cash will transfer to cash and cash equivalents by June 30, 2023.
(2) Short-term investments are included in cash flows from investing activities in the consolidated statements of cash flows.
We expect cash and cash equivalents and cash generated from operating activities to be sufficient to meet our working capital and capital expenditure needs for the foreseeable future. Our future long-term capital requirements will depend on many factors including our growth rate, the timing and extent of spending to support solution development efforts, the expansion of sales and marketing activities, the ongoing investments in technology infrastructure, the introduction of new and enhanced solutions, and the continuing market acceptance of our solutions.
On March 8, 2023, the Company completed the closing of a private placement where the Company issued 16,403,677 shares of the Company’s Class A common stock (the “Shares”) and warrants to purchase up to an additional 16,403,677 shares of Common Stock.
The purchase price of each Share and associated warrant was $1.79. The aggregate gross proceeds to the Company from the private placement were approximately $29.5 million, before deducting the placement agent fees and other offering expenses payable by the Company. The Company intends to use the net proceeds from the private placement for general corporate purposes, including working capital.
On March 10, 2023, Silicon Valley Bank (“SVB”) was closed by the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation, which appointed the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”) as receiver. On March 13, 2023, the FDIC announced that it had transferred all insured and uninsured deposits and substantially all assets of SVB to a newly created, full-service FDIC-operated “bridge bank” called Silicon Valley Bank, N.A., where
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depositors would have full access to their money beginning immediately. We believe that the impact to our operations, vendors and customers is immaterial to our liquidity.
From time to time, we may seek additional equity or debt financing to fund capital expenditures, strategic initiatives or investments and our ongoing operations. We do not have a line of credit or access to immediate funds and we are not subject to any financial or minimum cash metrics. If we decide, or are required, to seek additional financing from outside sources, we may not be able to raise it on terms acceptable to us or at all. If we are unable to raise additional capital when desired, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be adversely affected.
Funding Requirements
While our expenses may continue to exceed our revenues in the near term due to investments we are making in sales, marketing and products to increase our market share, we expect this difference to decline as we progress to becoming operating cash flow positive. We expect to continue to incur capital expenditures as we procure and launch satellites to increase image collection capacity, as well as investing in our Gen-3 satellites and our Spectra AI platform to significantly expand our product capabilities in the future.
Short-term liquidity requirements
As of December 31, 2022, our current assets were approximately $88.5 million, consisting primarily of cash and cash equivalents, restricted cash, short-term investments, trade receivables, prepaid expenses and other current assets, and contract assets.
As of December 31, 2022, our current liabilities were approximately $26.9 million, consisting primarily of accounts payable and accrued liabilities, contract liabilities, and other non-recurring current liabilities. Accordingly, we have sufficient cash and working capital to fund our short-term liquidity requirements.
Long-Term Liquidity Requirements
We anticipate that our most significant long-term liquidity and capital needs will relate to continued funding of operations, satellite development capital expenditures, launch capital expenditures, and ongoing investments in our Spectra AI platform and internal infrastructure that will enable us to scale the business efficiently and securely. We can manage the timing for a large part of our capital expenditures, including the design, build, and launch of our new satellites currently under development, to provide us with additional flexibility to optimize our long-term liquidity requirements. Macroeconomic conditions and credit markets could also impact the availability and, or, the cost of potential future debt or equity financing.
Cash Flow Analysis
The following table provides a summary of cash flow data for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021:
| Years Ended December 31, | $ | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2021 | Change | ||||||||
| (in thousands) | ||||||||||
| Net cash used in operating activities | $ | (44,456) | $ | (53,872) | $ | 9,416 | ||||
| Net cash used in investing activities(1) | (81,579) | (63,614) | (17,965) | |||||||
| Net cash (used in) provided by financing activities | (5,053) | 275,017 | (280,070) | |||||||
| Net (decrease) increase in cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash | (131,088) | 157,531 | (288,619) | |||||||
| Cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash – beginning of year | 168,104 | 10,573 | 157,531 | |||||||
| Cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash – end of period(2) | $ | 37,016 | $ | 168,104 | $ | (131,088) |
(1) Includes purchase of $50.3 million of short-term investments not categorized as cash
(2) $38.0 million of short-term investments are not classified as cash, cash equivalents, or restricted cash. Our short-term liquidity at December 31, 2022 was $75.0 million
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Operating activities
For the year ended December 31, 2022, net cash used in operating activities was approximately $44.5 million. The contributor to the decrease in cash used during the year ended December 31, 2022 was the decrease in the operating loss, adjusted for depreciation, amortization, stock-based compensation expense, and other non-cash items in the year ended December 31, 2022 as compared to the year ended December 31, 2021. The operating loss decrease in the year ended December 31, 2022 was primarily due to increased imagery and analytics revenue. This was partially offset by an increase in our unbilled contract assets.
Investing activities
We continue to have significant cash outflows for satellite procurement and launch related services. Cash paid for the procurement of satellites and other launch-related costs decreased in the year ended December 31, 2022 as compared to 2021. Satellite capital expenditures decreased year over year by optimizing cash spend to meet our short and long-term operational needs. In addition, we purchased $50.3 million of short-term investments in corporate debt and governmental securities, which was partially offset by $13.0 million of proceeds from the investments.
We also continue to incur labor costs for internally developed capitalized software as we add innovative new services and tools to our Spectra AI platform.
Financing activities
The most significant impact in the change in cash flows from financing activities in the year ended December 31, 2022 as compared to the year ended December 31, 2021 was related to the $244.9 million proceeds from the Merger, or recapitalization transaction, net of equity issuance costs, and the $58.6 million loan proceeds from the Bridge Notes, both of which occurred in the prior year.
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Contractual Obligations and Commitments
As of December 31, 2022, we have a debt facility from related parties with an outstanding principal amount of $77.1 million and $1.2 million of accrued interest, which matures in October 2024. Please see Note 22 for further information on this facility. We have operational commitments for the next several years related to office leases and remote ground station service arrangements of $6.3 million and $1.5 million, respectively. Please see Note 24 for further information.
We have commitments for launch and integration services with a launch services provider. As of December 31, 2022, we have a commitment for one launch to include up to two satellites totaling an amount of $1.7 million with options for additional launches. The terms of the arrangement also allow for us to re-manifest the satellites if there are delays in excess of 365 days or other inexcusable delays occur with the provider. If re-manifest efforts fail, we can request a refund of all recoverable costs after 487 days from original launch date. The launch service provider invoices are based on time-based milestone payments from estimated launch dates. Payment terms are 15 days from invoice date. In addition, we entered into various other operational commitments for the next several years totaling $9.8 million as of December 31, 2022.
Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates
The preparation of our consolidated financial statements and related notes requires management to make judgments, estimates, and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenue, and expenses. Management has based its estimates on historical experience and on various other assumptions that are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances, the results of which form the basis for making judgments about the carrying values of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. Actual results may differ from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions.
For a description of our significant accounting policies see Note 2—“Basis of Presentation and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies,” of the notes to the consolidated financial statements. An accounting policy is considered to be critical if it requires an accounting estimate to be made based on assumptions about matters that are highly uncertain at the time the estimate is made, and if different estimates that reasonably could have been used, or changes in the accounting estimates that are reasonably likely to occur periodically, could materially impact the consolidated financial statements. Management believes the following critical accounting policies reflect the more significant estimates and assumptions used in the preparation of our consolidated financial statements.
Revenue Recognition
The recognition and measurement of revenue requires the use of judgments and estimates. Specifically, judgment is used in interpreting complex arrangements with nonstandard terms and conditions and determining when all criteria for revenue recognition have been met.
We primarily generate revenue from the sale of imagery, data, software, and analytics, as well as, professional and engineering services.
Identifying the performance obligations contained in a contract, determining transaction price, allocating transaction price, and determining when performance obligations are satisfied can require the application of significant judgment, as further discussed below.
Identifying the performance obligations in a contract
We execute contracts for a single promise or multiple promises. Specifically, our firm fixed price contracts typically include multiple promises which are accounted for as separate performance obligations. Significant judgment is required in determining performance obligations, and these decisions could change the amount of revenue and profit or loss recorded in each period.
Classification of Revenue
We classify revenue as imagery and software analytical services, and professional and engineering services in our consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss based on the predominant attributes of the performance obligations.
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Determination of and Allocation of Transaction Price
Each customer purchase order sets forth the transaction price for the products and services purchased under the arrangement. The Company estimates any variable consideration, and whether the transaction price is constrained, upon execution of each contract. We may adjust the transaction price over time for any estimated constraints that become probable based on service level provisions within some of our customer purchase orders. For contracts with multiple performance obligations, we evaluate whether the stated selling prices for the products or services represent their standalone selling prices. When it is necessary to allocate the transaction price to multiple performance obligations, management typically uses the expected cost plus a reasonable profit margin to estimate the standalone selling price of each product or service. We also sell standard products or services with observable standalone revenue transactions. In these situations, the observable standalone revenue transactions are used to determine the standalone selling price.
Determination of when Performance Obligations are Satisfied
Imagery revenue is recognized ratably over the subscription period or at the point in time the customer receives access to the imagery. Software analytical services revenue derived from data, software, and analytics is recognized from the rendering of analytical and monitoring services over time on a firm-fixed price, or at the point in time the customer receives access to an analytic product. Professional and engineering services revenue is generated from both time and materials basis contracts and firm-fixed price service solutions contracts and firm-fixed price long-term engineering and construction contracts. Due to the long-term nature of our engineering and construction contracts, we generally recognize revenue over time using a cost-to-cost measure of progress because it best depicts the transfer of control to the customer as we incur costs on the contracts. Under the percentage-of-completion cost-to-cost measure of progress, the extent of progress towards completion is measured based on the ratio of costs incurred to date to the total estimated costs to complete the performance obligation(s). The estimation of total estimated costs at completion is subject to many variables and requires judgment. We recognize changes in contract estimates on a cumulative catch-up basis in the period in which the changes are identified. Such changes in contract estimates can result in the recognition of revenue in a current period for performance obligations which were satisfied or partially satisfied in a prior period. If at any time, the estimate of contract profitability indicates a probable anticipated loss on the contract, we recognize the total loss as and when known.
Equity Valuations
As there was not a market for Legacy BlackSky equity, valuations of Legacy BlackSky equity instruments require the application of significant estimates, assumptions, and judgments. These valuations impact various amounts and accounting conclusions reflected in our consolidated financial statements, inclusive of the recognition of equity-based compensation, debt discounts when debt issuances were accompanied by the issuance of equity (e.g., warrants), and the evaluation of whether beneficial conversion features existed within our convertible financial instruments. The following discussion provides additional details regarding the significant estimates, assumptions, and judgments that impacted the determination of the fair values of equity-based compensation awards, warrants, and the preferred stock and common stock that comprised our capital structure prior to the Merger. The following discussion also explains why these estimates, assumptions, and judgments could be subject to uncertainties and future variability.
Equity-Based Compensation
Legacy BlackSky issued equity and equity-based awards under our 2021 Equity Incentive Plan (“2021 Plan”), 2014 stock incentive plan, and 2011 stock incentive plan. Awards issued include stock options, restricted stock awards (“RSAs”), and RSUs. Awards under these Plans were approved by the board of directors, and awards that have been canceled, forfeited, or expired are available for issuance in connection with our 2021 Plan.
For purposes of recognizing equity-based compensation related to RSAs, RSUs, and stock options granted to employees, management estimates the grant date fair values of such awards to measure the costs to be recognized for services received. For awards with time-based vesting conditions, we recognize compensation costs based upon the straight-line amortization of the grant date fair value of the awards over the requisite service period. When equity-based compensation awards include a performance condition, no compensation is recognized until the
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performance condition is deemed probable to occur; we then recognize compensation costs based on the accelerated attribution method, which accounts for awards with discrete vesting dates as if they were a separate award.
Stock Option and Class A Common Stock Warrant Valuations
We use the Black-Scholes option-pricing model to value all options and Class A common stock warrants. Estimating the fair value of stock options using the Black-Scholes option-pricing model requires the application of significant assumptions, such as the fair value of our Class A common stock, the estimated term of the options, risk-free interest rates, the expected volatility of the price of our Class A common stock, and an expected dividend yield. Each of these assumptions is subjective, requires significant judgement, and is based upon management’s best estimates. If any of these assumptions were to change significantly in the future, equity-based compensation related to future awards may differ significantly, as compared with awards previously granted.
We have largely moved towards granting RSAs and RSUs to the bulk of our employees, for which the grant date fair value is equal to the trading price fair value of the Class A common stock on the date of grant. For stock options, which are primarily granted to certain management employees, we use the following inputs under Black-Scholes as follows:
Expected Dividend Yield—The Black-Scholes valuation model requires an expected dividend yield as an input. The dividend yield is based on historical experience and expected future changes. We currently have no plans to pay dividends on our Class A common stock and, accordingly, have assumed no dividend yield upon valuation of our stock options.
Expected Volatility—As there was no observable volatility with respect to our Legacy BlackSky Class A common stock and due to the lack of sufficient history of BlackSky Class A common stock, the expected volatility of our Legacy BlackSky and BlackSky Class A common stock was estimated based upon the historical share price volatility of guideline comparable companies.
Risk-free Interest Rate—The yield on actively traded, non-inflation indexed U.S. Treasury notes was used to extrapolate an average risk-free interest rate based on the expected term of the underlying grants.
Expected Term—For options granted in 2021 and 2022, since there is not a history of option exercises as a public company, we considered the option vesting terms and contractual period, as well as the demographics of the holders, in estimating the expected term. For options granted prior to 2021, the expected term was the estimated duration to a liquidation event based on a weighted average consideration of the most likely exit prospects for that stage of development. Legacy BlackSky was privately funded and, accordingly, the lack of marketability was factored into the expected term of options granted. We will continue to review our estimate in the future and adjust it, if necessary, due to changes in our historical exercises.
Private Placement Warrants and Sponsor Shares
We have classified the Private Placement Warrants and Sponsor Shares as long-term liabilities in our consolidated balance sheets as of December 31, 2022 and December 31, 2021. Each liability was initially recorded at fair value on the date of the Merger. The Private Placement Warrants were recorded at fair value using a Black-Scholes option pricing model and the Sponsor Shares were recorded at fair value using a Monte Carlo simulation model. These liabilities are re-measured to fair value at each subsequent reporting date and recorded to gain on derivatives on our consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss. We will continue to adjust the liability for changes in fair value until the financial instruments are exercised, redeemed, cancelled or released.
The fair value models require inputs including, but not limited to, the fair value of our Class A common stock, the risk-free interest rate, expected term, expected dividend yield and expected volatility. The fair value of our Class A common stock is the closing stock price on the NYSE as of the measurement date. The risk-free interest rate assumption is determined by using U.S. Treasury rates for the same period as the expected terms of the financial instruments. The dividend yield assumption is based on the dividends expected to be paid over the expected life of the financial instruments. We have historically been a private company and lacked sufficient company-specific historical and implied volatility information. Therefore, the expected stock volatility includes both BlackSky’s Class A common stock and public warrant historical volatility as well as the historical volatility of a publicly traded set of
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peer companies. Changes in these assumptions can materially affect the estimate of the fair value of these instruments and ultimately the change in fair value.
Goodwill Impairment
We assess goodwill for impairment at the reporting unit level, which is defined as an operating segment or one level below an operating segment. Goodwill is tested annually for impairment as of October 1st, or more frequently if events or circumstances indicate the carrying value may be impaired. A significant amount of judgement is involved in determining if an indicator of impairment has occurred. Such indicators may include (a) a significant decline in our common stock value; (b) a significant decline in our expected future cash flows; (c) a significant adverse change in legal factors or the business climate; (d) unanticipated competition; or (e) slower growth rates. We identify potential impairment by comparing the fair value of each of our reporting units with its carrying amount, including goodwill. If the carrying amount of a reporting unit exceeds its fair value, an impairment loss is recognized in an amount equal to that excess.
We performed an annual qualitative goodwill assessment over the balance of goodwill we held related to the BlackSky reporting unit as of October 1, 2022. We also determined that no triggering events occurred during the year ended December 31, 2022 that would require a quantitative assessment. We determined that it is more likely than not that the fair value of the BlackSky reporting unit sufficiently exceeds its carrying value, including goodwill. Although we have a history of recurring losses from operations, negative cash flows from operations, and a significant accumulated deficit, as of the October 1, 2022 analysis, the fair value was greater than 34% in excess of the carrying value for BlackSky. As of December 31, 2022, we believe that the estimated fair values of the BlackSky reporting unit is still in excess of its respective carrying value and therefore is not at-risk of being impaired.
Long Lived Asset Impairment
We evaluate long-lived assets, including finite-lived intangible assets, property and equipment, satellite procurement work in process and other long-term assets, for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amounts of the assets may not be fully recoverable. Significant judgments in this area involve determining whether a triggering event has occurred and determining the future cash flows for assets involved. In conducting this analysis, we compare the undiscounted cash flows expected to be generated from the long-lived assets (or asset group) to the related net book values. If the undiscounted cash flows exceed the net book value, the long-lived assets are considered not to be impaired. If the net book value exceeds the undiscounted cash flows, an impairment charge is measured and recognized based upon the difference between the carrying value of long-lived assets (or asset group) and their fair value.
FY 2021 10-K MD&A
SEC filing source: 0001753539-22-000020.
ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
The following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with our consolidated financial statements and related notes appearing elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. As discussed in the section titled “Special Note Regarding Forward Looking Statements,” the following discussion and analysis contains forward looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, as well as assumptions that, if they never materialize or prove incorrect, could cause our results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause or contribute to these
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Table of Contents
differences include, but are not limited to, those discussed in the section titled “Risk Factors” under Part I, Item IA in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Unless the context otherwise requires, references in this “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” to “BlackSky”, “the Company”, “we”, “us” and “our” refer to the business and operations of Legacy BlackSky and its consolidated subsidiaries prior to the Merger and to BlackSky Technology Inc. and its consolidated subsidiaries, following the closing of the Merger.
General Overview
On September 9, 2021, Osprey consummated the Merger with Legacy BlackSky. Immediately following the Merger, Osprey changed its name to “BlackSky Technology Inc.” Legacy BlackSky survived the Merger and is now a wholly owned subsidiary of BlackSky. As a special purpose acquisition corporation, Osprey had no pre-Merger operations other than to identify and consummate a merger. Therefore, BlackSky’s operations post-Merger are attributable to those of Legacy BlackSky and its subsidiaries, and references to “BlackSky” or the “Company” should be read to include BlackSky’s wholly owned subsidiaries. References in this report to Company actions, assets/liabilities, or contracts may be references to actions taken, assets/liabilities held, or contracts entered into by one or more Company current subsidiaries; however the Company has distinguished between the actions taken by Legacy BlackSky or Osprey for certain time based, historical transactions.
The Company’s results of operations and statements of assets and liabilities may not be comparable between periods as a result of the Merger.
Company Overview
We won and operate one of the industry's leading high-performance low earth orbit (“LEO”) small satellite constellations. Our constellation is optimized to cost-efficiently capture imagery at high frequencies where and when our customers need it. The orbital configuration of our constellation is designed to collect data on the most critical and strategic locations on Earth where we believe approximately 90% of the global GDP occurs. With twelve satellites on orbit currently, our constellation is able to image certain locations every hour, from dawn to dusk, providing our customers with insights and situational awareness throughout the day. Our satellites are designed with agile pointing capabilities that enable our customers to task our constellation on demand to collect specific locations of interest. Our tasking methodology employs proprietary artificial intelligence (“AI”)-enabled software to efficient collect the most important areas of interest to our customers. We believe that our focus on critical strategies and economic infrastructure and the AI-enabled tasking of our constellation differentiates us from our competitors, who are dedicated primarily to mapping the entirety of the Earth every day and who, therefore, require hundreds of satellites to support their mission. Our focused approach enables us to deliver highly targeted and valuable intelligence with a smaller constellation that has the added benefit of greater operating and capital efficiencies.
Our Spectra AI software platform processes millions of observations a day from our proprietary satellite constellation and from multiple external data sources including imaging, radar and radio frequency satellites, environmental sensors, asset tracking sensors, Internet-of-Things (“IoT”) connected devices, internet-enabled narrative sources, and a variety of geotemporal data feeds. Spectra AI employs advanced, proprietary AI and machine learning (“ML”) techniques to process, analyze, and transform these data feeds into alerts, information, and insights. Customers can access Spectra AI's data and analytics through easy-to-use web services or through platform application programming interfaces.
Our next generation satellites (“Gen-3”) are designed to improve our imaging resolution even further and include short wave infrared imaging technology for a broad set of imaging conditions, including nighttime, low-light, and all-weather. We believe these advancements will expand the relevance and certainty of our analytics to continue to ensure our relevance to our customers. We believe the combination of our high-revisit, small satellite constellation, our Spectra AI platform, and low constellation cost is disrupting the market for geospatial imagery and space-based data and analytics.
Our operating strategy is to continue to enhance the capabilities of our satellite constellation, to increase the number of third-party data sources processed by Spectra AI, and to expand our analytics offerings in order to increase the value we deliver to our customers. Our two operating assets—our satellite constellation and our Spectra
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AI software platform—are mutually reinforcing: as we capture ever more information about the world’s most important economic and strategic locations, our proprietary database expands and increases its utility; enabling us to better detect, understand, and predict changes that matter most to our customers. Our business has a natural and powerful “flywheel” effect: the more data we collect and analyze, the more valuable the insights we can deliver to our customers.
Our current customer base and end market mix are weighted towards U.S. and international defense and intelligence customers and markets. We believe there are significant opportunities to expand our imagery and software analytical services, as well as our engineering and systems integration offerings, to customers both domestically and internationally. In addition, our products and services can benefit customers in a variety of commercial markets including, but not limited to, energy and utilities, insurance, commodities, mining, manufacturing, logistics, agriculture, environmental monitoring, disaster and risk management, engineering and construction, and consumer behavior.
We offer a variety of pricing and utilization options for our imagery and software analytical service offerings, including usage-based pricing, subscriptions and transactional licenses. These options provide customers flexible options to utilize our imagery and software analytical services in a manner that best suits their business needs. We offer a range of pricing tiers that enables the customer to manage collection priorities, where during critical events they can pay a premium to prioritize their monitoring and collection requirements. At other times, customers can select lower priority collections to allow for more economical utilization. We currently derive revenue from variable and fixed pricing plans that allow our customers to choose what matters most to them—platform licensing-levels, priority for imagery tasking, and whether to apply analytics or monitoring capabilities overtop the imaging service.
Merger with Osprey Technology Acquisition Corp
Upon the consummation of the Merger, a number of parties purchased an aggregate of 18.0 million shares of our Class A common stock (the “PIPE Shares”), for a purchase price of $10.00 per share, or an aggregate purchase price of $180.0 million, pursuant to a separate subscription agreement.
78,993,201 shares of Osprey common stock were issued for all of the issued and outstanding equity interests of Legacy BlackSky, inclusive of shares of Osprey’s common stock issued in exchange for both Legacy BlackSky’s issued and outstanding preferred stock and issued and outstanding convertible notes, (inclusive of interest accrued thereon), as if each had converted into Legacy BlackSky common stock immediately prior to the Merger.
The Merger was accounted for as a Reverse Recapitalization in accordance with GAAP. Under this method of accounting, Osprey is treated as the acquired company for financial reporting purposes, and Legacy BlackSky is treated as the accounting acquiror. In accordance with this accounting, the Merger is treated as the equivalent of Legacy BlackSky issuing stock for Osprey’s net assets, accompanied by a recapitalization. Osprey’s net assets are stated at historical cost, with no goodwill or other intangible assets recorded, and the Legacy BlackSky operations will be those of BlackSky. Legacy BlackSky was considered the acquirer based on the facts and circumstances, including the following factors evaluated at the time of the Merger:
•Legacy BlackSky’s former stockholders held a majority ownership interest in BlackSky;
•Legacy BlackSky’s senior management team comprise senior management of BlackSky;
•Legacy BlackSky was able to designate all but one director to BlackSky’s initial board;
•Legacy BlackSky was the larger of the companies based on historical operating activity and employee base; and
•Legacy BlackSky’s operations comprise the ongoing operations of BlackSky.
We received approximately $283.0 million in gross proceeds upon consummation of the Merger, comprised of approximately $103.0 million in cash held in trust by Osprey and the proceeds of a $180.0 million sale of PIPE Shares. Transaction expenses paid on closing totaled approximately $39.9 million and we paid post-closing transaction expenses of $6.3 million. Additionally, we repaid approximately $21.4 million in debt and accrued interest and $6.1 million in other close-related expenses. On September 13, 2021, we raised an additional $8.0
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million through a direct sale of Class A common stock to Palantir Technologies at $10.00 per share. Net cash proceeds from the Merger, the PIPE Shares, and the Palantir financing, less transaction costs, debt repayments, accrued interest and other closing payments, totaled approximately $223.6 million.
As a public company, we are required to comply with Securities and Exchange Commission regulations and New York Stock Exchange listing requirements. These compliance obligations require us to hire additional personnel and implement processes and procedures. We expect to incur incremental annual expenses as a public company for, among other things, increased directors’ and officers’ liability insurance; director fees; and additional internal and external accounting, legal, and administrative resources.
Components of Operating Results
Revenue
Our revenue is generated by selling imagery and software analytics services through our Spectra AI platform and by providing engineering and systems integration services to strategic customers on project by project basis.
•Imagery and Software Analytical Services Revenue
◦Imagery: We offer our customers high-revisit, on-demand high resolution electro optic satellite imaging services. Through our Spectra AI platform, customers can directly task our proprietary small satellite constellation to collect collect and deliver imagery over specific locations, sites, and regions that are critical to their operations. We offer customers several service level options that include basic plans for on-demand tasking or multi-year assured access programs, where customers can secure priority access and imaging capacity over a region of interest on a take or pay basis.
◦Data, Software, and Analytics: Our analytics services are also offered on a subscription basis and provide customers with access to our site monitoring, event monitoring and global data services. We leverage our proprietary AI and ML algorithms to analyze data coming from both our proprietary sensor network and space based and terrestrial third-party sources in real-time to provide data, insights, and analytics for our customers. We provide services related to object, change and anomaly detection, site monitoring, and enhanced analytics through which we can detect key pattern of life changes in critical locations. These critical locations can include strategic locations and infrastructure such as ports, airports, and construction sites; retail activity; commodities stockpiles; and other sites that contain critical commodities and supply chain inventory.
We continue to enhance and integrate our offerings by performing capability development for customers while retaining the intellectual property rights. We provide technology enabled professional service solutions to support customer-specific software development requests, integration, testing, and training in order to embed our imagery and software analytical services into the customers organizational processes. We also provide software systems engineering development to support the efforts of certain customers to manage mass quantities of data.
We expect continued imagery and software analytical services revenue growth in the year ending December 31, 2022, as compared to the prior year as a result of growth in satellite capacity and sales orders.
•Engineering and Systems Integration Revenue—We develop and deliver advanced launch vehicle, satellite and payload systems for specific strategic customers that desire to leverage our capabilities in mission systems engineering and operations, ground station operations, software, analytics and systems development. These systems are sold to government customers under fixed price contracts and are often bundled with our imagery services offerings.
We expect engineering and systems integration revenue growth as we continue to provide customers with unique engineering solutions and deliver critical design reviews.
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Cost and Expenses
Our operating expenses are incurred from the following categories:
•Imagery and software analytical services costs primarily include internal aerospace and geospatial software development labor, third-party data and imagery, internal labor to support the ground stations and space operations, and cloud computing and hosting services. Costs are expensed as incurred except for incremental costs to obtain a contract, which are capitalized and amortized to selling, general and administrative expenses on a systematic basis consistent with the transfer of goods and services. Expense related to stock-based payments is classified in the consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss based upon employees’ cash compensation. We recognize stock-based compensation expense for those employees whose work supports the imagery and software analytical service costs we provide to customers, under imagery and software analytical service costs, excluding depreciation and amortization. For those employees who provide engineering and systems support to customers, the share-based compensation expense is classified under engineering and systems integration costs. For the remaining employees who generally support our business, the stock-based compensation expense is recognized under selling, general and administrative expense in the consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss.
•Engineering and systems integration costs primarily include the cost of internal labor for design, integration, and engineering in support of long-term development contracts for launch vehicle, satellite, and payload systems. We also incur subcontract direct materials and external labor costs to build and test specific components, such as the communications system, payload demands, and sensor integration.
Operating Expenses
•Selling, general, and administrative expense consists of salaries and benefit costs, development costs, professional fees, and other expenses which includes other personnel-related costs, stock-based compensation expenses, and occupancy costs. Our development costs include internal labor costs to develop critical real-time software and geospatial analytic solutions and solution enhancements, including mapping, analysis, site target monitoring, and news feeds.
•Research and development expense consists primarily of employees’ salaries, taxes, and benefits costs incurred for data science modeling and algorithm development related to our Spectra AI platform, and to the design, development, and testing of our Gen-3 satellites. We intend to continue to invest appropriate resources in research and development efforts, as we believe that investment is critical to maintaining our competitive position.
•Depreciation expense is related to property and equipment which mainly consists of operational satellites. Amortization expense is related to intangible assets which mainly consists of customer relationships.
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Results of Operations for the Years Ended December 31, 2021 and 2020
The following table provides the components of results of operations for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020. Period to period comparisons are not necessarily indicative of future results.
| Years Ended December 31, | $ | % | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2020 | Change | Change | |||||||||||
| Revenue | (dollars in thousands) | |||||||||||||
| Imagery & software analytical services | $ | 25,046 | $ | 18,737 | $ | 6,309 | 33.7 | % | ||||||
| Engineering & systems integration | 9,039 | 2,398 | 6,641 | 276.9 | % | |||||||||
| Total revenue | 34,085 | 21,135 | 12,950 | 61.3 | % | |||||||||
| Costs and expenses | ||||||||||||||
| Imagery & software analytical service costs, excluding depreciation and amortization | 21,507 | 13,331 | 8,176 | 61.3 | % | |||||||||
| Engineering & systems integration costs, excluding depreciation and amortization | 13,241 | 10,535 | 2,706 | 25.7 | % | |||||||||
| Selling, general and administrative | 86,655 | 28,606 | 58,049 | 202.9 | % | |||||||||
| Research and development | 112 | 255 | (143) | (56.1) | % | |||||||||
| Depreciation and amortization | 14,306 | 9,803 | 4,503 | 45.9 | % | |||||||||
| Satellite impairment loss | 18,407 | — | 18,407 | 100.0 | % | |||||||||
| Operating loss | (120,143) | (41,395) | (78,748) | (190.2) | % | |||||||||
| Gain on debt extinguishment | 4,059 | 284 | 3,775 | NM | ||||||||||
| Gain (loss) on derivatives | 23,885 | (558) | 24,443 | NM | ||||||||||
| Income (loss) on equity method investment | 1,027 | (953) | 1,980 | 207.8 | % | |||||||||
| Interest expense | (5,165) | (5,201) | 36 | 0.7 | % | |||||||||
| Other (expense) income, net | (147,656) | 103 | (147,759) | NM | ||||||||||
| Loss before income taxes | (243,993) | (47,720) | (196,273) | (411.3) | % | |||||||||
| Income tax (expense) benefit | — | — | — | — | % | |||||||||
| Loss from continuing operations | (243,993) | (47,720) | (196,273) | (411.3) | % | |||||||||
| Discontinued operations: | ||||||||||||||
| (Loss) gain from discontinued operations (including (loss) gain from disposal of Spaceflight of ($1,650) and $30,672 for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively) | (1,650) | 28,185 | (29,835) | (105.9) | % | |||||||||
| Income tax (expense) benefit | — | — | — | — | % | |||||||||
| (Loss) gain from discontinued operations, net of tax | (1,650) | 28,185 | (29,835) | (105.9) | % | |||||||||
| Net loss | $ | (245,643) | $ | (19,535) | $ | (226,108) | NM |
•NM - Fluctuation in terms of percentage change is not meaningful.
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Revenue
| Years Ended December 31, | $ | % | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2020 | Change | Change | |||||||||
| (dollars in thousands) | ||||||||||||
| Imagery & software analytical revenue | $ | 25,046 | $ | 18,737 | $ | 6,309 | 33.7 | % | ||||
| % of total revenue | 73.5 | % | 88.7 | % | ||||||||
| Engineering & systems integration revenue | $ | 9,039 | $ | 2,398 | $ | 6,641 | 276.9 | % | ||||
| % of total revenue | 26.5 | % | 11.3 | % | ||||||||
| Total revenue | $ | 34,085 | $ | 21,135 | $ | 12,950 | 61.3 | % |
Imagery and Software Analytical Services Revenue
Imagery and software analytical services revenue increased for the year ended December 31, 2021, as compared to the same period in 2020, primarily driven by increased imagery orders from both new and existing customers. In the year ended December 31, 2021, we were awarded a multi-million dollar short-term firm-fixed price contract to provide on-demand satellite imagery for multiple customers within the government, which significantly contributed to the increased revenue in 2021 over the comparable period. Revenue growth from greater demand for imagery was made possible by the expansion of our constellation from launching seven satellites, which increased imagery capacity in 2021, and the growing capabilities of our constellation. Data, monitoring, and analytics revenue also increased primarily from fulfillment of another new firm fixed price contract for commodity monitoring by a commercial customer.
Engineering and Systems Integration Revenue
Engineering and systems integration revenue significantly increased for the year ended December 31, 2021, as compared to the same period in 2020, primarily due to an increase in percentage completion of two contracts, driven by achievement of critical design milestones and delivery of major components of the contract requirements.
Costs and Expenses
| Years Ended December 31, | $ | % | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2020 | Change | Change | |||||||||
| (dollars in thousands) | ||||||||||||
| Imagery & software analytical service costs, excluding depreciation and amortization | $ | 21,507 | $ | 13,331 | $ | 8,176 | 61.3 | % | ||||
| Engineering & systems integration costs, excluding depreciation and amortization | 13,241 | 10,535 | 2,706 | 25.7 | % | |||||||
| Total costs | $ | 34,748 | $ | 23,866 | $ | 10,882 | 45.6 | % |
Imagery and Software Analytical Service Costs
Imagery and software analytical service costs increased for the year ended December 31, 2021, as compared to the same period in 2020, primarily driven by third-party service costs such as, increased hosting costs, to meet rising demand and maintaining the growth of our satellite and ground stations networks, third-party subcontractor costs and enhanced analytic content. Labor costs also increased due to additional headcount to support an increased customer base. Additionally, we recorded $4.1 million of stock-based compensation expense during the year ended
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December 31, 2021 related to vesting of restricted stock units ("RSUs") triggered by the successful execution of the Merger.
Engineering and Systems Integration Costs
Engineering and systems integration costs increased for the year ended December 31, 2021, as compared to the same period in 2020, primarily attributable to non-recurring engineering design costs and material procurement costs incurred for customer contracts associated with the Gen-3 satellites. The increase was partially offset by a lower recognition of the forward loss in 2021 as compared to the prior period for those customer contracts of $(3.5) million.
Selling, General, and Administrative
| Years Ended December 31, | $ | % | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2020 | Change | Change | ||||||||||||
| (dollars in thousands) | |||||||||||||||
| Stock-based compensation expense | $ | 38,449 | $ | 1,982 | $ | 36,467 | NM | ||||||||
| Salaries and benefit costs | 17,417 | 12,336 | 5,080 | 41.2 | % | ||||||||||
| Development costs | 11,388 | 7,190 | 4,198 | 58.4 | % | ||||||||||
| Professional fees | 6,061 | 2,255 | 3,806 | 168.8 | % | ||||||||||
| SaaS subscriptions, recruiting and other administrative expenses | 5,316 | 1,544 | 3,773 | 244.4 | % | ||||||||||
| Selling and marketing | 4,121 | 893 | 3,228 | 361.5 | % | ||||||||||
| Rent expense | 2,099 | 2,255 | (156) | (6.9) | % | ||||||||||
| Insurance | 1,804 | 151 | 1,653 | NM | |||||||||||
| Selling, general and administrative | $ | 86,655 | $ | 28,606 | $ | 21,582 | 75.4 | % |
•NM - Fluctuation in terms of percentage change is not meaningful.
Selling, general, and administrative expense increased during the year ended December 31, 2021, as compared to the same period in 2020, primarily driven by several factors. First, stock-based compensation expense increased approximately $36.5 million from the prior year related to vesting of RSUs, of which $28.6 million was triggered by the successful execution of the Merger. Second, we incurred incremental non-recurring expenses associated with becoming a public company including higher accounting, audit fees and consulting fees, legal services and other public company-related costs of $3.1 million and one-time transaction-related expenses, included in salaries and benefits costs above, of $2.4 million. Third, headcount increased across the organization over the prior year as we invested in sales, product development, engineering, and accounting hiring and establishing the optimal structure to position the business for future success.
Research and Development
| Years Ended December 31, | $ | % | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2020 | Change | Change | ||||||||||||
| (dollars in thousands) | |||||||||||||||
| Research and development | $ | 112 | $ | 255 | $ | (143) | (56.1) | % |
Research and development expense decreased approximately $0.1 million, or 56.1% during the year ended December 31, 2021 compared to the year ended December 31, 2020. The decrease was driven by one of our projects reaching technological feasibility in 2021.
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Depreciation and Amortization
| Years Ended December 31, | $ | % | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2020 | Change | Change | ||||||||||||
| (dollars in thousands) | |||||||||||||||
| Depreciation | $ | 12,948 | $ | 8,452 | $ | 4,496 | 53.2 | % | |||||||
| Amortization | 1,358 | 1,351 | 7 | 0.5 | % | ||||||||||
| Depreciation and amortization | $ | 14,306 | $ | 9,803 | $ | 4,503 | 45.9 | % |
Depreciation expense increased for the year ended December 31, 2021, as compared to the same period in 2020 primarily driven by two satellites placed in service in the second half of 2020 and seven satellites placed in service during the year ended December 31, 2021.
Satellite Impairment Loss
We recorded a satellite impairment loss for the year ended December 31, 2021 resulting from the loss of two of our satellites, which occurred on May 15, 2021 when a rocket carrying those satellites suffered a failure during flight. This resulted in an impairment loss of $18.4 million, the full carrying value of the satellites, recorded to earnings during the year ended December 31, 2021. The $18.4 million loss included satellite procurement, launch, shipping, launch support, and other associated costs. There were no satellite impairment losses in the year ended December 31, 2020.
Non-Operating Expenses
| Years Ended December 31, | $ | % | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2020 | Change | Change | |||||||||||
| (dollars in thousands) | ||||||||||||||
| Gain on debt extinguishment | $ | 4,059 | $ | 284 | $ | 3,775 | NM | |||||||
| Gain (loss) on derivatives | 23,885 | (558) | 24,443 | NM | ||||||||||
| Income (loss) on equity method investment | 1,027 | (953) | 1,980 | 207.8 | % | |||||||||
| Interest expense | (5,165) | (5,201) | 36 | 0.7 | % | |||||||||
| Other (expense) income, net | (147,656) | 103 | (147,759) | NM |
•NM - Fluctuation in terms of percentage change is not meaningful.
Gain on debt extinguishment
The significant increase in gain on debt extinguishment for the year ended December 31, 2021, as compared to the year ended December 31, 2020 is due to the settlement of a related party loan in exchange for our Class A common stock.
Gain (loss) on derivatives
Fluctuations in our derivatives measured at fair value, which include liability classified warrants and pre-merger sponsor shares, are significantly driven by our common stock price, generated a gain during the year ended December 31, 2021 as compared to the fluctuation of fair value related to warrants to purchase Legacy BlackSky series B and C redeemable convertible preferred stock in 2020.
Income (loss) on equity method investment
The fluctuations in earnings from our equity method investment is directly related to the operating performance of our joint venture LeoStella.
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Interest expense
Interest expense was consistent year over year.
Other (expense) income, net
Other expenses significantly increased during the year ended December 31, 2021, as compared to the same period in 2020, primarily due to an initial loss of $99.7 million upon issuances of the Bridge Notes executed in the first half of 2021 as the fair value of these notes and the accompanying common shares and Class A common stock warrants that were granted to certain investors was in excess of the proceeds received.
We also incurred $47.7 million in debt issuance costs related to the Bridge Notes and the modification of existing debt arrangements. We expensed the debt issuance costs because the Bridge Notes were carried in the consolidated balance sheets at fair value. Upon consummation of the Merger, the Bridge Notes and associated warrant liabilities were converted to equity and extinguished. We do not expect similar charges in future periods.
(Loss) gain from discontinued operations, net of tax
| Years Ended December 31, | $ | % | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2020 | Change | Change | ||||||||||||
| (dollars in thousands) | |||||||||||||||
| Discontinued operations: | |||||||||||||||
| Loss from discontinued operations, before income taxes | $ | — | $ | (2,487) | $ | 2,487 | (100.0) | % | |||||||
| (Loss) gain on disposal of discontinued operations | (1,650) | 30,672 | (32,322) | (105.4) | % | ||||||||||
| Total (loss) gain from discontinued operations, net of income taxes | $ | (1,650) | $ | 28,185 | $ | (29,835) | (105.9) | % |
On June 12, 2020, we completed the sale of 100% of our interests in Spaceflight to M&Y Space for a final purchase price of $31.6 million. During the year ended December 31, 2020, Spaceflight’s normal operations resulted in a loss from discontinued operations prior to the completion of the sale. During the year ended December 31, 2021, we recorded a liability for a potential working capital adjustment primarily related to target accounts receivable amount in accordance with the sale.
Non-GAAP Financial Measures
In addition to our results determined in accordance with GAAP, management utilizes certain non-GAAP performance measures, Adjusted EBITDA, and free cash flow for purposes of evaluating our ongoing operations and for internal planning and forecasting purposes. Our management and board of directors believe that these non-GAAP operating measures, when reviewed collectively with our GAAP financial information, provide useful supplemental information to investors in assessing our operating performance.
Adjusted EBITDA
Adjusted EBITDA is defined as net income or loss attributable to us before interest expense, income tax expense or benefit, depreciation and amortization, as well as significant non-cash and/or non-recurring expenses as our management believes these items are not useful in evaluating our core operating performance. These items include, but are not limited to, realized loss on conversion of Bridge Notes, stock-based compensation expense, unrealized (gain)/loss on certain warrants/shares classified as derivatives, satellite impairment loss, (gain) loss on debt extinguishment, (gain)/loss from discontinued operations, net of tax, loss/(gain) on equity method investment, transaction-related legal settlements, transaction costs associated with derivative liabilities, Spaceflight Inc. employee retention bonuses and Spaceflight Inc. related shared services. Spaceflight Inc. was a division of ours divested in June 2020 and certain transition-related expenses and income was incurred during 2021 in conjunction with the transition of this divestiture. We have presented Adjusted EBITDA because it is a key measure used by our management and board of directors to understand and evaluate our operating performance, generate future operating plans and make strategic decisions regarding the allocation of capital. In particular, we believe that the exclusion of certain items in calculating Adjusted EBITDA can produce a useful measure for period-to-period comparisons of
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our business. Accordingly, we believe that Adjusted EBITDA provides useful information in understanding and evaluating our operating results. In addition, we believe that Adjusted EBITDA provides additional information for investors to use in evaluating our ongoing operating results and trends. This non-GAAP measure provides investors with incremental information for the evaluation of our performance after isolation of certain items deemed unrelated to our core business operations.
Adjusted EBITDA is presented as a supplemental measure to our GAAP measures of performance. When evaluating Adjusted EBITDA, you should be aware that we may incur future expenses similar to those excluded when calculating this measure. In addition, our presentation of this measure should not be construed as an inference that our future results will be unaffected by unusual or non-recurring items. Furthermore, our computation of Adjusted EBITDA may not be directly comparable to similarly titled measures computed by other companies, as the nature of the adjustments that other companies may include or exclude when calculating Adjusted EBITDA may differ from the adjustments reflected in our measure. Because of these limitations, Adjusted EBITDA should not be considered in isolation, nor should this measure be viewed as a substitute for the most directly comparable GAAP measure, which is net loss. We compensate for the limitations of non-GAAP measures by relying primarily on our GAAP results. You should review the reconciliation of our net loss to Adjusted EBITDA below and not rely on any single financial measure to evaluate our performance.
The table below reconciles our net loss to Adjusted EBITDA for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020:
| Years Ended December 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2020 | |||||||||
| (dollars in thousands) | ||||||||||
| Net loss | $ | (245,643) | $ | (19,535) | ||||||
| Loss on issuance of Bridge Notes, including debt issuance costs expensed for debt carried at fair value | 147,387 | — | ||||||||
| Stock-based compensation expense | 42,571 | 1,982 | ||||||||
| (Gain) loss on derivatives | (23,885) | 558 | ||||||||
| Satellite impairment loss | 18,407 | — | ||||||||
| Depreciation and amortization | 14,306 | 9,803 | ||||||||
| Interest expense | 5,165 | 5,201 | ||||||||
| (Gain) on debt extinguishment | (4,059) | (284) | ||||||||
| Loss (gain) from discontinued operations, before income taxes | 1,650 | (28,185) | ||||||||
| (Gain) loss on equity method investment | (1,027) | 953 | ||||||||
| Legal liability - net | 399 | — | ||||||||
| Transaction costs associated with derivative liabilities | 291 | — | ||||||||
| Spaceflight, Inc. employee retention bonuses | — | 983 | ||||||||
| Spaceflight, Inc. related shared services | — | (678) | ||||||||
| Income tax (expense) benefit | — | — | ||||||||
| Adjusted EBITDA | $ | (44,438) | $ | (29,202) |
Free Cash Flow
We define free cash flow as cash flows used in, or provided by, operating activities—continuing operations plus cash flows, used in, or provided by, operating activities—discontinued operations less purchase of property and equipment and satellite procurement work in process. We have presented free cash flow because it is used by our management and board of directors as an indicator of the amount of cash we generate or use and to evaluate our ability to satisfy current and future obligations and to fund future business opportunities. Accordingly, we believe that free cash flow provides useful information to investors and others, enhancing the overall understanding of our ability to satisfy our financial obligations and pursue business opportunities, and allowing for greater transparency with respect to a key financial metric used by our management in their financial and operational decision-making.
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Free cash flow is not defined by GAAP and should not be considered in isolation of, or as an alternative to, measures prepared in accordance with GAAP. There are a number of limitations related to the use of free cash flow rather than net cash from (used in) operating activities, which is the most directly comparable GAAP equivalent. Some of these limitations are:
•free cash flow is not a measure of cash available for discretionary expenditures since we have certain non-discretionary obligations such as debt repayments or capital lease obligations that are not deducted from the measure; and
•other companies, including companies in our industry, may calculate free cash flow differently, which reduces its usefulness as a comparative measure.
The table below reconciles our net cash used in operating activities to free cash flow for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020:
| Year Ended December 31, 2021 | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (dollars in thousands) | ||||||||||
| BlackSky | Spaceflight Inc. | Total | ||||||||
| Cash flows used in operating activities - continuing operations | $ | (53,872) | $ | — | $ | (53,872) | ||||
| Cash flows used in operating activities - discontinued operations | — | — | — | |||||||
| Net cash used in operating activities | (53,872) | — | (53,872) | |||||||
| Purchase of property and equipment | (1,266) | — | (1,266) | |||||||
| Satellite procurement work in process | (62,643) | — | (62,643) | |||||||
| Free cash flow | $ | (117,781) | $ | — | $ | (117,781) | ||||
| Net cash used in investing activities | $ | (63,614) | $ | — | $ | (63,614) | ||||
| Net cash provided by financing activities | $ | 275,017 | $ | — | $ | 275,017 | ||||
| Year Ended December 31, 2020 | ||||||||||
| (dollars in thousands) | ||||||||||
| BlackSky | Spaceflight Inc. | Total | ||||||||
| Cash flows used in operating activities - continuing operations | $ | (15,300) | $ | — | $ | (15,300) | ||||
| Cash flows used in operating activities - discontinued operations | — | (16,374) | (16,374) | |||||||
| Net cash (used in) operating activities | (15,300) | (16,374) | (31,674) | |||||||
| Purchase of property and equipment | (281) | (491) | (772) | |||||||
| Satellite procurement work in process | (18,096) | — | (18,096) | |||||||
| Free cash flow | $ | (33,677) | $ | (16,865) | $ | (50,542) | ||||
| Net cash (used in) provided by investing activities | $ | (18,377) | $ | 8,607 | $ | (9,770) | ||||
| Net cash provided by financing activities | $ | 3,444 | $ | — | $ | 3,444 |
Liquidity and Capital Resources
Our cash and cash equivalents excluding restricted cash totaled $165.6 million and $5.1 million as of December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively. We have incurred losses and generated negative cash flows from operations since our inception in September 2014. As of December 31, 2021, we had an accumulated deficit of $470.9 million.
The increase in our cash and cash equivalents resulted from net cash proceeds from the Merger, the sale of the PIPE Shares and other financings of $223.6 million. We expect the proceeds received will be sufficient to meet our
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working capital and capital expenditure needs for the foreseeable future. Our future long-term capital requirements will depend on many factors including our growth rate, the timing and extent of spending to support solution development efforts, the expansion of sales and marketing activities, the ongoing investments in technology infrastructure, the introduction of new and enhanced solutions, and the continuing market acceptance of our solutions. From time to time, we may seek additional equity or debt financing to fund capital expenditures, strategic initiatives or investments and our ongoing operations. We do not have a line of credit or access to immediate funds and we are not subject to any financial or minimum cash metrics. If we decide, or are required, to seek additional financing from outside sources, we may not be able to raise it on terms acceptable to us or at all. If we are unable to raise additional capital when desired, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be adversely affected.
Funding Requirements
We expect our expenses to increase as we increase investments in sales, marketing and product to increase our market share. In addition, we expect to incur increased costs in support of public company operations. We will also continue to incur capital expenditures as we procure and launch satellites to increase capture capacity, as well as investing in our Gen-3 satellites that will significantly enhance our imagery capabilities in the future.
Short-term liquidity requirements
As of December 31, 2021, our current assets were approximately $178.7 million, consisting primarily of cash and cash equivalents, restricted cash, trade receivables, prepaid expenses and other current assets, and contract assets.
As of December 31, 2021, our current liabilities were approximately $30.5 million, consisting primarily of accounts payable and accrued liabilities, contract liabilities, and other non-recurring current liabilities. Accordingly, we have sufficient cash and working capital to fund our short-term liquidity requirements.
Long-Term Liquidity Requirements
We anticipate that our most significant long-term liquidity and capital needs will relate to continued funding of operations, satellite development capital expenditures, launch capital expenditures, and ongoing investments in our Spectra AI platform and internal infrastructure that will enable us to scale the business efficiently and securely. We believe the cash available to us from the consummation of the Merger, including the sale of the PIPE Shares, will be sufficient to cover forecasted capital needs and operating expenditures for the foreseeable future. If adequate funds are not available to accomplish our anticipated long-term growth, we believe we will be able to fund future cash needs through a combination debt financing or equity raises. If we raise funds by issuing debt securities, these debt securities would have rights, preferences, and privileges senior to those of holders of our common stock. The availability and the terms under which we can borrow additional capital could be disadvantageous, and the terms of debt securities or borrowings could impose significant restrictions on our operations. Macroeconomic conditions and credit markets could also impact the availability and cost of potential future debt financing.
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Cash Flow Analysis
For the Years Ended December 31, 2021 and 2020
The following table provides a summary of cash flow data for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020:
| Years Ended December 31, | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2020 | |||||
| (dollars in thousands) | ||||||
| Cash flows (used in) operating activities - continuing operations | $ | (53,872) | $ | (15,300) | ||
| Cash flows (used in) operating activities - discontinued operations | — | (16,374) | ||||
| Net cash (used in) operating activities | (53,872) | (31,674) | ||||
| Cash flows (used in) investing activities - continuing operations | (63,614) | (18,377) | ||||
| Cash flows provided by investing activities - discontinued operations | — | 8,607 | ||||
| Net cash (used in) investing activities | (63,614) | (9,770) | ||||
| Cash flows provided by financing activities - continuing operations | 275,017 | 3,444 | ||||
| Cash flows used in financing activities - discontinued operations | — | — | ||||
| Net cash provided by financing activities | 275,017 | 3,444 | ||||
| Net increase (decrease) in cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash | 157,531 | (38,000) | ||||
| Cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash – beginning of year | 10,573 | 37,190 | ||||
| Cash reclassified to assets held for sale at beginning of period | — | 11,383 | ||||
| Cash reclassified to assets held for sale at the end of period | — | — | ||||
| Cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash – end of year | 168,104 | 10,573 |
Operating activities
For the year ended December 31, 2021, net cash used in operating activities was approximately $53.9 million. The significant contributor to the increase in cash used during the year was the operating loss increase, adjusted for depreciation, amortization and stock-based compensation expenses in the year ended December 31, 2021 as compared to the year ended December 31, 2020. The operating loss increase in the year ended December 31, 2021 was primarily due to increased salaries and payroll-related benefits for headcount growth in sales, marketing, executive and administrative functions and professional fees incurred for public company readiness efforts, partially offset by the increase in imagery sales and corresponding gross margin.
Net cash from operating activities was unfavorably impacted by payments of $6.8 million for working capital liabilities related to the sale of Spaceflight and business insurance outflows of $4.8 million.
Investing activities
We continue to have significant cash outflows for satellite procurement and launch related services. In the year ended December 31, 2021, net cash used in investing activities increased approximately $45.2 million related to cash paid for the procurement of satellites and other launch-related costs, including launching seven satellites in 2021.
Financing activities
The most significant impact in the change in cash inflows from financing activities in the year ended December 31, 2021 as compared to the year ended December 31, 2020 was related to the Merger proceeds, PIPE shares, and Palantir financing received net of transaction costs, $244.9 million, and $58.6 million loan proceeds from the Bridge Notes offset by $6.2 million of debt issuance costs. This was partially offset by debt repayments of $22.2 million in the year ended December 31, 2021, which did not occur in the year ended December 31, 2020.
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Contractual Obligations and Commitments
As of December 31, 2021, we have a debt facility from related parties with outstanding an outstanding principal amount of $74.1 million and $0.5 million of accrued interest, which matures in October 2024. Please see Note 22 for further information on this facility. We have operational lease commitments for the next several years related to office and remote ground station leases of $5.6 million. Please see Note 24 for further information. In addition, we entered into various operational commitments for the next several years totaling $10.0 million as of December 31, 2021.
We have commitments for multi-launch and integration services with launch services providers. As of December 31, 2021, we have commitments for two launches to include up to four satellites at estimated launch dates totaling an amount of $6.9 million with options for additional launches. The terms of the arrangements also allow for us to re-manifest the satellites if there are delays in excess of 365 days or other inexcusable delays occur with the provider. If re-manifest efforts fail, we can request a refund of all recoverable costs after 487 days from original launch date. The launch service provider invoices are based on time-based milestone payments from estimated launch dates. Payment terms are 15 days from invoice date.
As of December 31, 2021, we have a remaining commitment of $8.4 million on our satellite purchase contract with LeoStella. In addition, we entered into a non-refundable commitment to acquire additional satellite components from LeoStella for $2.2 million. The delivery schedule for the components are not specified and are subject to certain engineering milestones. Payment terms are 15 days from invoice date.
Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates
The preparation of our consolidated financial statements and related notes requires management to make judgments, estimates, and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenue, and expenses. Management has based its estimates on historical experience and on various other assumptions that are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances, the results of which form the basis for making judgments about the carrying values of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. Actual results may differ from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions.
For a description of our significant accounting policies see Note 2—“Basis of Presentation and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies,” of the notes to the consolidated financial statements. An accounting policy is considered to be critical if it requires an accounting estimate to be made based on assumptions about matters that are highly uncertain at the time the estimate is made, and if different estimates that reasonably could have been used, or changes in the accounting estimates that are reasonably likely to occur periodically, could materially impact the consolidated financial statements. Management believes the following critical accounting policies reflect the more significant estimates and assumptions used in the preparation of our consolidated financial statements.
Revenue Recognition
The recognition and measurement of revenue requires the use of judgments and estimates. Specifically, judgment is used in interpreting complex arrangements with nonstandard terms and conditions and determining when all criteria for revenue recognition have been met.
We primarily generate revenue from the sale of imagery, data, software, and analytics, including professional services, and engineering and systems integration from long-term construction contracts.
Identifying the performance obligations contained in a contract, determining transaction price, allocating transaction price, and determining when performance obligations are satisfied can require the application of significant judgment, as further discussed below.
Identifying the performance obligations in a contract
We execute contracts for a single promise or multiple promises. Specifically, our firm fixed price contracts typically include multiple promises which are accounted for as separate performance obligations. Significant judgment is required in determining performance obligations, and these decisions could change the amount of revenue and profit or loss recorded in each period.
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Classification of Revenue
We classify revenue as imagery and software analytical services, and engineering and systems integration in our consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss based on the predominant attributes of the performance obligations.
Determination of and Allocation of Transaction Price
Each customer purchase order sets forth the transaction price for the products and services purchased under the arrangement. For contracts with multiple performance obligations, we evaluate whether the stated selling prices for the products or services represent their standalone selling prices. When it is necessary to allocate the transaction price to multiple performance obligations, management typically uses the expected cost plus a reasonable profit margin to estimate the standalone selling price of each product or service. We also sell standard products or services with observable standalone revenue transactions. In these situations, the observable standalone revenue transactions are used to determine the standalone selling price.
Determination of when Performance Obligations are Satisfied
Imagery revenue is recognized at the point-in-time the customer receives access to the imagery, or ratably over the subscription period. In certain firm fixed price contracts that contain imagery where it is probable we will receive the full contract amount or the customer prepays for future services which may expire unused, our accounting policy for unexercised performance obligations is to recognize the estimated breakage amount as revenue over time in proportion to the historical pattern of rights exercised by the customer. We recognized $1.9 million and $0.0 million of estimated breakage in the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively. The unrecognized amount is recorded within contract liabilities on our consolidated balance sheets. Software analytical services revenue derived from data, software, and analytics, including professional service solutions, is recognized from the rendering of services over time on a cost-plus-fixed-fee, firm fixed price, or a time and materials basis, as well as, at the point-in-time the customer receives access to an analytic product. Engineering & systems integration revenue is primarily generated from fixed price long-term engineering and integration construction contracts. Due to the long-term nature of these contracts, we generally recognize revenue over time using a cost-to-cost measure of progress because it best depicts the transfer of control to the customer as we incur costs on the contracts. Under the percentage-of-completion cost-to-cost measure of progress, the extent of progress towards completion is measured based on the ratio of costs incurred to date to the total estimated costs to complete the performance obligation(s). The estimation of total estimated costs at completion is subject to many variables and requires judgment. We recognize changes in contract estimates on a cumulative catch-up basis in the period in which the changes are identified. If at any time, the estimate of contract profitability indicates a probable anticipated loss on the contract, we recognize the total loss as and when known.
Equity Valuations
As there was not a market for Legacy BlackSky equity, valuations of Legacy BlackSky equity instruments required the application of significant estimates, assumptions, and judgments. These valuations impacted various amounts and accounting conclusions reflected in our consolidated financial statements, inclusive of the recognition of equity-based compensation, debt discounts when debt issuances were accompanied by the issuance of equity (e.g., warrants), and the evaluation of whether beneficial conversion features existed within our convertible financial instruments. The following discussion provides additional details regarding the significant estimates, assumptions, and judgments that impacted the determination of the fair values of equity-based compensation awards, warrants, and the preferred stock and common stock that comprised our capital structure prior to the Merger. The following discussion also explains why these estimates, assumptions, and judgments could be subject to uncertainties and future variability.
Equity-Based Compensation
Legacy BlackSky issued equity and equity-based awards under our 2014 Plan and the 2011 Plan. Awards issued as of the year ended December 31, 2020 include stock options and restricted stock awards (“RSAs”). Subsequent to December 31, 2020, we also issued RSUs. Awards under these Plans were approved by the board of directors, and awards that have been canceled, forfeited, or expired are available for issuance in connection with BlackSky's 2021 Stock Incentive Plan.
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For purposes of recognizing equity-based compensation related to RSAs, RSUs, and stock options granted to employees, management estimates the grant date fair values of such awards to measure the costs to be recognized for services received. For awards with time-based vesting conditions, we recognize compensation costs based upon the straight-line amortization of the grant date fair value of the awards over the requisite service period. When equity-based compensation awards include a performance condition, no compensation is recognized until the performance condition is deemed probable to occur; we then recognize compensation costs based on the accelerated attribution method, which accounts for awards with discrete vesting dates as if they were a separate award.
We now estimate the grant date fair value of RSAs and RSUs based upon the trading price of our Class A common stock. Our historical approach to estimating the fair value of Legacy BlackSky’s Class A common stock is subsequently described in the discussion of “Preferred Stock and Common Stock Valuations.” We estimated the fair value of Legacy BlackSky's stock options using the Black-Scholes option-pricing model, as subsequently described.
Stock Option and Class A Common Stock Warrant Valuations
Legacy BlackSky used the Black-Scholes option-pricing model to value all options and Class A common stock warrants. Estimating the fair value of stock options using the Black-Scholes option-pricing model requires the application of significant assumptions, such as the fair value of our Class A common stock, the estimated term of the options, risk-free interest rates, the expected volatility of the price of our Class A common stock, and an expected dividend yield. Each of these assumptions is subjective, requires significant judgement, and is based upon management’s best estimates. If any of these assumptions were to change significantly in the future, equity-based compensation related to future awards may differ significantly, as compared with awards previously granted.
We have largely moved towards granting RSAs and RSUs to certain employees, yet we also granted options under the 2021 Plan to certain officers during the year ended December 31, 2021. We use the following inputs under Black-Scholes as follows:
Fair Value of Class A Common Stock—Refer to the subsequent discussion of “Preferred Stock and Common Stock Valuation” for a detailed discussion of the valuation techniques and assumptions applied to value the Class A common stock prior to the Merger. Subsequent to the Merger, our Class A common stock has been valued based upon our trading price.
Expected Dividend Yield—The Black-Scholes valuation model requires an expected dividend yield as an input. The dividend yield is based on historical experience and expected future changes. We currently have no plans to pay dividends on our Class A common stock and, accordingly, have assumed no dividend yield upon valuation of our stock options.
Expected Volatility—As there was no observable volatility with respect to our Legacy BlackSky Class A common stock, the expected volatility of our Legacy BlackSky and BlackSky Class A common stock was estimated based upon the historical share price volatility of guideline comparable companies.
Risk-free Interest Rate—The yield on actively traded, non-inflation indexed U.S. Treasury notes was used to extrapolate an average risk-free interest rate based on the expected term of the underlying grants.
Expected Term—For options granted in 2021, since there is not a history of option exercises as a public company, we considered the option vesting terms and contractual period, as well as the demographics of the holders, in estimating the expected term. For options granted prior to 2021, the expected term was the estimated duration to a liquidation event based on a weighted average consideration of the most likely exit prospects for that stage of development. Legacy BlackSky was privately funded and, accordingly, the lack of marketability was factored into the expected term of options granted. We will continue to review our estimate in the future and adjust it, if necessary, due to changes in our historical exercises.
Preferred Stock and Class A Common Stock Valuations
We use valuations of our Class A common stock for various purposes, including, but not limited to, the determination of the exercise price of stock options and inclusion in the Black-Scholes option pricing model. Prior to the Merger, as a privately held company, the lack of an active public market for Legacy BlackSky’s preferred stock
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and Class A common stock required management and the board of directors to exercise reasonable judgment and consider a number of factors in order to make the best estimate of fair value of our equity. These factors include:
•industry outlook;
•general economic outlook, including economic growth, inflation and unemployment, interest rate environment and global economic trends;
•our operating and financial performance;
•current business conditions and projections;
•our prospects as a going concern; and
•the likelihood of achieving a liquidity event for the underlying equity instruments, such as an initial public offering or sale of the company, given prevailing market conditions.
As Legacy BlackSky’s structure pre-Merger consisted of multiple classes of equity, Legacy BlackSky, with the assistance of a third-party valuation specialist, utilized an option pricing model (“OPM”) to determine the fair value of each class of equity. Under this approach, Legacy BlackSky first estimated its total enterprise value and total equity value using a combination of the income approach, guideline public company method, and guideline transaction method and subsequently use the OPM model to allocate values to each individual equity class by creating a series of call options on our equity value, with exercise prices based on the liquidation preferences, participation rights, and exercise prices of the equity instruments. Estimating our total enterprise value, total equity value and, ultimately, the share values of our various classes of equity required the application of significant judgment and assumptions. Factors considered in connection with estimating these values include those previously cited, as well as the following:
•arms-length transactions involving the sale or transfer of our Class A common stock, when applicable;
•the rights, preferences and privileges of Legacy BlackSky’s Series A, B, B-1, and C preferred stock relative to those of its Class A common stock; and
•the lack of marketability of our equity.
The fair value ultimately assigned to our Class A common stock may take into account any number or combination of the various factors described above, based upon their applicability at the time of measurement. Determination of the fair value of our Class A common stock also may have involved the application of multiple valuation methodologies and approaches, with varying weighting applied to each methodology as of the grant date. Application of these approaches involved the use of estimates, judgment, and assumptions that are highly complex and subjective, such as those regarding our expected future revenue, expenses, and future cash flows; discount rates; market multiples; the selection of comparable companies; and the probability of possible future events. Changes in any or all of these estimates and assumptions or the relationships between those assumptions would have impacted our valuations as of each valuation date and may have had a material impact on the valuation of our Class A common stock.
As of December 31, 2020, we estimated that our enterprise fair value was approximately $92.7 million. This enterprise value consisted primarily of the enterprise value attributable directly to Legacy BlackSky, adjusted to give further effect to the value attributable to Legacy BlackSky’s equity method investments. The estimated enterprise value of $92.7 million considered the enterprise value implied using a discounted cash flow model and applied the probability-weighted expected return method (“PWERM”) to give effect to different scenarios regarding our financial prospects and ability to continue as a going concern based upon whether we obtained near-term additional financing to support our ongoing operations and growth potential.
In February 2021, we issued equity compensation awards, at which point in time, we engaged our third-party valuation specialist to perform a contemporaneous valuation of our enterprise value and Class A common stock. In February 2021, we also obtained new Bridge Notes to fund ongoing operations, signed a letter of intent for a merger with a special purpose acquisition company, and subsequently announced that we had entered into a definitive agreement with Osprey for a merger that would result in us becoming a publicly listed company. Based upon the impact of the new Bridge Notes on our financial condition and the impact that the proposed merger was expected to
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have on our future prospects and ability to fund our growth strategy, as described in our discussion of “Long-Term Liquidity Requirements” elsewhere in this “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations, the valuation that was performed as of February 15, 2021 resulted in a significant increase to our estimated enterprise value. Upon updating the estimate of our enterprise value as of February 15, 2021, the proposed merger with Osprey was deemed to be an observable indicator of our enterprise value pursuant to the market approach, and an 80% weighting was placed on the likelihood that the proposed merger would occur when applying the PWERM to our valuation approach and assumptions. Given the substantial weight placed on the implied value of the merger transaction when valuing the enterprise, we concluded that our equity value was approximately $740.0 million as of February 15, 2021. When we updated the estimate of our enterprise value as of March 31, 2021, the proposed merger with Osprey was again deemed to be an observable indicator of our enterprise value pursuant to the market approach, and a 90% weighting was placed on the likelihood that the proposed merger would occur when applying the PWERM to our valuation approach and assumptions. Given the substantial weight placed on the implied value of the merger transaction when valuing the enterprise, we concluded that our equity value was approximately $832.5 million as of March 31, 2021. These enterprise values were used to derive the underlying value of our equity in connection with all equity compensation awards issued in close proximity to the valuation dates and, accordingly, our future equity compensation expense is expected to materially increase.
As a result of the Merger, it will not be necessary to continue to estimate the fair value of our Class A common stock, as our Class A common stock is now traded in the public market.
Private Placement Warrants and Sponsor Earn-Out Shares
We classify the Private Placement Warrants and Sponsor Earn-Out Shares as long-term liabilities in our consolidated balance sheets as of December 31, 2021. Each liability was initially recorded at fair value on the date of the Merger. The Private Placement Warrants are recorded at fair value using a Black-Scholes option pricing model and the Sponsor Earn-Out Shares are recorded at fair value using a Monte Carlo simulation model. These liabilities are re-measured to fair value at each subsequent reporting date and recorded to gain (loss) on derivatives on our consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss. We will continue to adjust the liability for changes in fair value until the financial instruments are exercised, redeemed, cancelled or released.
The fair value models require inputs including, but not limited to, the fair value of our Class A common stock, the risk-free interest rate, expected term, expected dividend yield and expected volatility. The fair value of our Class A common stock is the closing stock price on the NYSE as of the measurement date. The risk-free interest rate assumption is determined by using U.S. Treasury rates for the same period as the expected terms of the financial instruments. The dividend yield assumption is based on the dividends expected to be paid over the expected life of the financial instruments. We have historically been a private company and lacked sufficient company-specific historical and implied volatility information. Therefore, the expected stock volatility is based on the historical volatility of a publicly traded set of peer companies. Changes in these assumptions can materially affect the estimate of the fair value of these instruments and ultimately the change in fair value.
Goodwill Impairment
We assess goodwill for impairment at the reporting unit level, which is defined as an operating segment or one level below an operating segment. Goodwill is tested annually for impairment as of October 1st, or more frequently if events or circumstances indicate the carrying value may be impaired. A significant amount of judgement is involved in determining if an indicator of impairment has occurred. Such indicators may include (a) a significant decline in our common stock value; (b) a significant decline in our expected future cash flows; © a significant adverse change in legal factors or the business climate; (d) unanticipated competition; or (e) slower growth rates. We identify potential impairment by comparing the fair value of each of our reporting units with its carrying amount, including goodwill. If the carrying amount of a reporting unit exceeds its fair value, an impairment loss is recognized in an amount equal to that excess.
We performed an annual qualitative goodwill assessment over the balance of goodwill we held related to the BlackSky reporting unit as of October 1, 2021. We also determined that no triggering events occurred during the year ended December 31, 2021 that would require a quantitative assessment. We determined that it is more likely
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than not that the fair value of the BlackSky reporting unit sufficiently exceeds its carrying value, including goodwill. Although we have a history of recurring losses from operations, negative cash flows from operations, and a significant accumulated deficit, as of the October 1, 2021 analysis, the fair value was greater than 758% in excess of the carrying value for BlackSky. As of December 31, 2021, we believe that the estimated fair values of the BlackSky reporting unit is still in excess of its respective carrying value and therefore is not at-risk of being impaired.
Long Lived Asset Impairment
We evaluate long-lived assets, including finite-lived intangible assets, property and equipment, satellite procurement work in process and other long-term assets, for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amounts of the assets may not be fully recoverable. Significant judgments in this area involve determining whether a triggering event has occurred and determining the future cash flows for assets involved. In conducting this analysis, we compare the undiscounted cash flows expected to be generated from the long-lived assets (or asset group) to the related net book values. If the undiscounted cash flows exceed the net book value, the long-lived assets are considered not to be impaired. If the net book value exceeds the undiscounted cash flows, an impairment charge is measured and recognized based upon the difference between the carrying value of long-lived assets (or asset group) and their fair value.