Aerospace company Firefly has submitted its formal declaration detailing plans for an initial public offering (IPO) sometime later this year. The S-1 document submitted to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) provides a look into the company’s finances and governance plans, though the number of shares to be offered and their price range has not been disclosed. Its final valuation is yet to be determined.
Firefly is a Texas-based space transportation company that creates rockets, space tugs and lunar landers. Its satellite-launching Alpha rockets have in particular gathered much attention. Firefly’s lunar lander, known as Blue Ghost, also successfully landed on the moon.
READ: Figma moves closer to an IPO that could raise $1.5 billion (July 2, 2025)
Firefly said its revenue grew more than six-fold at the end of March to about $55.9 million, from $8.3 million a year ago, according to CNBC. The company also reported a net loss of about $60.1 million, up from $52.8 million a year ago. Firefly said its backlog totaled about $1.1 billion.
Despite the losses, the company believes it sees only growth ahead, and there are a handful of developments that may prove it correct. This includes a major partnership with defense giant Northrop Grumman for a new, reusable launch vehicle called Eclipse, a launch agreement for up to 25 launches with Lockheed Martin, and the impending commercial debut of Elytra, a spacecraft line designed for in-space transportation services. Firefly also cited strong customer demand, according to TechCrunch.
Lead underwriters on the deal include Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, Jefferies and Wells Fargo.
The regulatory document also said Firefly intends to be a “controlled company.” This means that the company would leverage North American rules to ensure that AE Industrial Partners, the private equity firm that bought a majority stake in Firefly in 2022, will retain significant governance control over the company even after it is listed on the public markets. Firefly intends to list on the Nasdaq Global Markets under the ticker symbol $FLY.
Firefly’s IPO comes just one month after Voyager Space, a space company building the private space station Starlab, filed its IPO paperwork last month.
This IPO comes during a period of resurgence for IPOs after the market collapsed in 2022, with rising interest rates and skyrocketing inflation deterring investors from betting on riskier assets. Several companies like Klarna and Stubhub delayed public offerings earlier this year as President Donald Trump’s tariff plans disrupted global markets. However, there has been a steady comeback.
Earlier this month, design software firm Figma disclosed its financials, drawing it closer to finalizing its IPO. According to IPO experts Renaissance Capital, Figma could raise up to $1.5 billion with this offering. This would let it match or beat CoreWeave’s IPO, which had been the biggest tech IPO this year. Earlier, digital banking startup Chime announced its IPO, which valued the company at roughly $11.6 billion on a fully diluted basis.