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Here are 1-2 brief analogies for Firefly Aerospace:

• A smaller, newer SpaceX, particularly focused on responsive small-to-medium rocket launches and lunar logistics.
• A direct competitor to Rocket Lab, but also developing larger rockets and lunar landers.

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Please note: Firefly Aerospace is a private company and is not publicly traded under the symbol FLY. The major products and services of Firefly Aerospace include:

• Alpha Launch Vehicle: A two-stage, expendable small-lift rocket designed for orbital launches of satellites and payloads.
• MLV (Medium Launch Vehicle): A medium-lift launch vehicle developed in collaboration with L3Harris, intended for delivering larger payloads to various orbits.
• Elytra Orbital Transfer Vehicle (OTV): A family of in-space vehicles providing orbital maneuvering, hosted payload, and satellite deployment services.
• Blue Ghost Lunar Lander: A robotic lander designed to deliver payloads to the lunar surface under NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program.

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Firefly Aerospace (symbol: FLY) primarily sells its launch services and in-space solutions to other companies and government entities, rather than individuals.

Its major customers include:

• NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) - A U.S. government agency, a significant customer for various programs including Venture-Class Acquisition of Launch Services (VCLS) and Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS).
• United States Space Force - A branch of the U.S. Armed Forces, a key customer for national security space missions and rapid-response launches, such as the VICTUS NOX mission.
• Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) - A global aerospace, defense, security, and advanced technologies company, which has contracted Firefly for launch services for certain missions.
• L3Harris Technologies (NYSE: LHX) - An aerospace and defense technology innovator, which has secured launch services with Firefly for deploying satellites.

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• Standex International (SXI)

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Jason Kim has served as Chief Executive Officer and a member of the Board at Firefly Aerospace since October 2024. He brings over two decades of experience in the aerospace and defense sectors. Prior to joining Firefly, Mr. Kim served as CEO of Millennium Space Systems from December 2020 to September 2024, leading the company through a period of significant expansion and technology advancements. Before his CEO role, he was Vice President of Strategic Planning at Millennium Space Systems from September 2009 to December 2019. Mr. Kim has also held positions with Raytheon and Northrop Grumman. He attended the United States Air Force Academy, earning a BS in Electrical Engineering, and served in the U.S. Air Force from 1999 to 2006. He also holds an MS in Electrical Engineering from the U.S. Air Force Institute of Technology and an MBA from UCLA Anderson School of Management. Mr. Kim serves on the Board of Directors for the Air Force Academy Foundation and is a member of the Executive Committee for Space Workforce 2030.

Darren Ma has served as Chief Financial Officer of Firefly Aerospace since August 2020, bringing 21 years of finance experience. He oversees all financial business operations, capital raises, and investor relations. Prior to Firefly, Mr. Ma served as Chief Financial Officer and Senior Vice President of Spectra7 Microsystems from November 2017 to July 2020. He was also Chief Financial Officer of GigPeak, Inc. from October 2014 to September 2017. During his tenure at GigPeak, he was instrumental in strategically raising capital and driving profitable growth that led to its $250 million acquisition by Integrated Device Technology. Mr. Ma has also served as a business unit controller at Semtech and a finance manager at Intel. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Managerial Economics from the University of California, Davis, and an MBA from the W.P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University.

Shea Ferring has served as Chief Technology Officer at Firefly Aerospace since June 2023. He has been a key part of the Firefly leadership team since mid-2018, initially joining as Vice President of Mission Assurance. Mr. Ferring has nearly 30 years of experience designing, building, and testing spacecraft, with expertise in mission assurance, systems engineering, qualification, integration, and test. Prior to Firefly, he held numerous engineering and leadership positions at both heritage and NewSpace companies, working on more than 60 missions and vehicles, including Minotaur, Atlas V, Delta II & IV, Pegasus, Skybox, Mars Exploration Rovers, Antares, and Falcon 9. He founded two successful companies in engineering consulting and real estate. He previously served as Manager of Technical Programs at Bradford ECAPS and Commercial Space Chief Engineer at Vencore. Mr. Ferring also spent six years as a propulsion engineering manager at Orbital Sciences, which now operates under Northrop Grumman. He holds a bachelor's degree in aerospace engineering and a master's in aerospace and satellite design from Arizona State University.

Dan Fermon has served as Chief Operating Officer of Firefly Aerospace since October 2022. He is a seasoned operating leader with decades of experience in highly technical industries, primarily aerospace. Prior to joining Firefly, Mr. Fermon was a Vice President at AE Industrial Partners from September 2021 to November 2022, a U.S.-based private equity firm specializing in aerospace, defense, and government services. Firefly Aerospace is a portfolio company of AE Industrial Partners. Previously, he served as the P&L and Operations Leader for GE Aerospace's Global Component Repair team from August 2006 to December 2020, where he doubled revenue to over $3 billion in three years. Mr. Fermon holds a dual bachelor's degree in both Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering from the State University of New York at Buffalo.

Olga Bai is the Chief of Staff at Firefly Aerospace. Prior to joining Firefly, Ms. Bai worked at Dassault Systemes, a Fortune 50 software company. She also worked at v(room)), a Paris-based marketing and strategic consultancy agency, where she advised top technology and luxury companies, including Moët & Chandon, Hennessy, Audemars Piguet, and SOLIDWORKS, on building a brand presence in the digital realm.

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The key risks to Firefly Aerospace's business include its significant financial instability, challenges in operational execution with its primary launch vehicle, and intense competition within the space industry coupled with customer concentration.

1. Financial Instability and High Cash Burn: Firefly Aerospace has consistently reported substantial net losses and negative free cash flow, underscoring its financial fragility in a capital-intensive industry. The company recorded a net loss of $231.1 million for 2024 and an increasing net loss of $80.3 million in Q2 2025, which was 37% higher than the same period in 2024. Its free cash flow was negative $190.3 million in 2024 and negative $184.5 million for the twelve months ending March 31, 2025. Furthermore, as of March 2025, Firefly carried a significant debt burden of $173.6 million, including a high-interest term loan at 13.87%, posing a threat to its liquidity. This persistent unprofitability and high cash burn threaten the company's ability to fund ongoing operations, research and development, and planned growth initiatives.

2. Operational Execution and Reliance on a Single Primary Launch Vehicle: Firefly's operational success is heavily reliant on the performance of its Alpha rocket. The company experienced significant setbacks in 2025, including an anomaly during an Alpha mission in April that led to the grounding of the vehicle by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), disrupting revenue streams and eroding customer confidence. Another incident in September 2025 involved the loss of the first stage of an Alpha Flight 7 rocket, raising further questions about its reliability and the company's capacity to meet commercial launch commitments. This heavy reliance on a single launch vehicle exposes Firefly to outsized risks, as any technical issues or failures with the Alpha can severely impact its operational rhythm and financial performance.

3. Intense Competition and Customer Concentration: The space technology sector is highly competitive, with established players like Rocket Lab and SpaceX, making it a challenging environment for market share and sustained profitability. Firefly's business also exhibits a high degree of customer concentration, particularly its dependence on government contracts from entities like NASA and the Department of Defense. While these contracts provide a revenue backlog, this reliance makes the company vulnerable to shifts in government spending, policy changes, or increased competition for these critical contracts. The market has also shown skepticism towards unprofitable, fast-growing companies in capital-intensive industries, indicating external pressure on Firefly to demonstrate consistent profitability.

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• The increasing adoption by satellite operators of rideshare opportunities on larger, highly reusable launch vehicles, primarily driven by SpaceX's Falcon 9 Transporter missions. This trend offers significantly lower per-kilogram costs and frequent launch options, creating substantial competitive pressure on dedicated small-to-medium lift launch providers like Firefly.
• The development and impending operational readiness of new, highly capable, and potentially fully reusable medium-lift launch vehicles from well-funded competitors, such as Relativity Space's Terran R and Rocket Lab's Neutron. These vehicles aim to further disrupt the launch market by offering competitive pricing and advanced capabilities through innovative manufacturing and aggressive reusability strategies, directly challenging Firefly's MLV ambitions.

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Firefly Aerospace (symbol: FLY) operates in several key segments of the space industry, addressing significant global markets with its main products and services:

• Launch Vehicles (Alpha, Eclipse): Firefly Aerospace develops small- to medium-lift launch vehicles such as Alpha, which targets the small-to-medium lift segment of the global space launch market.
  • The global small launch vehicle market was valued at approximately USD 1.51 billion in 2024 and is projected to reach about USD 4.72 billion by 2033, growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 13.50% from 2025 to 2033.
  • Another estimate places the global small launch vehicle market at USD 1.6 billion in 2024, expecting it to grow to USD 5.1 billion in 2034 with a CAGR of 12.1% from 2025-2034.
  • The broader global space launch market is projected to grow from USD 14.2 billion in 2022 to USD 32 billion by 2029, at a CAGR of 12.25%.
  • The global small satellite market, which drives demand for small launch vehicles, is expected to grow at a CAGR exceeding 12% through 2027.
• Lunar Landers (Blue Ghost): Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost lunar landers are designed to deliver payloads to the lunar surface.
  • The global space lander and rover market was valued at USD 607.4 million in 2024 and is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 9.7% from 2025 to 2034. Lunar surface exploration accounted for 42.4% of this market in 2024.
  • Other sources indicate the global space lander and rover market was valued at USD 1.01 billion in 2025 and is forecasted to reach USD 1.40 billion by 2030, with lunar missions representing 46.21% of the revenue in 2024.
  • The global lunar exploration market, which includes lunar landers, was valued at approximately USD 11.39 billion in 2024 and is expected to reach USD 18.10 billion in 2029, with a CAGR of 9.6%.
  • NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program alone, a key customer for Firefly, is valued at USD 2.6 billion.
• In-Space Mobility/Orbital Vehicles (Elytra, Space Utility Vehicle (SUV)): Firefly is developing orbital transfer vehicles like Elytra for satellite deployment, hosting, servicing, mission extension, and deorbiting, as well as the Space Utility Vehicle (SUV) for in-space transportation. These products operate within the in-space servicing and logistics market.
  • The global space logistics market was valued at approximately USD 1.4 billion in 2024 and is estimated to grow to USD 7.5 billion by 2034, at a CAGR of 18.3% from 2025 to 2034.
  • Another report projects the global space logistics market to grow from USD 8.1 billion in 2025 to USD 37.2 billion by 2034, at a CAGR of 17.8%.
  • The global in-space manufacturing, servicing, and transportation market was valued at USD 21.3 billion in 2030 and is projected to reach USD 135.3 billion by 2040, growing at a CAGR of 20.3%.

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Share Issuance

• Firefly Aerospace completed its Initial Public Offering (IPO) on August 7, 2025, listing on the NASDAQ under the ticker symbol "FLY".
• The IPO raised $868 million in gross proceeds by offering 19,296,000 shares of common stock at $45.00 per share.
• In November 2025, Firefly Aerospace issued $555 million in common stock to SciTec owners as part of the acquisition of SciTec, Inc.

Inbound Investments

• In May 2021, Firefly Aerospace completed a $75 million Series A investment round, led by DADA Holdings.
• The company closed a Series C funding round, raising approximately $300 million by November 2023, with investors including Mitsui & Co. and existing investor AE Industrial Partners.
• Firefly Aerospace secured an oversubscribed $175 million Series D round in November 2024, led by RPM Ventures, valuing the company at over $2 billion.

Outbound Investments

• Firefly Aerospace completed the acquisition of SciTec, Inc. on November 5, 2025, for approximately $855 million, paid through a combination of $300 million in cash and $555 million in Firefly common stock.

Capital Expenditures

• Capital expenditures were $9.2 million in Q2 2025, reflecting expanded investment in new offerings.
• Proceeds from the 2025 IPO are allocated to fund the production of the Alpha rocket and develop the Eclipse rocket (co-developed with Northrop Grumman) and Elytra, an in-orbit space tug.
• The company is focused on expanding market reach with its Elytra spacecraft, moving to full-rate production of its Alpha launch vehicle, and accelerating hardware qualification for new vehicles under development.