Who Is Paying For Intuitive Machines’ Cash Burn?
Sales have jumped at Intuitive Machines (LUNR), which builds landers and satellites. Yet in fiscal Q2 2026, the quarter that ended June 30, it burned $81.2 million. That figure represents the cash that went out after running the business and paying for buildings and equipment. It has burned cash in each of the last four quarters. If it kept burning cash at this pace, how long would you guess its cash would last?
How Fast Is Intuitive Machines Burning Cash?
Intuitive Machines burned cash equal to 39.9% of its sales in fiscal Q2 2026, compared with 54.3% in the same quarter a year earlier.
| Fiscal quarter | Sales | Cash the business brought in | Cash left after spending on buildings and equipment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Q1 FY2025 (ended 2025-03-31) | $62.5 million | $19.4 million | $13.3 million |
| Q2 FY2025 (ended 2025-06-30) | $50.3 million | -$19.3 million | -$27.3 million |
| Q3 FY2025 (ended 2025-09-30) | $51.0 million | -$7.18 million | -$19.0 million |
| Q4 FY2025 (ended 2025-12-31) | $43.3 million | -$7.29 million | -$23.0 million |
| Q1 FY2026 (ended 2026-03-31) | $184 million | -$54.8 million | -$64.6 million |
| Q2 FY2026 (ended 2026-06-30) | $203 million | -$57.1 million | -$81.2 million |
Each row is one fiscal quarter. A negative figure is cash going out. The last column is free cash flow.
The absolute dollar burn grew, however, reaching about three times its size in the year-earlier quarter. Over the four quarters to June 30, 2026, that outflow was more than four times the total from the four quarters before. The burn is expanding in dollars even as it shrinks as a share of sales. Management’s own measure of cash used in the quarter was $84 million.
How Long Would Intuitive Machines’ Cash Last?
Intuitive Machines held $367 million in cash and short-term investments on June 30, 2026. If the company raised nothing and kept burning cash at its average pace of the last four quarters, that cash would cover about eight quarters. At the pace of the latest quarter alone, it would last about four and a half quarters. Its debt, at $430 million, was larger than that cash. At either pace, the cash would last one to two years.
Who Has Paid For The Burn So Far?
Existing shareholders have paid for the burn. As the company sold new shares, its diluted share count rose 160.4% in the two years to June 30, 2026. That leaves each existing share with a smaller piece of the company. Management said the cash held at the end of June included $235 million in net proceeds from shares sold during the quarter.
The company has also borrowed. Over the same two years, total debt grew to more than eleven times its level of $37.4 million in June 2024.
What Has To Change At Intuitive Machines
On the August 13 call, management said it has not given a date for when the business will bring in more cash than it spends. It also expects spending on buildings and equipment to stay at its current elevated level in the coming quarters while the company works on its satellite constellation. Sales, driven by satellite manufacturing, lunar missions for NASA and other programs, grew 304.3% in fiscal Q2 2026 from a year earlier. The figure to watch is the cash Intuitive Machines burns each quarter. That outflow reached $81.2 million in fiscal Q2 2026, with the next report expected on or around November 18, 2026.
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