Redwire says 2025 marked a strategic transformation after acquiring Edge Autonomy, shifting toward production-oriented programs with more than two-thirds of revenue “moving into production” and expanded Defense Tech capabilities (about 200 Edge aircraft delivered in 2025).
The company ended 2025 with a record contracted backlog of $411.2 million, strengthened liquidity of $130.2 million and lower interest costs, and guided 2026 revenue of $450–$500 million (≈41.6% growth), with roughly half of that covered by backlog.
Q4 revenue rose 56.4% to $108.8 million, but margins and profitability were pressured — Q4 gross margin was 9.6% and net loss was $85.5 million after >$40 million of non-recurring charges (including a $34.7M goodwill impairment); management says underlying margins would be mid-20% excluding EAC impacts and should improve as production scales.
Redwire (NYSE:RDW) management used its full-year and fourth-quarter 2025 earnings call to highlight what CEO Peter Cannito described as a significant shift in the business, driven in part by the June 2025 acquisition of Edge Autonomy and a move toward more production-oriented programs. Executives also pointed to record backlog, improved liquidity, and a 2026 revenue outlook that implies a step up in growth, even as the company navigated U.S. government budget delays during 2025.
Cannito said Redwire “transformed from a pure-play space provider to an agile, scaled, multi-domain space and defense tech company” in 2025, with Edge Autonomy integrated into the Redwire brand under an ongoing integration plan. The company expanded its customer base to more than 170 civil, national security, and commercial customers and added approximately 660 employees, ending 2025 with around 1,410 employees globally.
A major theme of the call was Redwire’s product maturation. Cannito contrasted Redwire’s early public-company years—when management estimated nearly 75% of products were in development—with the company’s current mix. By the end of 2025, Redwire estimated that more than two-thirds of revenue is “moving into production,” including what Cannito described as a large portion of the company’s UAS portfolio entering higher-margin, full-rate production. He said the shift should improve the company’s risk balance and support future gross margin improvement, while Redwire continues investing in technologies such as VLEO, refuelable GEO, quantum satellites, and the Stalker Block 40 UAS.
In January, Redwire announced it will report in two segments going forward: Space and Defense Tech. Management said Space includes next-generation spacecraft, large space infrastructure, and microgravity development, while Defense Tech includes combat-proven UAS plus sensors and payloads, including certain space-based payload technologies such as avionics, cameras, and RF systems.
Management highlighted several fourth-quarter developments across its “value drivers,” including:
Next-generation spacecraft: A $44 million Phase II award to advance DARPA’s Otter program, leveraging Redwire’s SabreSat platform, intended to fund manufacturing and delivery of the spacecraft to launch.
European spacecraft prime work: Completion of integration for 10 payloads for the European Space Agency’s Σyndeo-3 mission, which management said is targeted for launch in Q4 2026 and uses Redwire’s Hammerhead LEO spacecraft platform.
Large space infrastructure products: Introduction of the Extensible Low-Profile Solar Array (ELSA), described as leveraging ROSA flexible substrate technology in a smaller form factor and offering “50% more power by volume” than traditional arrays of similar size. Cannito said the company expects to announce contract awards for ELSA as customers adopt the product.
Docking and berthing hardware: An “eight-figure” contract from The Exploration Company to provide two International Berthing and Docking Mechanisms (IBDMs) for its Nyx spacecraft, following an earlier IBDM award from Thales Alenia Space.
Microgravity development: A second contract supporting Aspera Biomedicines’ research into a “cancer kill switch,” using Redwire’s PIL-BOX hardware for on-orbit experiments.
Defense Tech: U.S. Army soldiers began training with Redwire’s Stalker UAS, which the company said was the first time in years that a new Group 2 UAS was used in support of a U.S. Army course at Fort Rucker. The company also opened a new 85,000-square-foot facility in Ann Arbor, Michigan, to increase production of fuel cells used on Stalker aircraft.
Sensors and payloads: An award for Penguin C VTOL aircraft and Octopus gimbal camera payloads for the Croatian Border Patrol through a Frontex-funded program.
CFO Chris Edmunds said revenue for 2025 increased 10.3% year over year to $335.4 million, toward the top end of the company’s prior range of $320 million to $340 million. Edmunds attributed some headwinds to delays in the U.S. government budget process affecting both Space and Defense Tech.
For the fourth quarter, Redwire reported total revenue of $108.8 million, up 56.4% year over year. Revenue was nearly evenly split between segments, with Space at $54.5 million and Defense Tech at $54.3 million. Edmunds said the Edge Autonomy acquisition was the primary driver of the sharp year-over-year increase in Defense Tech revenue.
Fourth-quarter gross margin was 9.6%, an improvement year over year, but Edmunds said margin improvement is a key 2026 focus. He noted that excluding net unfavorable impacts from estimates-at-completion (EAC) adjustments of $17.8 million, gross margin would have been in the “mid-20% range,” which he said is closer to what management views as representative of the business’s potential given the evolving program mix.
Redwire posted a fourth-quarter net loss of $85.5 million, impacted by more than $40 million in non-recurring items, including a $34.7 million goodwill impairment, $7.4 million related to equity incentive units assumed in the Edge Autonomy acquisition, and $1 million tied to early debt extinguishment. R&D expense increased to $9.5 million in 2025 from $1.4 million in 2024, which Edmunds said reflects investment in future technology. Adjusted EBITDA in Q4 was negative $18.1 million, which management said was largely due to the unfavorable EAC impacts.
Redwire ended 2025 with record contracted backlog of $411.2 million. Bookings in the fourth quarter were $164.9 million for a quarterly book-to-bill ratio of 1.52, while full-year book-to-bill was 1.32. Fourth-quarter space bookings were $110.9 million, driven by the Otter and Nyx awards, and defense tech bookings were $54 million, driven by demand for Stalker and Penguin aircraft. As of Dec. 31, 2025, Space backlog was $299.8 million and Defense Tech backlog was $111.4 million. Management also emphasized that defense tech revenue is largely recognized at a point in time, while space revenue is largely recognized over time, affecting backlog profiles and conversion.
Edmunds said the company strengthened its balance sheet and simplified its capital structure, ending 2025 with record total liquidity of $130.2 million, comprised of $94.5 million in cash, $35 million of undrawn revolver capacity, and about $1 million in restricted cash. During 2025, Redwire repaid a net $125.5 million of debt, including $105.5 million in the fourth quarter using proceeds from an at-the-market equity program. Edmunds said those actions should produce estimated annual interest savings of more than $14 million. The company also reduced convertible preferred stock outstanding by 57% through repurchases and voluntary conversion, and reduced outstanding warrants by 83% through exercise; remaining warrants are expected to expire in the third quarter of 2026.
In February 2026, Redwire amended its remaining credit agreement, extending maturity to May 2029 and lowering its interest spread from SOFR plus 700 to SOFR plus 375, which Edmunds said should save about $3 million annually. Combined with other actions, management estimated total annualized interest savings of more than $17 million.
Looking ahead, Redwire forecast 2026 revenue of $450 million to $500 million, which would represent 41.6% year-over-year growth at the midpoint. Edmunds said the company expects revenue to build through 2026 due to lingering timing impacts from government budget disruptions.
During Q&A, Cannito addressed gross margin concerns by emphasizing a portfolio approach rather than simply raising prices, saying the Department of Defense has been moving away from cost-plus and time-and-materials structures and looking for contractors willing to take on firm fixed-price development. He said Redwire’s more balanced portfolio—particularly after adding Edge Autonomy—should help support margin improvement as production scales.
Management also said Edge Autonomy delivered “about 200 aircraft” during 2025, with more than 100 aircraft delivered post-close to seven countries. On the U.S. Army’s LRR program, management said activity referenced during the call was part of testing, with a full production order anticipated later in 2026. Executives added that approximately 50% of the company’s 2026 revenue guidance is covered by backlog and said they do not view any single backlog order as “binary” enough to meaningfully change their outlook.
Redwire Corporation is a space infrastructure company specializing in the design, engineering and manufacturing of mission-critical hardware and software for the spaceflight industry. The company’s offerings include deployable structures, solar power systems, radio frequency antennas, advanced composites and transparent optics. Redwire serves a broad customer base that spans civil space agencies, national defense organizations and commercial satellite operators, helping enable missions ranging from communications and Earth observation to deep-space exploration.
Formed through the strategic combination of several specialized space technology firms, Redwire’s portfolio encompasses both flight-proven hardware and cutting-edge in-space manufacturing capabilities.
