/Space/Planet%20earth%20with%20flying%20rocket%20by%20Sergey%20Mironov%20via%20Shutterstock.jpg)
The upcoming SpaceX IPO has countless investors looking toward the heavens. The initial public offering, which is expected to raise $75 billion for SpaceX and could result in a valuation of $1.77 trillion, is making the June 12 IPO potentially the biggest listing of all time.
And while SpaceX is getting a lot of attention, there are some other companies seeing additional action because they operate in the space industry as well. One of those is Redwire (RDW), a space and defense technology company that makes infrastructure, autonomous systems, and hardware used for national security missions and for civil and commercial clients.
RDW stock is up 50% in the last month, but at least one analyst believes that it's nearly out of fuel. Let’s take a closer look at the company.
About Redwire Stock
Based in Jacksonville, Florida, Redwire is an up-and-coming company that caters to the space industry by building aerospace infrastructure, autonomous systems, and multi-domain operations that incorporate digital engineering and AI automation.
The company’s technology was notably on board the Orion spacecraft in April as part of NASA’s Artemis II mission, which was the first crewed flyby of the Moon since 1972. Redwire’s advanced optical imaging and sun sensor technology were used on the mission as part of the ship’s camera system, which included 11 internal and external cameras that allowed in-flight inspection of the entire craft.
Shares have been on a roller coaster in the last year, and despite the big gain over the last month, the stock is trading flat from where it was 12 months ago. That is much worse than fellow space stocks AST Spacemobile (ASTS), which is up 174% in the last year, and Rocket Lab (RKLB), which is up nearly 275%. And it's worse than the 23% gain of the S&P 500 ($SPX) in the same period.
However, RDW stock is also much more reasonably priced. The forward price-to-sales ratio of 7.7 is paltry compared to the 70.9 P/S of Rocket Lab or the 159.9 P/S of AST Spacemobile.
Redwire Misses on Earnings
Redwire has missed meeting analysts’ expectations in each of the last four quarters, and that trend continued in the first quarter of 2026. Revenue of $96.97 million was up 57% from the previous year. However, the company reported a loss of $76.5 million versus a loss of $14.3 million in Q1 2025, and earnings per share came in at a loss of $0.40 versus expectations of a loss of $0.15 per share.
However, the company is touting a number of wins, including a contract to develop a quantum-secure satellite under the European Space Agency’s Quantum Key Distribution Satellite program. It also won a $12.8 million deal to make Extensible Low-Profile Solar Array (“ELSA”) wings for Moog (MOG.A), marking the first sale of its new high-performance, low-mass solar array product.
It was also selected in April as one of 14 vendors on the Space Systems Command $1.8 billion 10-year Andromeda Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract. The contract is even more significant as Space Systems Command announced it planned to increase the IDIQ contract ceiling to more than $6 billion.
“The Andromeda contract vehicle is focused on rapidly fielding proliferated space domain awareness capabilities in geosynchronous orbit,” CEO Peter Cannito said. “We see this as a proof point for the success of our moving up the value chain strategy and further validation that we are strategically positioned as a trusted prime contractor on next-generation spacecraft.”
The company reiterated its previous full-year guidance, which calls for 2026 revenue of $450 million to $500 million.
What Do Analysts Expect for RDW Stock?
Despite the rocky year, analysts are largely bullish on RDW stock. It has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating from 10 analysts who follow the stock, with only one of them suggesting that investors sell.
While the mean price target of $15.67 represents potential mild downside, that’s to be expected considering how high Redwire jumped in the last month. Jefferies was the most recent firm to change its outlook on the stock, simultaneously raising its price target from $13 to $24 but downgrading the stock from “Buy” to “Hold.” Jefferies said the stock has already outpaced its near-term fundamentals, leaving little room for additional upside. Redwire's stock dropped more than 10% following the downgrade.
In short, Redwire is an interesting company, but it is unprofitable and appears to have little room to run higher. For now, take a pass on this emerging space stock.
