Rendering of a BlackSky satellite. Photo: BlackSky

BlackSky’s 2025 financial performance was a mixed bag, with an increase in fourth quarter revenue and a 32% increase in backlog, despite an increase in the company’s net loss and a second consecutive year of contracting growth.

BlackSky posted $106.6 million in full year revenue in 2025, a 4.4% year-over-year increase from 2024. It marks a second year of sliding YoY growth, after 8% growth in 2024 and 45% growth in 2023.

Revenue came in at the low end of the adjusted guidance BlackSky issued mid-year, which slashed its growth forecast, citing volatility with the U.S. government budget process. Originally, the company expected revenue between $125 million and $142 million in 2025.

Net loss was $70.3 million, up from $57.2 million in 2024.

Its backlog grew to $345 million, up 32% from last year. In a statement, it said the increase was driven by $240 million in contract bookings. The company also announced a new eight-figure, multi-year contract with an international customer.

BlackSky CEO Brian O’Toole said the company finished 2025 with a near-record Q4 performance, driven by the deployment and demonstration of three of the company’s Gen3 satellites last year. It posted $35.2 million in revenue in Q4, up 16% from Q4 2024.

“Maybe less than five years ago, there were under 12 or 15 countries that had sovereign space capability,” O’Toole said. “Now there’s over 60. And many of them are in the early phases of building out their capability. So this is a large and expanding market, and there’s a number of customers that are coming into this with very little initial capability that we’re able to help accelerate their long-term plans.”

CFO Henry Dubois said the company expects 2026 revenue to be between $120 million and $145 million, which would be 24% growth at the midpoint.

“This annual growth is driven by strong backlog visibility ─ which we expect to convert into revenue throughout the year ─ continued Gen3 satellite deployments delivering increased capacity to our customers, and a growing pipeline of sales opportunities,” Dubois said. “Historically, our revenue performance in the second half of the year has always been stronger than in the first half, and we anticipate this year to be the same.”

BlackSky faces some uncertainty regarding future government spending. O’Toole said the company is happy that Congress approved funding for the National Reconnaissance Office’s Electro-Optical Commercial Layer (EOCL) in its recent budget, and that it expects to wait for the second quarter for clarity on where government funds will be spent. That funding was previously at risk of being cut, which O’Toole and other Earth Observation CEOs spoke out against.

“We’re seeing increased interest across the government in expanding use of commercial imagery and analytics,” O’Toole said.