SES’s latest results are broadly in line with analyst expectations and show the business in good shape with the Networks side of SES’s business increasingly influential.
With financial results on Tuesday, the operator also said it plans to cancel two Geostationary Orbit (GEO) satellites as part of its CapEx optimization plans.
For the three months to the end of March, SES generated overall revenues of 847 million euros ($997 million), an increase of close to 50% and slightly above consensus analyst estimates. It is important to point out that Intelsat was fully consolidated from July last year, so this impacts the figures when doing year-on-year comparisons to previous SES results. SES announced its latest results on May. 12.
Revenue from the Networks side of SES’s business reached 556 million euros ($654.5 million) for the three months to the end of March. This was a particularly strong performance and mobility and aviation underpinned this strong growth. Networks achieved over 100% growth year-on-year compared to last year. One of the interesting dynamics at play is now that Networks represents 66% of SES’s overall revenues, which just goes to underline how the company has moved from a broadcast/media centric business one in recent years.
Within SES’s Network side of the business, there were some key trends to observe. For the three months to the end of March, mobility revenues reached 259 million euros ($304.9 million), up from 89 million euros ($104.8 million) in the same quarter last year. To the three months to the end of March, government revenues reached 189 million euros ($222.5 million), up 50 million euros ($58.9 million) compared to the same stage last year. Fixed data revenues from the quarter reached 109 million euros ($128.3 million), up 41 million euros ($48.3 million) compared to the same stage last year.
IS-41 and IS-44 Canceled
SES is canceling two GEO satellites that do not meet its internal rate of return (IRR) threshold, CFO Lisa Pataki told investors on Tuesday. Pataki said canceling two GEOs was planned as part of the operator’s 2026 CapEx guidance.
The IS-41 and IS-44 were canceled, SES confirmed to Via Satellite. On previous guidance, these satellites were set to launch in 2028 and have now been removed from SES’s list future launches.
“We’ve spoken about the need to rationalize the fleet of GEO satellites, both from the ground and the spacecraft in the sky. We’ve taken some pretty hard decisions on which satellites we need in our fleet, which satellites can use life extension vehicles, and therefore which satellites we no longer need to procure,” Pataki said. “That was baked into our CapEx guidance when we gave the guidance at the full year. We just needed to work through which satellites we’re talking about and how we were really going to optimize that.”
Intelsat ordered IS-41 and IS-44 from Thales Alenia Space in 2022 based on the Space Inspire product line. IS-41 was set to cover North America and Latin America for aviation, fixed & maritime, and government coverage. And IS-44 was set to cover the Asia-Pacific region for media, aviation, fixed & maritime, and government service.
SES is not the only satellite operator to cancel a GEO order this year. Eutelsat canceled procurement of Flexsat Americas, also to be built by Thales Alenia Space, after a review of the business case.
Analyst Views
One major investment bank analyst who covers SES but who preferred to remain anonymous said in a research note that Q1 revenues were in line with expectations and 2% above consensus. Adjusted EBITDA was 8 % above expectations.
“Reported growth remained supported by the Intelsat consolidation, while combined like-for-like revenue increased +3.1%. EBITDA growth was driven by strong Networks momentum and the positive impact from the Aviation contract restructuring. Networks revenues were down 1% versus our estimates but 3% above consensus, with like-for-like growth of +13%. Mobility remained the key growth driver, supported by Aviation ESA installations, an 81 million euro ($95.3 million) planned contract restructuring benefit, and the absence of the 19 million euros ($22.4 million) periodic Maritime revenue recognized in Q1 2025.”
In other parts of the results, the analyst said government revenues increased 8.8% like-for-like, which they said reflected solid sovereign and defense demand trends.
“Fixed Data remained weak at -16.9 % LFL despite management highlighting decisive actions to navigate competitive pressures,” they added. “Media revenues stood at 285 million euros ($335.5 million), slightly above expectations, but declined -11.0 % LFL due to capacity optimisation in mature markets, SD channel switch-offs and the ongoing impact from the Brazilian customer bankruptcy.”
Ben Rickett, a satellite equity analyst at New Street Research wrote in a research note that the reported Q1 results were well ahead of expectations, with revenue up 2% over consensus and Adjusted EBITDA up 11% vs. consensus.
Rickett also believes some of the underlying trends of SES’s results show a “deterioration,” even on the Networks side of the business.
“On a reported like-for-like basis, Networks revenue was up 13 % year-on-year in Q1 and total revenue was up +3.1 % year-on-year. However, adjusting for the 81 million euro one-off, we estimate that Networks revenue was down circa 6 % year-on-year and total revenue was down circa 8 % year-on-year. Media revenue trends improved modestly, with the Oi bankruptcy an ongoing headwind.”
In terms of government revenue, Rickett said this revenue “remained strong”, but that revenue growth continues to be driven by zero-margin IRIS2 revenue — essentially to pass-through to IRIS2 subcontractors. “Excluding IRIS2 revenue, we estimate that Government revenue was negative last year and deteriorated in this quarter,” he added.
Rickett speaks of SES attributing the decline in underlying Government revenue to the non-renewal of some U.S. government contracts from 2Q25, as a result of (DOGE) cost-cutting and the U.S. government shutdown in Oct 2025. But, this could be on the cusp of change.
“The company is optimistic that Government revenue trend will improve in H2, when they expect to win new U.S. government contracts – but we think there is a risk that these do not materialize. Eutelsat saw a similar impact to their U.S. government revenue in calendar 2025 and is not expecting that impact to reverse,” he said in a research note.
Al-Saleh Pinpoints Mobility
SES CEO Adel Al-Saleh said the company’s Aviation business is now benefiting from nearly 600 aircraft now flying with the SES multi-orbit in-flight connectivity system.
“Demand for the multi-orbit ESAs continues to grow as we won additional aircraft commitments in the first quarter including more than 40 Japan Airlines’ long-haul aircraft. SES and Boeing reached a milestone toward factory line-fit solution for the multi-orbit system on all Boeing aircraft models,” he said.
He also said that Government continues to see solid performance led by global government and SES’s involvement in the IRIS2 project, which he says reinforces SES’s position in high-priority segments and the strength of our differentiated space-based solutions. “During the quarter, SES and the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) extended the EGNOS GEO-1 satellite service agreement through 2030, helping maintain high-precision navigation services for aviation and other critical users across Europe,” he added.
Rachel Jewett contributed to this story
