Intuitive Machines Falls 7% Despite Record Quarter as Space Stocks Slide; AST SpaceMobile Sinks 9%, Rocket Lab Drops 5%

David MoadelFri, November 13, 2026 at 4:07 PM UTC

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Intuitive Machines slid 7% and AST SpaceMobile 9% as a sector-wide selloff in high-beta space stocks erased gains from a post-earnings run.

Record $1.87 billion backlog and Lanteris-driven revenue growth of 414% came with one-time warrant gains, a wider operating loss, and Steve Altemus eyeing IM-3 in spring 2027.

Rocket Lab's pending Iridium purchase signals a push into satellite communications, while Intuitive Machines' cash fell to $464 million and free cash flow turned negative.

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A broad selloff in space stocks is pulling down Intuitive Machines (NASDAQ:LUNR) despite a record quarter. Intuitive Machines stock is at $12.15, down 7%, in morning trading. The decline gives back part of a strong run over the past week that followed the company's results. It leaves the lunar specialist down 25% year to date (YTD).

Broader conditions are adding pressure. Fresh producer price data and a Federal Reserve official's remark that inflation is broad-based are weighing on sentiment, with the NASDAQ 100 lower and technology the weakest sector. Profit-taking in high-beta growth names after a strong stretch fits the pattern across space stocks, Intuitive Machines included.

Intuitive Machines Delivered a Record Quarter on November 12

Intuitive Machines reported Q3 2026 results on November 12 before the open, posting revenue of $269.3 million, up 413.7% year over year (YoY). Lanteris, the satellite maker the company acquired in January, contributed $215.12 million in product revenue. Record backlog of $1.87 billion at Intuitive Machines as of September 30 concluded a quarter in which revenue exceeded analyst estimates.

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The bottom line leaned on one-off items. A loss of $0.02 per share at Intuitive Machines beat expectations, but it included a $30.01 million gain from a change in the fair value of warrant liabilities and a $3.62 million contingent consideration gain. Favorable one-time contract estimate adjustments also lifted the company's gross margin. At the operating level, which leaves out the warrant gain, the company's operating loss grew to $34.25 million, while its adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) came in at $8.26 million.

Full-year guidance from Intuitive Machines calls for fiscal 2026 revenue of $920 million to $950 million and positive adjusted EBITDA. CEO Steve Altemus called the quarter "record financial performance across the board" on the company's earnings call. He also said the IM-3 mission, carrying the first Altus-1 lunar relay satellite, is on track for a planned launch in March or April 2027.

AST SpaceMobile Sinks Further as Rocket Lab Slides

The strong drop among the three belongs to AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS). AST SpaceMobile stock is at $31.56, down 9%. That move extends a 57% YTD decline for the direct-to-cell satellite operator. On November 9, third-quarter revenue came in at $42.32 million, short of analyst estimates, while management maintained its full-year revenue guidance.

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Losses also hit Rocket Lab (NASDAQ:RKLB), which had posted a sharp gain over the past week. Rocket Lab stock is at $60.65, down 5%. Rocket Lab delivered record third-quarter revenue of $267.83 million and a record backlog of $3.57 billion on November 9, though its generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) loss per share missed estimates.

Measured against its two peers, Intuitive Machines' decline lands in the middle, which points to a sector-wide pullback in high-beta space names, and since both comparison companies reported on November 9, those results serve as background to the current slide. A deeper drop at AST SpaceMobile cuts against any read that Intuitive Machines is being singled out.

How Intuitive Machines Stacks Up Against Its Space Peers

Intuitive Machines began as a lunar lander builder under NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program and now positions itself as a space infrastructure prime. Lanteris added satellite manufacturing, while the Goonhilly and COMSAT acquisition expanded the company's ground network for lunar and deep-space communications, and management describes a business spread across civil, commercial and national-security customers.

Rocket Lab runs a vertically integrated model, building its Electron and HASTE rockets, developing the reusable Neutron and manufacturing spacecraft. The company is pushing into satellite communications through its pending purchase of Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM).

AST SpaceMobile follows a different model, building the BlueBird constellation to deliver cellular broadband directly to ordinary phones through mobile network operator partners, and a proprietary reusable rocket in development aims to give the operator more control over its deployment schedule. That focus ties AST SpaceMobile's success closely to a single network expansion, while Intuitive Machines spreads its work across many contracts and customers.

What Comes Next for Intuitive Machines After Its Record Quarter

Intuitive Machines' next test is whether shareholders treat the pullback as an entry point into the backlog story or keep locking in gains from the post-earnings run. Management expects 13% to 15% of the September 30 backlog to convert into revenue in Q4 2026 and plans to issue its 2027 outlook with fourth-quarter results.

Bullish investors can cite positive quarterly free cash flow of $33 million and Intuitive Machines' selection as a vendor on NASA's CLPS 2 contract. Skeptics may note that the company's cash fell to $463.81 million from $582.6 million at the end of 2025, and its free cash flow for the year so far is negative $112.3 million. Any slip in the IM-3 schedule could also push back the timeline for Altus-1 service revenue.

Sector swings like this one can reverse quickly for high-beta space names such as Intuitive Machines. Volatility in LUNR stock could continue until the debate over Intuitive Machines' backlog conversion resolves.

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