What Q3 Earnings Mean After 198% Gain

For the past two years, the communication services sector has been rewarding investors with eye-catching gains. After delivering a nearly 60% return in 2023 and a 40% gain in 2024, the sector is again leading the S&P 500 in 2025 with a 25% year-to-date (YTD) increase.

Much of this momentum is thanks to heavyweight contributors like Alphabet NASDAQ: GOOGL, Meta Platforms NASDAQ: META, and Netflix NASDAQ: NFLX, who keep pushing the sector higher. Those three together have returned nearly 28% in 2025. 

But it’s not just its Magnificent Seven members and the world’s largest streaming service that are driving these index-leading gains. AST SpaceMobile NASDAQ: ASTS is up a jaw-dropping 198% this year. 

So when the company reported Q3 earnings on Nov. 10, Wall Street was watching. And while the results missed analyst expectations, shareholders got a glimpse of what is in store for the future for AST SpaceMobile. 

ASTS Begins to Generate Revenue, but Falls Short of Expectations

AST SpaceMobile, a U.S.-based aerospace company, is developing a space-based cellular broadband network that will connect mobile phones and other devices directly with satellites—a game-changing technology expected to launch in early 2026.

AST SpaceMobile Today

$62.62 +1.18 (+1.92%)

As of 12:51 PM Eastern

This is a fair market value price provided by Polygon.io. Learn more.

52-Week Range

$17.50

▼

$102.79

Price Target

$45.27

While AST SpaceMobile is technically still considered pre-revenue, it is already generating modest income through government contracts—including with the U.S. federal government—as well as early-stage service and technology licensing agreements with telecom partners. 

These include  Verizon NYSE: VZ, AT&T NYSE: T, Vodafone NASDAQ: VOD, Japanese tech conglomerate Rakuten OTCMKTS: RKUNY, real estate investment trust American Tower NYSE: AMT, and Canada’s BCE NYSE: BCE (formerly Bell Canada Enterprises).

In his Q3 earnings call comments, AST SpaceMobile’s founder and CEO Abel Avellan highlighted the company’s “transformational partnership” with Verizon that includes a $100 million commitment. He added that the company now has agreements with over 50 mobile network operators with a reach of nearly 3 billion subscribers around the world. 

The money from those agreements is starting to trickle in, as evidenced by the $14.74 million in Q3 revenue that AST SpaceMobile reported on Monday. While that fell short of the $22.04 million Wall Street expected, it represented an enormous 1,236% gain from the same quarter last year. 

Earnings Also Missed, but ASTS’s Cash Position Remains Strong

AST SpaceMobile also came up short of earnings per share (EPS) expectations in Q3, reporting a loss of 45 cents versus the analyst consensus loss of 18 cents. Despite this, the company did reiterate its second-half revenue guidance of $50 million to $75 million. 

The earnings miss created some concern about the stock’s future performance. Based on 11 analysts’ 12-month price targets, ASTS receives an average of $45.27, implying nearly 30% downside from where the stock trades today. 

But earnings and revenue misses aren’t uncommon for pre-commercial companies, and there were plenty of positives to glean from the company’s earnings call. Specifically, the company reported a robust balance sheet position of more than $3.2 billion in cash, cash equivalents, restricted cash, and liquidity. 

While operating costs increased from Q2 to Q3—as would be expected as the company nears its commercial launch—AST SpaceMobile managed to decrease its capital expenditures from $322.8 million to $258.9 million over the same period, demonstrating strong fiscal responsibility from its management team. 

Expect the Roller Coaster Ride to Continue

Despite gaining 198% this year, shares of ASTS have rocketed higher and sputtered out numerous times. From May 30 to its then-YTD high on July 24, the stock gained more than 130% before giving back 39% through Sept. 9.

The next rally, beginning on Sept. 9, saw shares surge more than 159% by mid-October before dropping 33% again. 

But despite the sizable ebbs and flows, the stock appears to be trending in a desirable direction, with natural corrections following parabolic gains. That’s something Wall Street’s bears appear to be attuned to, with current short interest making up 15.20% of the float. 

But when the stock inevitably re-enters oversold territory, that percentage is likely to drop dramatically as bulls step back in and push shares higher again. 

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