Brampton-based MDA Space maintained a bright outlook on fiscal 2025 in its third-quarter earnings despite losing out on a $1.8-billion CAD contract with American telecom EchoStar in September.
More than half of MDA Space’s $20-billion opportunity pipeline is in satellite systems.
The Canadarm manufacturer reported a 45-percent year-over-year increase in revenue growth, raking in $409.8 million in Q3. The revenue was largely driven by its satellite business, which earned $283.5 million, a 69-percent increase from the same period in 2024. The company attributed the gains to a ramp up of low-earth orbit (LEO) constellation programs from its clients Telesat and Globalstar.
MDA’s revenue growth is reflected in its Q3 2025 gross profit of $108.1 million, a 43-percent increase over Q3 2024. The company also reported year-over-year growth in adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) and net income. The company’s stock, which trades on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol MDA, saw a roughly eight-percent bump following the earnings report. However, MDA’s stock is still down nearly 20 percent this year.
Communications satellites are set to be a continued cornerstone of MDA’s sales pipeline. CEO Mike Greenley said on an earnings call today that more than half of its $20-billion opportunity pipeline is in satellite systems, “primarily in the area of constellations for both broadband satellites and/or direct-to-device satellites.”
However, MDA did lose out on a potentially important constellation opportunity in September when Elon Musk-owned SpaceX swooped in to purchase EchoStar’s wireless spectrum licenses for approximately $17 billion USD. MDA had signed a $1.8-billion CAD contract to support EchoStar’s LEO satellite constellation just one month before, with contract options providing the potential to increase the value up to $3.5 billion CAD. The news wiped out the 20-percent gains MDA’s stock price made after signing the contract.
MDA CFO Guillaume Lavoie said on the company’s earnings call that it hadn’t “recognized a lot of revenue” for the EchoStar contract in Q3, and that MDA is still working on a contract termination agreement.
RELATED: Canadarm maker invests $10 million in Maritime Launch’s Atlantic Canada spaceport
“That is why we left our guidance basically intact, because that is one thing that is in flux right now,” Lavoie said.
MDA’s contract woes may not be over. Bloomberg recently reported that Globalstar, a company MDA signed a $1.1-billion CAD deal with in February, held early talks with SpaceX on a potential sale. On the earnings call, Greenley mentioned MDA was “making good progress” on Globalstar’s satellite constellation, but would not comment “on rumors or speculation concerning another company.”
Earlier this month, MDA invested $10 million in Maritime Launch Services, one of the Canadian companies building a spaceport in Atlantic Canada. The deal marked the beginning of a strategic partnership between the two Canadian space companies, with MDA Space poised to become an operational partner that supports the spaceport’s development and future operations. On the earnings call, Greenley said supporting the Canadian space ecosystem is an “important element” of the investment.
“MDA Space, as the largest space company in Canada, has a number of roles,” Greenley said. “In addition to delivering a good business, we also have a leadership, or championship, role that we have in the country to be able to help make everything work in the space ecosystem.”
Feature image courtesy MDA Space.