Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic Reopened Ticket Sales at $750,000 a Seat in 2026, Up From the $600,000 It Charged for 700 Previously Sold Seats. Is SPCE Stock's Pricing Power Finally Catching Up to Its Cash Burn?
Key Points
In its last quarterly earnings release in March, Virgin Galactic revealed strong ticket sales for its passenger space flights, which are scheduled to begin early next year.
As a result of strong sales and increased ticket prices, management is guiding for positive cash flow during 2027.
Despite being potentially on the verge of a serious inflection point, concerns about cash burn and share dilution persist, suggesting waiting for a further pullback before buying even if bullish on Virgin Galactic's improving long-term prospects.
- Motley Fool Issues Rare "Total Conviction" Buy Alert ›
Virgin Galactic Holdings (NYSE: SPCE) may have experienced a brief speculative frenzy during last summer's space stock boom, but in recent months, arguably more game-changing news has emerged from the private spaceflight company.
Not only is Virgin Galactic months away from launching its first commercial flight, but it successfully sold out its initial offering of flight tickets, even after raising the price from $600,000 per person to $750,000. Yet while management has boasted that this will significantly reduce its near-term cash burn, is this strong demand arriving just in time, or is it too little too late?
Missed AI’s "Act 1"? Act 2 Could Be 15x Bigger. Most investors think they missed the AI boat because they didn't buy Nvidia in 2005. But according to our analysts, we’re only at the end of "Act 1"—the R&D phase. "Act 2" is the global rollout. Continue »
Image source: Getty Images.
Virgin Galactic, rising demand, and its impact on cash burn
Back in August, Virgin Galactic released its second-quarter results. While bottom-line losses and cash burn were expected for this pre-revenue company, management highlighted a few green shoots in its guidance for the quarters ahead. In addition to announcing that it had paid down around $58.4 million in outstanding debt, the company revealed promising news about rising demand and ticket prices for its upcoming commercial flights, set to begin in February.
Its latest tranche of tickets, priced at $750,000 each, sold out, and CEO Michael Colglazier said he expects the company to "deliver positive quarterly cash flow within 2027." Figures provided in the second-quarter earnings presentation support the argument that rising demand and increased pricing power are paving the way to profitability.
From its initial fleet alone, Virgin Galactic expects to generate $450 million in annual revenue, with adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) of $90 million to $115 million. This would represent a significant reversal given that during Q2 alone, Virgin Galactic reported negative free cash flow of $90.7 million.
What this means for SPCE shares
Over a longer time frame, if Virgin Galactic successfully expands its fleet, and then expands to two spaceports, expect an even more outsized impact on financial results. Management's estimates are that an expanded fleet would generate between $450 million and $500 million in adjusted EBITDA, and predict that with an expansion to two spaceports, the company would generate $1 billion to $1.1 billion in adjusted EBITDA.
Yet, while Virgin Galactic appears on the verge of a serious inflection point, is now the time to buy? While a path to profitability may exist, it's less certain whether that pivot from cash burn to positive cash flow will occur on time. For the second half of 2026, management is guiding for cash burn of up to $190 million. Virgin Galactic reported $286 million in cash on hand as of June 30, but much of that came from its recent $134 million at-the-market (ATM) equity offering.
To shore up its balance sheet, the company may need to sell additional equity, which would dilute existing shareholders. Even if Virgin were only to raise another $100 million, this would still cause serious shareholder dilution given the company's current market cap in the neighborhood of $350 million. With Virgin Galactic stock once again on a downward trajectory, and its next quarterly report nearly a month away, you should probably sit and wait for a better entry point, even if you're bullish on its long-term prospects.
Should you buy stock in Virgin Galactic right now?
Before you buy stock in Virgin Galactic, consider this:
The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Virgin Galactic wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.
Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $380,363!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,315,732!*
Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 919% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 211% for the S&P 500. Don't miss the latest top 10 list, available with Stock Advisor, and join an investing community built by individual investors for individual investors.
See the 10 stocks »
*Stock Advisor returns as of October 18, 2026.
Thomas Niel has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Recommended Articles
