Why Intuitive Machines Stock Was Marching Higher This Week

On the back of a share price spike and subsequent sell-off, Intuitive Machines (NASDAQ: LUNR) was quite the lively stock over the past few trading sessions. The spike and sell-off came on Thursday, with news that the moon exploration craft maker had released its third-quarter results. As of late that evening, its shares were up by 5% week to date, according to data compiled by S&P Global Market Intelligence.

A highly respectable rise in revenue

The quarter saw Intuitive, still a relatively early-stage company, more than quadruple its revenue on a year-over-year basis to almost $58.5 million. It flipped to a $55.5 million loss on the bottom line according to GAAP standards, against a more than $33 million profit in the same period of 2023. On a per-share basis, its deficit was $0.12 in the most recently reported frame.

The company met the average analyst estimate for net loss, while it topped the consensus revenue forecast of $51 million, according to FactSet figures quoted by Barron's.

Intuitive concentrates on improving the three "pillars" of its business: delivery, data transmission, and infrastructure as a service. In the earnings release, the company quoted CEO Steve Altemus as saying of the three that they "bring our business thesis clearly into view, allowing us to focus on capturing more operational services, which we believe will provide long-tail revenues with higher margins."

Backlog blues

While the development of Intuitive's top line was encouraging, management warned of a growing backlog for its products. This will weigh on its fundamentals, and was likely one reason why investors curbed their enthusiasm for the stock as Thursday rolled on. The company ended the quarter with an all-time high backlog that topped $316 million.

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Eric Volkman 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.