Virgin Galactic Stock Skyrockets on Results, Flight Plans

Bill McColl

Fri, May 16, 2025, 8:39 AM 2 min read

Virgin Galactic results and plans for future flights sent shares of the space tourism firm soaring 35% Friday.
The company founded by billionaire Richard Branson posted a lower loss and higher revenue than expected.
Virgin Galactic plans to begin flights with its new Delta Class SpaceShips next year, and expects to charge more than the prior $600,000 for passenger tickets.

Shares of Virgin Galactic Holdings (SPCE) blasted off Friday, a day after the space tourism provider reported better-than-anticipated results, cut costs, and announced its flight plans. The company will also raise prices on trips next year.

The firm started by billionaire Richard Branson posted a first-quarter loss of $2.38 per share, far narrower than last year's $5.10 per share and $0.30 per share less than the Visible Alpha consensus estimate.

Revenue slumped 77% year-over-year to $461,000, but that also topped forecasts. The company explained that the decrease was the result of its pause in commercial flights so it could focus on producing its new Delta Class SpaceShips. Operating expenses slid 21% to $88.9 million.

Virgin Galactic said it plans to fly its first Delta Class SpaceShips carrying payloads in the summer of 2026, with passenger flights scheduled for the fall. The company noted it is also halfway through a feasibility study of adding a second spaceport in Italy.

On the earnings call, CEO Michael Colglazier said that pricing for the Delta flights "has not been set, although we expect the price will increase relative to our last price of $600,000," according to a transcript provided by AlphaSense.

Despite today's 35% surge, Virgin Galactic Holdings shares have lost about a quarter of their value this year.