Quarterly analysis of the EO sector along with complete financial earnings reviews on five EO pacesetters: BlackSky, ISI, Planet, Satrec Initiative, and Spire.
 
Planet leads. Industry revenues grew 18% y/y (ex-Spire), anchored by government demand. Planet delivered the highest growth (+33% y/y) on strong D&I demand, while ISI posted steady gains (+5% y/y) from 2024 contract deliveries. Blacksky reported its weakest revenue in two years (-13% y/y) due to US budget delays.
Defense dominated EO demand in 2025, a trend likely to continue in 2026 as Europe ramps spending and Asia/MENA pursue affordable sovereign solutions. Commercial adoption remains a challenge. Planet’s commercial revenue fell 7% in Q3 and stayed range-bound at $13-14M per quarter over two years.
Race to profit. AEBITDA (ex-Spire) grew 21% y/y to $8M, but sector scale remains modest. ISI was the only operator to report a meaningful margin (43% in Q3). Planet and Blacksky continue to guide EBITDA breakeven in CY26 as next-gen satellite constellations ramp.
New birds in town! Companies are rolling out new constellations to close demand gaps. Planet’s Owl targets defense’s need for high-resolution daily monitoring, while Blacksky’s AROS adds a wide area mapping capability. Satrec’s SpaceEye-T expands its data business by offering sovereign VHR capacity on lease- based cost economics.