Viasat (VSAT) Stock Jumps Over 10% on 1,000 Aircraft Milestone and $437M Space Force Contract

TLDR

• Viasat stock jumped more than 10% Tuesday, hitting a near 7-year high at $81.92
• The U.S. Space Force awarded Viasat and a partner a combined $437.7 million contract for its PTS-G satellite program
• Viasat’s SwiftBroadband-Safety (SB-S) system has now been installed in 1,000 aircraft
• SB-S adoption has grown at an average rate of 42% per year, with a target of 1,200 aircraft by end of 2026
• The stock is up 118% year-to-date and set a new 52-week high Tuesday

Viasat (VSAT) stock surged more than 10% on Tuesday, hitting a near 7-year high of $81.92, driven by two separate pieces of positive news on the same day.

Viasat, Inc., VSAT

The first catalyst was a $437.7 million contract from the U.S. Space Force. The contract was awarded to Viasat and a partner to provide space vehicles for the Protected Tactical Satellite-Global (PTS-G) program. Work covers design activities and demonstration support through March 2029, and was managed by the Space Systems Command at Los Angeles Air Force Base.

The contract was awarded through a competitive process.

The second piece of news came from the aviation side of the business. Viasat announced its SwiftBroadband-Safety (SB-S) system is now installed across 1,000 aircraft. That’s a milestone the company has been building toward, with adoption growing at an average of 42% per year.

SB-S is an IP-based satellite communications system built for aviation. It connects flight decks directly with air traffic control and ground crews.

Space Force and Aviation: Two Engines Running at Once

The timing of both announcements on the same day gave the stock an extra lift. Viasat is targeting more than 1,200 aircraft with SB-S by the end of 2026. Given the current pace of adoption, that target looks within reach.

SB-S also powers Iris, an air traffic management program run in partnership with the European Space Agency. That adds another layer to the system’s reach beyond commercial aviation.

The stock also got a bump from NASA’s Moon Base event, held Tuesday at 2:00 PM ET. Viasat has satellite infrastructure relevant to space communications programs, which made the timing of the event relevant to investors watching the stock.

A Big Year for VSAT

Viasat is up 118% since January 1. The stock set a new 52-week high on Tuesday.

Over the past year, VSAT has made 67 moves greater than 5%. That kind of volatility is part of the stock’s character. In that context, Tuesday’s move was meaningful but not out of the ordinary for this name.

For some context on the run: an investor who put $1,000 into Viasat five years ago would be sitting on roughly $1,650 today.

The Space Force contract runs through March 2029. That provides a multi-year revenue window on the government side, while SB-S continues to grow in commercial aviation.

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