One-glance verdict
Within fair range
$30.06 our estimate vs market $60.17
Wall Street consensus: $103.94 (245.8% higher than our fair-value estimate)
100% above our estimate
Fundamentals snapshot
Viasat, Inc.
VSAT · NMS · Technology · Communication Equipment
Current price
$60.17
52-week range
$29.13 - $93.03
Market cap
$8.29B
Balance sheet
Distressed
0.30x Concerning
Net debt $5.19B. Interest coverage shows how many times profit covers the interest bill.
What stands out
2 Rewards
2 Risks
2 rewards · 2 risks
- Reward Returns 0.2% on equity, ahead of 40% of its peers.
- Reward Free cash flow was positive in 1/10 years.
- Risk Net debt grew 262.1% over 3 years.
- Risk Insider ownership is only 4.9% (peer median: 10.0%).
What this company does
Viasat, Inc.
Viasat is a satellite company that provides internet and secure communication services primarily to customers that are hard to reach, like airplanes, ships, and the military. It earns most of its money from selling access to its network, which creates recurring revenue (predictable income from ongoing subscriptions for its services). This is important because the company serves critical needs in markets where traditional cable or fiber internet isn't an option.
How the company got here
Viasat started in 1986, not by providing internet, but by making specialized communications equipment for military customers. For many years, it focused on these government contracts, building a reputation for secure and reliable technology. A major shift happened when the company decided to use its expertise to build its own high-powered satellites, launching ViaSat-1 in 2011 to offer satellite internet directly to people in rural areas. The most significant turning point came in 2023 when Viasat bought Inmarsat, a major British satellite company, instantly transforming Viasat into a global player, especially in providing connectivity to airplanes and ships.
What it actually does
Viasat is a satellite communications company, which means it provides internet and data services from space to places where it's hard to get a connection on the ground. Think of it like a cell phone provider, but instead of towers, it uses a fleet of satellites orbiting the Earth. This allows them to sell Wi-Fi on airplanes, internet access to cruise ships and cargo vessels in the middle of the ocean, and broadband to homes in remote countryside locations. They also provide highly secure communication links for military and government operations.
Communication Services
This is the largest part of Viasat's business and is focused on selling connectivity services. Its biggest customers are commercial airlines, who pay Viasat to install equipment on their planes and provide the in-flight Wi-Fi you might use to watch movies or browse the web. This segment also sells internet service to shipping and energy companies for their vessels at sea, as well as to individual homes and businesses in areas where cable internet isn't available. This part of the company grew substantially after the purchase of Inmarsat, which was a major provider for the aviation and maritime industries.
Defense and Advanced Technologies
This segment is Viasat's original business and focuses on serving government and military clients. Instead of selling a simple internet plan, this division provides highly secure and rugged communication products and services. This includes things like special terminals that soldiers can use for secure communications on the battlefield, encryption (a way of scrambling data so only authorized people can read it) for sensitive government information, and advanced networking for military vehicles, ships, and aircraft. This business is a smaller slice of the company's revenue but is built on long-term government relationships.
What management is betting on now
Management's biggest bet is on combining Viasat's satellite network with the one it acquired from Inmarsat to create a more powerful and reliable global system. The goal is to seamlessly blend different types of satellite coverage, giving customers on the move—like an airplane flying over the ocean or a cargo ship—a more consistent connection. They are heavily focused on growing their business with airlines and shipping companies, seeing this as a major area of future growth. The company is also continuing to invest in its defense business, aiming to provide the U.S. government and its allies with advanced communications technology for modern military operations.
Price history
How the share price has moved
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Earnings history
Last 8 quarters — what happened
Click any quarter to read the call summary and what the numbers say.
Revenue
$1.16B
Net income
$-51.74M
Diluted EPS
-0.38
Operating cash flow
$260.55M
Free cash flow
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Revenue
$1.17B
Net income
$58.82M
Diluted EPS
0.45
Operating cash flow
$322.30M
Free cash flow
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Revenue
$1.16B
Net income
$24.97M
Diluted EPS
0.18
Operating cash flow
$726.89M
Free cash flow
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Revenue
$1.14B
Net income
$-61.44M
Diluted EPS
-0.45
Operating cash flow
$282.24M
Free cash flow
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Revenue
$1.17B
Net income
$-56.43M
Diluted EPS
-0.43
Operating cash flow
$258.46M
Free cash flow
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Sources
Revenue
$1.15B
Net income
$-246.05M
Diluted EPS
-1.92
Operating cash flow
$298.44M
Free cash flow
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Revenue
$1.12B
Net income
$-158.41M
Diluted EPS
-1.23
Operating cash flow
$219.46M
Free cash flow
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Revenue
$1.12B
Net income
$-137.58M
Diluted EPS
-1.07
Operating cash flow
$239.19M
Free cash flow
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Sources
Is it cheap or expensive?
Fair value $30.06 vs current price $60.17
Wall Street consensus is the average analyst price target: $103.94 (245.8% higher than our fair-value estimate).
Our most-likely fair value is $30.06 a share — about 50.0% away from today's price of $60.17, so the stock currently looks fairly priced.
Is it drowning in debt?
Distressed
Net debt $5.2B. Interest coverage 0.3x.
Net debt
$5.19B
Interest coverage
0.30x
Viasat, Inc.'s profit covers its interest bill about 0.3 times over. and 2 peers sit below 1x, which is the danger zone where profit does not fully cover the interest bill.
Distressed
Worse cushion
Baseline
Better cushion
VSAT
BASELINE
Viasat, Inc.
Total debt $6.93B Interest coverage 0.30x This is the baseline the peer rows are being compared against.
Total debt $1.79B Interest coverage 2.67x +791% vs VSAT Carries about 8.9x more debt cushion than VSAT.
Total debt $419.15M Interest coverage 0.36x +19% vs VSAT Carries about 1.2x more debt cushion than VSAT.
Total debt $9.62M Interest coverage 2.89x +864% vs VSAT Carries about 9.6x more debt cushion than VSAT.
Total debt $2.99B Interest coverage -7.98x -100% vs VSAT This peer has almost no interest-payment cushion compared with VSAT.
What you should know
The case for and against VSAT
2 Rewards
2 Risks
Rewards
-
Returns 0.2% on equity, ahead of 40% of its peers.
-
Free cash flow was positive in 1/10 years.
Risks
-
Net debt grew 262.1% over 3 years.
-
Insider ownership is only 4.9% (peer median: 10.0%).
The numbers
All the key metrics, grouped by purpose
Tap any ? icon to learn what it means.
Valuation
How expensive the stock looks
P/E (TTM)
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Forward P/E
361.01x
P/B
1.79x
P/S
1.79x
EV/EBITDA
9.75x
PEG ratio
0.26x
Profitability
How much profit each dollar creates
Gross margin
33.2%
Operating margin
4.4%
Net margin
-0.6%
ROE
0.2%
ROA
0.4%
Health
Liquidity and balance-sheet strength
Debt / equity
1.47x
Current ratio
1.68x
Quick ratio
1.34x
Total debt
$6.93B
Total cash
$1.74B
Growth
How the business has been compounding
Revenue TTM
$4.63B
Revenue 5Y CAGR
17.7%
EPS TTM
-0.21
EPS 5Y CAGR
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Cash flow
How much cash the business throws off
Operating CF TTM
$1.59B
Free CF TTM
$597.11M
FCF margin
12.9%
Dividend
Shareholder payout
Yield
0.0%
Payout ratio
0.0%
Last ex-div date
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