Eutelsat: quarterly revenue down 0.9%, low Earth orbit up 30%
Eutelsat reported revenue of €286 million on October 29, 2026 for the first quarter of its 2026-27 fiscal year, down 0.9% at constant exchange rates and scope and down 2.4% as reported. The entry of the IRIS² programme into the construction phase lifted the order backlog to €12.1 billion.
The quarter ended September 30, 2026 showed two trends moving in opposite directions: a 30.1% increase in low Earth orbit (LEO) revenue and a 17.8% decline in video.
Reported total revenue came in below the €310 million expected on average by the two analysts in the consensus, and the group confirmed all of its financial targets.
Video down 17.8%, connectivity up 11.9%
Revenue from the four operating activities totalled €278.3 million, down 2.1% on a like-for-like basis and down 1.6% as reported. Video, which accounts for 40% of this total, fell 17.8% to €110 million.
Eutelsat attributes this decline to the impact of recent contract renewals and capacity optimisations by certain customers, to which is added the end of capacity contracts on the Russian Express AT1 and AT2 satellites. Compared with the previous quarter, video revenue decreased by 12%.
Connectivity (60% of revenue) rose 11.9% to €168.3 million. LEO revenue increased 30.1% to €70.9 million, and geostationary (GEO) connectivity revenue rose 1.6% to €97.4 million.
In detail, mobile connectivity gained 38.1% to €48.3 million, with aeronautical remaining its main growth driver, and government services rose 14.3% to €60.3 million. Fixed connectivity declined 4.7% to €59.7 million, reflecting more difficult market conditions for GEO solutions and a smaller contribution from LEO terminal sales.
Over the quarter, the LEO increase did not offset the decline in video
The four operating activities remain down 2.1%: over the period, the growth in low Earth orbit was not enough to absorb the decline in video. The group indicates that the pace of the video decline should moderate as most of the recent unfavourable effects are absorbed.
Compared with the fourth quarter of fiscal 2025-26, operating revenue fell 18.6% and connectivity revenue fell 22.4%. Eutelsat mainly explains this gap by a high comparison base, notably in government services and fixed connectivity, which included catch-up revenue.
In government services, growth benefited in particular from the CENTAURE order, placed under the €1 billion NEXUS framework agreement signed with the Ministry of the Armed Forces and Veterans Affairs, as well as from services provided in Ukraine.
Other revenue came to €2.6 million, compared with €10.2 million a year earlier, due to the reclassification of IRIS²-related revenue into a separate line. This line recorded €5.1 million of construction revenue, a first contribution that the group expects to increase significantly by the end of the fiscal year.
Targets confirmed, €8.9 billion of IRIS² revenue in the backlog
The order backlog stood at €12.1 billion as of September 30, 2026, compared with €3.4 billion as of June 30, 2026, including €8.9 billion related to IRIS² construction activities.
Excluding this contribution, the connectivity backlog (€1.9 billion) and video backlog (€1.2 billion) are slightly lower than at that date, which the group attributes to their natural consumption.
The €8.9 billion is expected to be recognised mainly between 2027 and 2031. In parallel, Eutelsat will invest €2.23 billion in shared infrastructure and €1.16 billion in its own commercial infrastructure between 2027 and 2034, for access to more than twice OneWeb's current capacity.
The group also plans to deploy 229 additional satellites to extend the OneWeb constellation until 2034, with an investment of approximately €1 billion. A launch authorisation for the first industrial work was signed in September 2026 with Airbus Defence and Space.
For fiscal 2026-27, Eutelsat targets LEO revenue growth above 30%, a slight increase in revenue from the four operating activities, and gross capital expenditure of approximately €1.2 billion. It anticipates an adjusted EBITDA margin broadly at the same level as last year, excluding the contribution of IRIS².
For fiscal 2028-29, ending at the end of June 2029, the group confirmed its target of between €1.5 and €1.7 billion in revenue for its four operating activities, with an EBITDA margin above 60%. The investment envelope of approximately €4 billion over the 2026-29 period remains unchanged.
