Virgin Galactic Shares Plunge as Commercial Flight Gap Widens

Virgin Galactic shares dropped 23.4% on Friday, November 13, 2026, as investors reacted to a prolonged gap in the company's commercial operations. The decline occurred despite third-quarter earnings that exceeded analyst expectations, with the company reporting a loss of $0.39 per share on $430,000 in sales, beating forecasts of a $0.47 loss on $231,670 in sales.

The stock sell-off follows the realization that the company currently has no active product following the retirement of its Unity spaceplane in June 2024. The company announced that its first Delta-class spaceplane, Apeiron, is not scheduled for its first commercial flight until early Q2 2027, with a second vessel expected in late Q2 or early Q3 2027.

Further concerns emerged regarding the company's long-term scaling. Virgin Galactic projected that its two spaceplanes will only fly 150 times per year by the end of 2028. Investors suggest this flight rate may be insufficient for the company to achieve positive free cash flow in the near term.