Momentus Inc. — FY2023 Form 10-K
Reporting period: Fiscal year ended December 31, 2023; filed June 5, 2024. This is an annual report, not a standalone fourth-quarter report. Financial amounts below are in U.S. dollars.
Business context and operating progress
Momentus develops and sells small satellites, satellite buses and components, and is working to commercialize in-space transportation and infrastructure services using its Vigoride orbital service vehicles (OSVs). Many planned offerings, including reusable vehicles and in-orbit servicing, remain under development.
- Momentus reported four missions launched to date and 17 customer satellites deployed. Vigoride 5 completed its primary mission objectives; its propulsion system thrusters fired more than 300 times, and the vehicle performed an orbit raise of over 3 km.
- Vigoride 6 deployed its customer payloads and demonstrated most major Tape Spring Solar Array requirements. Two NASA CubeSats were released at the intended altitude but at the wrong inclination because of a software-command mapping error; the company reported corrective actions.
- On the November 2023 Transporter-9 mission, two of five supported payloads were confirmed deployed; the company believes the other three were not released from a third-party deployer.
- The Vigoride 3 mission experienced power and communications anomalies: seven of nine onboard customer satellites were deployed from Vigoride 3, while two were not. Vigoride 7 has been produced, but its future use was not settled in the filing.
Financial performance and liquidity
| Metric | FY2023 | FY2022 | Change / context |
|---|---|---|---|
| Service revenue | $3.1 million | $0.3 million | Up $2.8 million; revenue remained small |
| Cost of revenue / gross profit | $0.9 million / $2.2 million | $0.03 million / $0.3 million | FY2023 gross margin was approximately 72% |
| Research and development | $34.4 million | $41.7 million | Down 18% |
| Selling, general and administrative | $36.1 million | $49.8 million | Down 28% |
| Operating loss | $68.2 million | $91.3 million | Loss narrowed by $23.1 million |
| Net loss | $68.9 million | $95.4 million | Loss narrowed by $26.5 million |
| Net cash used in operating activities | $61.8 million | $87.9 million | Substantial ongoing cash burn |
| Cash and cash equivalents at year-end | $2.1 million | $61.1 million | Restricted cash was additional; cash-flow statement reports $2.5 million including restricted cash |
| Term loan payable | $2.3 million | $14.0 million | Principal outstanding was due in 2024; loan bears a 12% stated rate |
Revenue included $1.6 million from transportation, $0.6 million from hosted payload services, $0.6 million from forfeited customer deposits, and $0.3 million from engineering services. The company had approximately $1.0 million of customer deposits recorded as non-current contract liabilities at year-end; customer contracts are generally cancellable.
At December 31, 2023, total assets were $20.6 million, total liabilities $17.5 million, and stockholders’ equity $3.2 million, compared with $92.4 million, $53.8 million, and $38.6 million, respectively, a year earlier. Current assets of $10.7 million were slightly below current liabilities of $11.1 million.
Management and the auditor reported substantial doubt about Momentus’s ability to continue as a going concern for at least one year after issuance of the financial statements. Management said substantial additional capital is required and that, without it, operations may need to be scaled back or halted. The statements were prepared on a going-concern basis and include no adjustments that might result from failure to continue operations.
Material changes, financing, and unusual items
- Operating expenses declined, principally reflecting lower payroll, materials, professional fees, and compliance spending. The decreases were partly offset by $3.7 million of impairment of prepaid launch costs, recorded in research and development expense.
- Financing cash flow was positive $1.9 million in 2023. The company received approximately $19.0 million gross from 2023 securities offerings and $7.9 million from warrant exercises, offset by $13.0 million of term-loan repayments, a $10.0 million payment under the founder stock-repurchase agreement, and issuance costs.
- Momentus completed a 1-for-50 reverse stock split in August 2023. The filing reports 8.3 million shares outstanding at year-end and 16.6 million as of May 30, 2024. Warrants and other potential shares create additional dilution risk.
- The $8.5 million securities class-action settlement was funded with $4.5 million from Momentus and $4.0 million from insurers. A court approved the settlement in April 2024, though objectors may appeal.
- The National Security Agreement (NSA) was terminated in January 2024 after the company completed its requirements. In February 2024, Momentus assigned a SpaceX rideshare agreement to D-Orbit for $1.3 million.
- After year-end, the company reported January and March 2024 registered offerings, each with approximately $4.0 million in gross proceeds and accompanying warrants. These transactions provided financing but involved potential dilution and warrant repricing.
Outlook, risks, and other disclosures
The filing gives no numerical revenue, earnings, or cash-flow guidance. Management describes prospective growth in small satellites and in-space services, but commercialization depends on technology development, successful missions, customer conversion, regulatory approvals, launch access, and additional financing.
- Funding and business continuity: The company has a history of significant losses, limited cash, and a stated need for substantial additional capital. The filing discusses the risk of a Section 363 asset sale, reorganization, liquidation, or bankruptcy; it does not establish a completed transaction or assured financing.
- Technology and mission execution: Vigoride transportation capability, water-plasma propulsion, TASSA, and planned in-orbit services require continued development and validation. Launch, spacecraft, software, deployment, or supplier failures could delay revenue and harm customer confidence.
- Regulatory exposure: Missions require government approvals and licenses, including FCC and potentially NOAA authorizations, as well as compliance with U.S. export-control rules. Delays, denials, or changes in regulation could constrain operations.
- Legal matters: The company disclosed ongoing shareholder derivative and Delaware class-action matters, a SAFE-note lawsuit seeking damages in excess of $7.6 million, and other disputes. In a February 2024 vendor lawsuit seeking $143,256, the company said some liability was probable, disputed the amount, and reported settlement discussions.
- Other risks: Customer cancellations, competition, reliance on third-party launch providers and suppliers, insurance limitations, workforce reductions, and possible Nasdaq listing issues could affect results and access to capital.
The 2023 financial statements received an unqualified audit opinion, accompanied by a substantial-doubt going-concern section. The auditor was not engaged to audit internal control over financial reporting; management concluded disclosure controls were effective. The filing’s cover page marks that the financial statements reflect correction of an error, but the provided filing text does not clearly identify the specific error; the notes describe retrospective reverse-split adjustments and immaterial disclosure updates with no impact on reported balance-sheet, income-statement, or cash-flow amounts.
Important facts for investors to verify
- Whether subsequent financing, cost reductions, or strategic transactions provide enough liquidity to sustain operations, and the resulting dilution and warrant overhang.
- Current cash, restricted cash, debt repayment status, and any new financing or asset-sale developments after the filing date.
- Subsequent mission outcomes, customer payload deployment performance, Vigoride 7 plans, and progress toward validating propulsion and solar-array technologies.
- Status and potential financial exposure of the disclosed securities, derivative, SAFE-note, and vendor litigation matters, including any appeal of the class-action settlement.
- The exact nature and implications of the cover-page error-correction indicator, which are not clear from the provided text.