Gogo Inc.

Gogo has $833 million of long-term debt on a company worth about $575 million.

If you own Gogo, your bet is simple: can growth outrun a very heavy balance sheet.

gogo

communication services · aviation small cap updated mar 6, 2026
$4.32
market cap ~$575M · 52-week range $4–$5
xvary composite: 36 / 100 · weak
our overall rating — combines growth, value, risk, and momentum
Start here if you're new
what it is
Gogo sells internet connections for private jets, government aircraft, and other planes that need to stay online in the air.
how it gets paid
Last year Gogo made $910M in revenue.
why it's growing
Revenue grew 104.7% last year. Revenue rose 204% vs. prior year after the Satcom Direct acquisition.
what just happened
Gogo posted -$0.07 EPS versus $0.04 expected, even as revenue jumped to $680M.
At a glance
C++ balance sheet — some cracks in the foundation
25/100 earnings predictability — expect surprises
14.4x trailing p/e — the market's not buying it — or you found a deal
17.5% return on capital — nothing to write home about
xvary composite: 36/100 — weak
What they do
Gogo sells internet connections for private jets, government aircraft, and other planes that need to stay online in the air.
Gogo already has 7,059 aircraft flying with its air-to-ground hardware installed as of 12/31/24. Installed base → planes already wired and certified → so what: replacing that gear is slow, expensive, and annoying for your fleet. That helps support a 21.0% operating margin and keeps recurring connectivity revenue sticky.
aviation small-cap connectivity satcom turnaround
How they make money
$910M annual revenue · their business grew +104.7% last year
total revenue
$910M
+104.7%
The products that matter
connectivity for business aircraft
Inflight Internet
$910M revenue
it's the entire $910M business. that's simple. the catch is that active aircraft in the core network fell 3%, so you need more revenue per plane or new wins just to outrun shrinkage in the installed base.
entire business
Key numbers
$1.0B
2029 revenue
Management needs to turn today's $910M revenue into $1.0B by 2029. That is only about $90M more, which tells you this is now an execution story, not a fantasy story.
59%
debt load
Debt is 59% of capital. Plain English: creditors matter almost as much as shareholders here.
21.0%
operating margin
Operating margin → profit after running the business → so what: the core service model still throws off decent dollars before financing costs.
17.5%
return on capital
Return on capital → profit earned on money invested → so what: the business can work, if management stops tripping over the balance sheet.
Financial health
C++
strength
  • balance sheet grade C++ — below average — limited financial resources
  • risk rank 5 — safer than 5% of stocks
  • price stability 10 / 100
  • long-term debt $833M (59% of capital)
  • net profit margin 9.8% — keeps 10 cents of every dollar in revenue
  • return on equity 32% — $0.32 profit for every $1 investors have put in
C++ — balance sheet grade and long-term debt are flagged. this stock carries more risk than average.
Total return vs. market

You invested $10,000 in GOGO 3 years ago → it's now worth $2,840.

The index would have given you $13,880.

same period. same starting point. GOGO trailed the market by $11,040.

source: institutional data · total return
What just happened
missed estimates
Gogo posted -$0.07 EPS versus $0.04 expected, even as revenue jumped to $680M.
Revenue rose 204% vs. prior year after the Satcom Direct acquisition. The quiet part is that bigger sales did not save the quarter because depreciation and integration costs kept pressuring profit.
$228M
revenue
$0.07
eps
+204%
vs. last year revenue
the number that mattered
The key number was the $0.11 EPS miss versus expectations, because it told you growth from the acquisition is arriving faster than clean profits.
source: company earnings report, 2026

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What could go wrong

the #1 risk is the smartsky networks patent case against gogo's in-flight connectivity system.

∘
med
smartsky patent case
This is not background legal noise. Gogo sells aviation connectivity technology, so a patent fight lands on the product itself.
The page data does not give a clean dollar exposure. What it does give you is context: the company is worth about $575M in the market and already carries $833M of long-term debt.
∘
med
installed-base erosion
Active aircraft in the core network fell 3%. For a business built on recurring service revenue, a shrinking base is the opposite of what you want.
This risk hits before the income statement screams. Fewer connected aircraft means less room to grow revenue per plane and less support for the 14.4x earnings multiple.
∘
med
5G and integration slip
The growth story needs the upgraded network and the satcom direct deal to work together. If either drags, the revenue jump starts looking like a one-time scale event instead of a better business.
Analysts model just $925M of FY2026 revenue versus $910M last year. That tells you there is not much room for disappointment built into expectations.
∘
med
debt and deal drag
The acquisition boosted scale, but it also brought more depreciation, amortization, interest cost, and share count pressure. That's why revenue doubled while EPS still landed at $0.30.
With $833M in long-term debt equal to 59% of capital, even decent operating performance may still leave little for equity holders.
A patent overhang, a 3% aircraft decline, rollout risk, and $833M of debt point to the same math: this stock needs better earnings quality, not just more revenue.
source: institutional data · regulatory filings · risk analysis
Pay attention to
metric
active aircraft count
The installed base fell 3%. If that keeps shrinking, the recurring-revenue story gets less recurring.
calendar
next earnings report
Watch whether EPS improves from the $0.04 Q4 run rate and whether management shows that acquisition benefits are sticking in the numbers.
risk
smartsky case updates
Any change in the patent case matters because the company is too small, and too levered, to shrug off legal pressure.
trend
fy2026 estimates
Revenue is modeled at $925M and EPS at $0.40. If those numbers start moving down, the stock's cheap label gets weaker fast.
Analyst rankings
short-term outlook
average
momentum score 3. in human-speak, analysts do not see a strong short-term signal either way.
risk profile
high risk
stability score 5 — real drawdown risk, which fits a stock with a 10 / 100 price stability score.
chart momentum
average
technical score 3 — the chart is not giving you a rescue signal after the recent collapse.
earnings predictability
25 / 100
Low predictability means estimates can move around fast. If you own it, expect revisions and surprises.
source: institutional data
Institutional activity

institutions have been net buying for 3 consecutive quarters — 75 buyers vs. 60 sellers in 4q2025. total institutional holdings: 0.1B shares. net buying for 3 quarters.

source: institutional data · 2q2025-4q2025
source: institutional data
Price targets
3-5 year target range
$3 $20
$4 current price
$12 target midpoint · +178% from current · 3-5yr high: $14 (+225% · 34% ann'l return)
source: institutional data · analyst targets

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