KVH Industries (KVHI) Q3 2026 Earnings Call: Service Revenue Rises 30%, Guidance Tightened

Key Takeaways

• KVH Industries reported Q3 2026 revenue of $38.4 million, up 35% year over year and 14% sequentially.
• Service revenue increased 30% year over year to $33.0 million, with LEO airtime accounting for 58% of service revenue.
• Adjusted EBITDA rose to $3.9 million, compared with $3.0 million in Q2 2026 and $1.4 million a year earlier.
• Active subscribing vessels reached approximately 9,300, up 6% from about 8,800 in the prior quarter. KVH also shipped more than 4,000 connectivity terminals.
• KVH narrowed its full-year 2026 outlook and raised the low end of both ranges. It now expects revenue of $137 million to $143 million and adjusted EBITDA of $13 million to $15 million.
• Starlink maritime price increases will lead KVH to reprice its Starlink plans from December 1. Management expects higher service revenue and a lower service gross margin percentage, but no material change in gross profit.

Key Financial Data

Product gross profit included a $2.3 million non-cash write-down of TV receive-only inventory due to weaker demand and pricing. The charge was excluded from adjusted EBITDA.

Business and Operating Performance

KVH’s recurring-revenue growth was led by LEO services as maritime fleets continued adopting newer satellite connectivity. The company shipped more than 4,000 terminals, including over 1,600 Starlink high-performance terminals, up from approximately 1,000 in the prior quarter. KVH also shipped OneWeb, VSAT, Starlink Mini and Starlink standard terminals.

The company ended Q3 with approximately 9,300 active subscribing vessels. Its revised vessel metric excludes suspended vessels and plans with zero or very low monthly recurring fees, including around 1,000 small fishing vessels in one regional market. Management said those excluded vessels are not material to recurring revenue, gross profit or EBITDA.

Combox shipments remained at roughly 200 to 250 units per quarter, consistent with the preceding six or seven quarters. Initial customers also began subscribing to KVH’s managed IT service. In September, the company added enhanced cybersecurity and IT tools to Combox Edge Pro and launched Link Live, a live television streaming service for vessel crews.

Managed IT and content services remain a small portion of revenue but are growing rapidly. Management said their margins are almost double those of airtime services, providing a modest uplift to the overall service margin.

KVH’s land-based business expanded to more than 1,800 supported sites. Starlink Mini terminals account for most land deployments because these sites are stationary and do not require high-performance hardware.

Management Guidance

KVH now expects full-year 2026 revenue of $137 million to $143 million, raising the low end of its previous range. At the midpoint, management said this would represent approximately 26% year-over-year growth, including a modest December contribution from Starlink repricing.

Full-year adjusted EBITDA is projected at $13 million to $15 million. The midpoint implies approximately 73% year-over-year growth, according to management.

For 2027, the company expects service gross profit to benefit from a step-down in its legacy GEO network commitment, with a material reduction in GEO bandwidth costs anticipated next year.

Risks and Watchpoints

• Starlink pricing: Higher Starlink data costs will pressure service gross margin after KVH reprices its plans on December 1. Management indicated the impact could be a few hundred basis points but said modeling was still underway.
• Customer and plan mix: The addition of large, high-usage customers on lower-margin plans reduced Q3 service gross margin to 34%.
• Seasonality: Management expects active vessel counts to show some seasonal variation, particularly in leisure and fishing markets.
• Middle East conditions: KVH has seen some softness in the Middle East, particularly Dubai, although management said the region is a small part of its market and has not had a material business impact.
• Legacy product demand: Reduced demand and pricing for TV receive-only equipment resulted in a $2.3 million inventory write-down.

Analyst Q&A Highlights

Management said the Starlink price increase remains unlikely to change the overall trajectory of KVH’s Starlink business because the service continues to provide substantial data capacity at relatively low cost. Lower OneWeb pricing could make that service more attractive to some customers, but KVH has not yet seen a clear negative reaction to the announced changes.

KVH does not plan significant forward purchases for managed IT or content services. Its commitments related to onboard bandwidth management are relatively small, while content is purchased through monthly licensing fees. The company’s principal contractual commitments continue to relate to satellite bandwidth.

On capital allocation, KVH ended the quarter with $50.7 million in cash and no debt after completing its $15 million share repurchase program. The company currently has no repurchase authorization. Management identified LEO customer growth, expansion of managed IT and content services, and selective recurring-revenue acquisitions as its priorities.

Full Earnings Call Transcript

Complete Earnings Call Transcript

Management Remarks

Operator

At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. After the speaker's presentation, there will be a question and answer session. To ask a question during the session, you will need to press star one one on your telephone. You will then hear an automated message advising your hand is raised. To withdraw your question, please star 1 1 again. Please be advised that today's conference is being recorded. I would now like to hand the conference over to your first speaker today, Anthony Pike, Chief Financial Officer.

Please go ahead.

Unknown Speaker

Thank you, Operator. Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us today for KVH Industries' third quarter results. are included in the earnings release we published earlier this morning. Joining me on the call is the company's Chief Executive Officer Brent Bruin. A copy of the earnings release was filed with the SEC under Form 8K this morning, and a copy of the release, along with a recording of today's call, will be available on our website at ir.kvh.com. This conference call contains certain forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in these statements. Words such as expect, may, intend, anticipate, will, and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements, which which include projections, plans, initiatives and other future events. We undertake no obligation to update these statements and you should review the cautionary statements under the heading risk factors in our most recently filed form 10K and subsequent quarterly reports on form 10Q. We will also discuss adjusted EBITDA, a non-GAAP financial measure, and our press release defines this term and reconciles it to GAAP net income or loss.

Brent?.

Brent Bruun

Good morning everyone and thank you for joining us. Our third quarter results reflect the work we have done to reshape KVH around real connectivity and managed services. With much of the heavy lifting done, we are pleased to see the steady growth in our recurring revenue. Today, we give customers a choice of leading satellite networks so they can use the connectivity that best fits each of their vessels. And we are actively working to expand that choice. Beyond connectivity, we provide services our customers rely on to operate their vessels. Across the maritime industry, fleets are shifting to LEO connectivity, and their expectations of connectivity providers are changing alongside this transition.

Rather than simply purchasing bandwidth, they want greater control over how connectivity is managed across their fleets, protection from growing cyber threats, and to keep crew connected at sea. KVH is built to deliver exactly that, with a global installation network and a dedicated support team serving fleets wherever they operate. That came through clearly in the third quarter. Service revenue grew 30% from a year ago, led by our LEO services as more fleets turned to KVH for a combination of choice, service, and support. And we're seeing that momentum across all regions and vessel types. Our subscriber base continues to grow as well. Starting this quarter, we are reporting active subscribing vessels so that our vessel count better reflects the vessels contributing to our recurring revenue.

We now exclude vessels in suspension and vessels on plans with zero. very low monthly recurring fees, which today consists primarily of approximately 1,000 small fishing vessels in a single regional market. These vessels are not material to our recurring revenue, gross profit, or EBITDA. On this basis, we ended the quarter with approximately 9,300 active vessels, up 6% from approximately 8,800 last quarter. follows an exceptionally strong second quarter and is consistent with the seasonal trends we typically see in the third quarter. As our customer base grows, we are expanding what we provide to each customer. This quarter, our first customers began subscribing to our managed IT service. Those first customers are part of a growing pipeline of fleets that want a single partner for both connectivity and onboard IT management. In September, we strengthened that offering by adding enhanced cybersecurity and IT tools to Combox Edge Pro.

As cybersecurity requirements continue to increase, more fleets are looking for solutions that help them protect their operations. We see the growing demand for managed IT and cybersecurity services as an opportunity to deepen our customer relationships and expand the services we provide. We are also investing in crew welfare. Link Live, which we launched in September, adds live TV streaming to our crew content service. fleet operators keeping crew connected at sea and providing access to news, sports, and other content during long voyages has become a priority, creating an opportunity to broaden the adoption of our crew content offerings and build closer relationships with fleet operators. Together, managed IT and content strengthens our relationships with customers, makes the services we provide harder to replace, and helps us grow recurring revenue from the fleets we already serve. Beyond maritime, our land-based business continues to perform well. We now support more than 1,800 sites, applying the same managed connectivity capabilities we have built at sea.

Turning to Starlink pricing, Starlink has announced price increases across its maritime services. affecting providers throughout the industry. Accordingly, we will be facing higher Starlink data costs, and as a result, we'll be repricing our Starlink plan from December 1st. We expect these changes to increase service revenue and reduce service gross margin as a percentage, but we do not expect a material change in gross profit. Looking ahead, our priority is to keep growing our LEO customer base and the services we provide to each customer. building a recurring revenue base that is both larger and more durable. With that, I'll turn it over to Anthony to walk through the financials and our updated outlook.

Unknown Speaker

Thank you, Bryn. Total revenue for the third quarter was $38.4 million, up 35% from a year ago and 14% from the second quarter. Service revenue was $33 million, up 30% year over year and 11% sequentially, with Leo Airtime now representing 58% of service revenue. Service gross profit was $11.1 million, up 28% from a year ago and 5% from the second quarter. Service gross margin was 34% compared with 36% in the second quarter, reflecting plan mix as several large high usage customers came on to lower margin plans. Airtime depreciation, a non-cash charge included in service gross profit, represented 6% of service revenue this quarter, compared with 7% in the second quarter. Moving into 2027, service gross profit should benefit from the step down in our legacy geo-network commitment, with a material reduction in geo-bandwidth costs expected next year. Turning to shipments, we shipped over 4,000 connectivity terminals in the quarter across a range of terminal types.

This included more than 1,600 Starlink high-performance terminals, which serve the core of our commercial maritime business. We also continue to ship OneWeb and VSAT terminals alongside Starlink Mini and standard terminals, reflecting the breadth of our connectivity portfolio. Those shipments drove product revenue of $5.5 million, up 79% year over year. Product gross profit included a 2.3 million non-cash write-down of our TV receive-only inventory, reflecting reduced demand and pricing, and which is excluded from adjusted EBITDA. Operating expenses were $9.7 million in the third quarter, compared with $10.4 million in the second quarter. Adjusted EBITDA for the third quarter was $3.9 million compared to $3 million in the second quarter. and $1.4 million a year ago. Capital expenditures for the quarter were $1.5 million, including $0.2 million of non-cash expenditure on VSAT antennas using our Agile rental program that were purchased in prior periods.

Turning to capital allocation, we ended the quarter with $50.7 million in cash and no debt. Cash declined approximately $7 million during the quarter, primarily as a result of $10.7 million of share repurchases, which completed our $15 million programme. We do not currently have a repurchase authorization in place. Our priorities are growing our Leo customer base, expanding the managed IT content and other services that keep those customers with KVH, and pursuing selective acquisitions that add recurring revenue. board continuously evaluates the best use of our cash within that framework. Finally our outlook. With three quarters of the year complete, we are narrowing our full year 2026 guidance and raising the low end of both ranges. We now expect revenue of 137 to 143 million and adjusted EBITDA of 13 to 15 million. At the midpoint, that represents year-on-year total revenue growth of approximately 26%, including a modest lift from Starling repricing in December. and adjusted EBITDA growth of roughly 73% as the operating leverage in our business comes through.

This concludes our prepared remarks and I will now turn the call over to the operator to open the line for the Q&A portion of this morning's call. Operator?.

Operator

Thank you. At this time, we will conduct the question and answer session. As a reminder, to ask a question, you will need to press star 1 1 on your telephone and wait for your name to be announced. To withdraw your question, please press star 1 1 again. Our first question comes from the line of Chris Quilty of Quilty Space. Your line is now open.

Question-and-Answer Session

Christopher Quilty

Hi, gentlemen, can you hear me okay? I can hear you fine, Chris, good morning. Oh, good, good morning. Congrats on the results here. A question for you, can you give us an update on what you saw in terms of terminal shift both for the Leo product and Combox, and any changes you're seeing in the momentum there with either product line?.

Brent Bruun

Yes, I'll defer to Anthony to talk about the specific numbers, but we're not seeing any shift in the product line necessarily.

Unknown Speaker

Yes, sure. In Combox, the Combox shipments were very consistent with prior quarter, so 200, 250 a quarter we've been running at for probably six or seven quarters now. And then on the Starlink side, I think the most important number is really the number I discussed in my script, which was, I think, over 70%. 1600 of the high performance terminals, which we're very pleased with. That's quite an increase from the prior quarter where we did around 1000. I mean, Brent, maybe you can talk to the mini and the standard Starlink antennas. We tend to see used more on the leisure market. And really, it's the high-performance antennas we think are most relevant.

Brent Bruun

Yes, they're the most relevant. The minis are used in the lower-end, more coastal type of maritime services, as well as our land-based services. So, as we talked about, we're growing our land-based sites throughout the U.S. and it's gaining good momentum. The standard kind of fits in between to some degree, but it doesn't have as much adoption as the high-performance or the mini.

Christopher Quilty

Great. And maybe does that apply equally to the land market, or do you see a different mix there?.

Brent Bruun

The land is almost entirely mini, the smaller terminals. Because, you know, they're not in motion. They don't need really that high performance. They're just... The speed is still very high, so it works very well. And that's why we're seeing so many minis going out the door.

Christopher Quilty

Great. And what are you seeing in terms of customer reaction from the Starlink price increase? Does that make customers more or less willing to look at a VSAT or a OneWeb solution? Or have you seen any, you know, slowdown or acceleration in terminal orders associated with that?.

Brent Bruun

It's still early days, so that's probably going to be a much better question for next quarter since we haven't officially introduced the price increase, although we have informed the channel. So we don't have any clear indication of negative feedback, but I would anticipate that it will continue. It's still, when you go back five years, three years, two years even, it's still incredibly inexpensive even with a price increase coming for the amount of data that you're receiving. If OneWeb has prices that are a bit lower, it might make that service a bit more attractive, but I wouldn't see it really impacting the overall trajectory of what we're seeing in our Starlink business.

Christopher Quilty

Got you. And just a macro question for you, Brent, you know, given a lot of the impact of the Persian Gulf on the broader global maritime shipping, has that had any impact on the business, either slowing orders or accelerating the need for connectivity?.

Brent Bruun

Well, I'll answer the second part first. We haven't seen a slowdown for the need of connectivity. But we have seen a bit of softness in the Middle East, in particular out of Dubai, but it's a small part of our overall market as it is, so it doesn't have any real material impact on our business.

Christopher Quilty

Got you. A question for Anthony. With the way that you're now restating the active vessels, can we get the sort of historic numbers maybe offline just for comparison and trends? And with that shift to removing ships that are out active, does that cause a little bit more seasonality, you know, around the first quarter or so that we should expect for the.

Unknown Speaker

total vessel count? Yes, I mean a couple of points there. Suspensions as a proportion of our total vessel count has been pretty static over the last sort of two years, you know, somewhere between 10 and 13%, you know, so that should help you with your first question. But yes, as we're disclosing just active, you are going to see some seasonality, you know, obviously underlying growth in the active vessel count, also some seasonality. And as you say, that's primarily based around the leisure market, but also around our fishing customers as well. We will see a bit of a fourth quarter, which is typical. I know with taking suspensions in the fourth quarter, which is typically.

Christopher Quilty

Okay. With the shift to providing, well, let me ask first, can you provide us with the airtime margins? And I ask that because I know you're now giving service margins, but you've got a significant growing non-airtime with, you know, the streaming service and Combox and the managed services, which I assume those all fall into what used to be the other category. Is that true? Or do they all fold right into the airtime services?.

Unknown Speaker

That is correct, but frankly, Chris, because our airtime was such a large proportion, then businesses, as you discussed, the content and the managed IT are still sort of growing and are still, as a portion of the overall revenue, relatively small, although they're growing very, very fast. The airtime margins and the service margins as a whole, there's not a great deal of difference at all between them. I think it's just simplification really moving forward to discuss service margins as opposed to airtime.

Christopher Quilty

Understand, and I think it's still less than 10% of revenues, but is there a margin differential between the airtime and the other services? Yes.

Unknown Speaker

Yes, the other services margins, particularly the managed IT services and the content services margins are much higher. almost double what we have in the airtime. So that drags from airtime to service margin, it drags the service margin up ever so slightly, but as you say, it's still a 5% or so of revenue. So it's a percentage.

Christopher Quilty

percentage point or two. Got it. And I'll clarify you said that the Starlink price increase will result in revenues up, but gross margins down. I'm assuming that's like 100 to 200 bps, not 500 to 1,000 bps impact on gross margin.

Brent Bruun

Well, I sure hope it's not 1,000. We're still working through the modeling, but I'd say that 1,000 would be quite a bit. but you could see a couple hundred, you know, a few hundred. And we can't really disclose that exact number yet, but, you know, we'll talk about it during our fourth quarter call.

Christopher Quilty

Got you. And now that the managed services are live, can you walk us through, because you're now presumably making forward content purchases or capacity purchases for, you know, things other than the LEO broadband, whether it's, you know, cellular or other services. How are you seeking to manage that, or are you making any forward purchases? Yes.

Brent Bruun

We're not making any significant forward purchases. We work with a company by the name of Cognitive for onboard bandwidth management and we have some obligations to them which are relatively small. As far as the content, we just pay a monthly licensing fee. Beyond that, any type of commitments we have revolve around satellite bandwidth. Anthony, do you have anything to add to that?.

Christopher Quilty

No, I think that covers it. Got you. Well, looking good, guys. Congrats on, I think this was the biggest sequential increase I've seen in terms of service revenue. And presumably we'll see more in the fourth quarter, at least with the price increase and with the shipments here. Yes. congrats on a nice quarter. Okay. Thanks, Chris.

Operator

I am showing no further questions at this time. Thank you for your participation in today's conference. This does conclude the program. You may now disconnect.

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