European satellite operator Eutelsat has released its full-year 2025-26 financial results, ending 30 June 2026.

Total revenues were €1.23 billion ($1.43bn), up 3 percent like-for-like, with 1.8 percent being from Eutelsat’s four operating verticals. The company’s LEO revenues via OneWeb continued to impress, amounting to $342.6 million, a 69.5 percent increase, now resembling 25 percent of total revenue, up from 15 percent last year.

“Our low Earth orbit business continued its strong momentum, demonstrating the growing demand for secure, resilient and low-latency connectivity solutions across government and enterprise markets,” Jean-François Fallacher, chief executive officer of Eutelsat, said in a statement. “Over the past year … we secured major commercial wins, including our first call-off contract under the French Armed Forces’ NEXUS framework agreement, further validating the strategic value of our multi-orbit capabilities for sovereign customers.

“Looking ahead, we expect continued strong growth in our LEO business to offset the structural decline in GEO, supporting slight revenue growth and stable profitability in FY 2026-27. With the forthcoming outcome of the IRIS² First Rendez-Vous expected to confirm Eutelsat’s leadership of the LEO segment, we are uniquely positioned as Europe’s leading space connectivity operator, playing a central role in delivering the sovereign communications infrastructure that Europe increasingly requires.”

Eutelsat confirmed expectations that it would receive $504m in compensation for being switched out of certain United States radio spectrum frequencies in the upper C-band, including the costs of converting equipment, as part of a shakeup by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to reorganize the band.

In investor communications, Eutelsat said it expected revenue to continue to increase in LEO slightly next year, offsetting an expected decline in legacy video operations.

In March, Eutelsat completed its refinancing plan, concluding its $5.7bn equity and debt financing strategy by closing $1.7bn senior notes assisted by a loan from the French export credit agency. The fund will support the 440 replacement OneWeb satellites Eutelsat ordered in light of satcom demand rising in Europe.

Eutelsat completed its all-share combination with low-Earth orbit (LEO) operator OneWeb in September 2023, creating a merged entity that possessed a multi-orbit fleet of satellites with a long history of service provision.

The IRIS angle

On August 10, Hispasat revealed it had been chosen to lead the ground segment of the IRIS² program (Infrastructure for Resilience, Interconnectivity, and Security by Satellite). including antennas, control systems, and links to ground communications networks following talks between the European Commission, the European Space Agency (ESA), and SpaceRISE, a consortium formed of Eutelsat, Hispasat, and SES.

Eutelsat heralded IRIS²‘s First Rendez-Vous as a milestone marking “the transition from programme definition to execution,” stating that industrial efforts on the slow-moving multilateral project will now accelerate across Europe, drawing together suppliers Airbus Defence and Space, Thales Alenia Space, and Aerospacelab as manufacturers.

Citing the increased scope of the IRIS² project, Eutelsat declared intentions to invest $2.57bn in the shared infrastructure of the continental constellation and a further $1.34bn in commercial infrastructure, including Ku-Band payload and commercial ground antennas. The funds are to be phased across the period of 2027 to 2034. The company estimated its revenues downstream of that capacity would amount to more than $11.5bn over the period of 2032 to 2040.

“The additional public and private investment agreed today strengthens the program with greater capacity, resilience and flexibility to meet Europe’s future connectivity and security needs,” Fallacher said in a separate statement. “Eutelsat is proud to lead the deployment and operation of the IRIS² LEO constellation, building on the proven operational experience of OneWeb to ensure a seamless transition for our customers while reinforcing Europe’s technological leadership and strategic autonomy for decades to come.”