Shares in Filtronic (LON:FTC) flew higher after the specialist electronics maker revealed it had received a second large order from SpaceX (NASDAQ:SPCX). CEO Nat Edington called the order ‘another significant milestone, providing extended order visibility and coverage over the next couple of years’.
Follow-on order
AIM-listed Filtronic specialises in advanced RF (radio frequency) chips for the space, aerospace, defence and telecoms infrastructure markets. The latest order, valued at $68.1 million, is for its Cerus E-band gallium nitride (GaN) Solid State Power Amplifier units.
This order follows the initial $62.5m SpaceX contract announced in August 2025, also for Filtronic’s proprietary GaN E-band technology. The company expects to fulfill the order during FY28, confirming the board’s expectations and providing greater visibility over future revenue.
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CEO Nat Edington commented: ‘This order provides further evidence of the growing importance of GaN technology in high-frequency communications and reinforces Filtronic’s position at the leading edge of this transition.’
Getting a follow-on order from SpaceX proves the commercial value of Filtronic’s proprietary technology and strengthens the firms’ strategic ties. GaN enables higher output power, improved efficiency and enhanced thermal performance compared with traditional gallium arsenide (GaAs) solutions, providing major performance advantages for demanding applications including low Earth orbit satellite communications.
Analysts at Cavendish estimate today’s order means 90% of forecast FY28 revenue is now covered by firm orders. Looking further out, if data centres are built in space, as as Rocket Lab (NASDAQ:RKLB) CEO Peter Beck maintains, RF chips will be integral. As the per-kilo cost of launching payloads continues to fall, Beck believes this could be within two or three years.
Therefore, strengthening its commercial relationship with SpaceX at this early stage is hugely beneficial for Filtronic. However, longer-term it will need a wider customer base to adopt its GaN technology and not rely on one company.
