Eutelsat has secured a place aboard Finnair’s long-haul cabin connectivity, but the more pressing question for shareholders is whether the satellite operator can accelerate its core business fast enough to justify the growth story baked into its order book.
The Paris-listed group said on 2 November that its OneWeb low-Earth-orbit constellation will support the in-flight internet service Finnair has selected from SES, which draws on multiple orbits. Eighteen Embraer E2 jets are covered by the arrangement, with the first connected aircraft expected to enter service in 2027. OneWeb’s role is a supporting one inside a partner’s offering rather than a standalone contract — a distinction that matters when weighing how much revenue the deal can eventually carry.
Investors greeted the news modestly. Eutelsat shares added 1.2% on Friday to close at EUR 1.82, a move that followed the announcement.
A backlog that stretches years into the future
The Finnair tie-up lands as Eutelsat’s valuation increasingly rests on converting a hefty pipeline of contracted work into actual sales. The IRIS² programme has lifted the company’s backlog by EUR 8.9 billion to EUR 12.1 billion, according to Reuters, with the bulk of those expected revenues due to be recognised between 2027 and 2031. That gives the long-term growth argument a concrete size, though it also demands patience from anyone buying the stock today.
Near-term trading has been less encouraging. Operating revenue for the first quarter of fiscal 2026–27 came in at EUR 278.3 million, against an analyst consensus of EUR 291 million compiled by the company and cited by Reuters. On a comparable basis, sales fell 2.1%. A separate media report put first-quarter revenue at EUR 286 million, down 0.9% like-for-like — the figures reflect differing bases of presentation, but both point the same way: the top line is contracting.
Deutsche Bank weighed in on 30 October, saying the weak start to the year means Eutelsat must pick up speed over the coming months to hit its guidance. That verdict hands investors a clear yardstick — upcoming results need to show sequential improvement rather than more of the same.
Management, for its part, reaffirmed its financial targets for both 2026–27 and 2028–29 on 29 October, a signal that the company still expects to bridge the gap between current trading and its longer-range ambitions.
Low-orbit services are the bright spot
Where growth is unmistakable is in the low-Earth-orbit business. LEO revenue climbed 30.1% to EUR 70.9 million in the first quarter, a rare expansionary note in an otherwise soft set of numbers. If that momentum holds, it could increasingly offset weakness elsewhere in the group.
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Beyond aviation, Eutelsat has been building out applications for OneWeb. On 20 October it announced an expanded capacity agreement with EuroSkyPark covering critical-infrastructure communications for Amprion, the German grid operator. Deals of that kind broaden the revenue base if they translate into recurring income, and alongside IRIS² they could reduce the group’s reliance on any single business line.
Video remains the drag
The counterweight to all this optimism is the broadcast segment. Eutelsat reported a 17.8% decline in video revenue to EUR 110.0 million in the same quarter. Should that slide persist, other activities will have to work considerably harder to lift the group’s overall trajectory.
There was at least one positive development in the division. On 26 October the company extended a multi-year agreement with Qatar Media Corporation to distribute channels across the Middle East and North Africa via the EUTELSAT 7 West A satellite. Such renewals would matter more if they showed up in a stabilising revenue line.
The timing mismatch is the crux of the investment case: pain in the legacy business is hitting the P&L now, while the substantial IRIS² revenues sit years away. A deepening video decline would make the confirmed plan harder to deliver, however well LEO performs.
What to watch before the November meeting
Eutelsat published the preparatory documents for its annual general meeting on 30 October; shareholders will gather on 26 November 2026, giving them their next formal checkpoint. Until then, the company’s ability to demonstrate a convincing path from today’s revenue profile to the project-driven business it has promised will be the measure that counts.
The long-term thesis holds together only if the current operations steady at the same time. Absent that improvement, the distant IRIS² payoff will ask more patience — and more risk appetite — than many investors may care to offer.
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