Leaders.com
  • Business
  • Leadership
  • Wealth
  • Master Classes
  • Business
    • Entrepreneurs
    • Executives
    • Marketing and Sales
    • Social Media
    • Innovation
    • Women in Business
  • Leadership
    • Personal Growth
    • Company Culture
    • Public Speaking
    • Productivity
    • Hiring
    • Social Issues
    • Leaders
  • Wealth
    • Investing
    • Cryptocurrency
    • Retirement
    • Venture Capital
    • Loans and Borrowing
    • Taxes
    • Markets
    • Real Estate
  • Master Classes
Productivity

Virgin Galactic is celebrating its first successful commercial flight (PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images)

By Tyler Hummel Leaders Staff

Tyler Hummel

Tyler Hummel

Tyler Hummel is a news writer for Leaders Media. He was the Fall 2021 College Fix Fellow and Health Care...

Full bio


Learn about our editorial policy

Jul 3, 2023

As Virgin Galactic Soars, Its Stock Does Not 

Late Thursday morning, Virgin Galactic celebrated the touchdown of the first successful commercial flight of its space plane—an initial success that left Wall Street lukewarm about the future of the company.  

Key Details

  • VSS Unity successfully completed its mission of flying 52.9 miles above the surface of the earth, attaining speeds of Mach 2.88. 
  • The crew included Italian Air Force Colonel Walter Villadei, Lieutenant Colonel Angelo Landolfi, and National Research Council of Italy engineer Pantaleone Carlucci, as well as 13 research payloads. 
  • The plane glided back down for a safe landing after a 75-minute flight at Spaceport America in New Mexico. 
  • VSS Unity is scheduled for a second mission in August, beginning to provide service to its backlog of 800 clients who have paid between $250,000 and $450,000 for a ticket. 
  • Virgin Galactic’s stock dropped as investors realized the company was still years away from scaling up and being profitable. 

Why It’s Important 

The successful flight marked the culmination of 19 years of research and development for Sir Richard Branson’s experiment in commercial space tourism. And it could not have come soon enough, with the company reeling from the recent disintegration of its sister company Virgin Orbital. Virgin Galactic has suffered a 14.2% stock hit since Thursday morning. 

The company was founded in 2004 as a space-tourism company and had planned to begin launching customers in the early 2010s, but was hit by several delays. The crash of the VSS Enterprise in California’s Mojave Desert in 2014 destroyed the program’s primary space plane and set the program back years until the unveiling of VSS Unity in 2016. With five successful flight tests between 2018 and 2023, it finally entered commercial service yesterday. 

Virgin Galactic has consistently lost money since its founding, reporting its highest losses in the first quarter of this year at $159 million. The company has a significant hurdle to overcome, facing limited demand, limited revenue, increasing debt, and less than two years of liquid capital to dig its way out of its current situation, SeekingAlpha alleges.

Notable Quote 

“The Virgin fleet, which consists of only one spacecraft currently, is capable of only one flight per month, and that flight rate is not high enough to allow the firm to become free cash flow positive. Unfortunately, it will likely not happen until the 2027 timeframe, when the company’s next-generation Delta-class space fleet is available in numbers to generate large numbers of annual space flights. I think today reflects the stock market’s realization that the path to positive cash flow will be a multi-year endeavor,” Alembic Global Advisors Director Pete Skibitski tells Fox Business.

Home / News / As Virgin Galactic Soars, Its Stock Does Not 
Share
FacebookTweetEmailLinkedIn

Related Stories

Wall Street Makes $100 Billion Bet on Weight Loss Pills

by PJ Howland Leaders Staff
Investing

Oct 25, 2023

Ozempic

Investor optimism around a potential blockbuster obesity drug by Structure Therapeutics led to soaring share prices across the weight-loss pharma sector.

Key Details

  • Structure Therapeutics' stock jumped 35% after reporting positive results from early clinical trials of a once-daily weight-loss pill.
  • The experimental drug helped participants lose about 5% of their body weight over one month without side effects, although there are concerns with Ozempic.
  • Analysts predict the global anti-obesity medication market could reach sales of $100 billion by 2030, up from $71 billion currently.
  • With promising growth prospects, investors are betting on companies developing new weight loss drugs like Structure, Eli Lilly, Novo Nordisk, and Pfizer.

Go deeper

FacebookTweetEmailLinkedIn

Parent’s Wealth Tip The Scales In SAT Scores and College Admissions

by PJ Howland Leaders Staff
Wealth

Oct 25, 2023

Parent's wealth tips the scales for SAT numbers

New data shows a strong correlation between family income and SAT scores, indicating the exam may act as a “wealth test” that advantages higher-income students.

Key Details

  • Students from wealthier families tend to score higher on the SAT than lower-income peers due to advantages like well-funded schools, tutors, and extracurricular activities.
  • The pandemic has exacerbated SAT score disparities, with average scores dropping the most among disadvantaged groups.
  • Addressing the gap requires increased funding for lower-income school districts and expanding access to test prep resources.
  • Children from the top 1% of families are twice as likely to attend an Ivy-Plus college (Ivy League, Stanford, MIT, Duke, and Chicago) compared to middle-class families with similar SAT/ACT scores.

Go deeper

FacebookTweetEmailLinkedIn

Seattle Takes The Crown For Advanced Tech Talent

by PJ Howland Leaders Staff
Tech

Oct 24, 2023

Seattle tech talent

Seattle has emerged as the metro area with the most advanced tech talent, beating out tech hubs like San Francisco and Silicon Valley.

Key Details

  • According to a new ranking by the Burning Glass Institute, Seattle has the highest proportion of advanced tech workers compared to other cities with similarly sized tech workforces.
  • The ranking evaluated 60 million high-paying, in-demand tech job postings and histories to identify cities with cutting-edge roles like AI and cybersecurity rather than legacy tech positions.
  • With tech giants Amazon and Microsoft headquartered in Seattle, the city edged out the San Francisco Bay Area, Boston, Austin, and Raleigh on the list.
  • The report found that demand for software developers and IT support specialists has declined over the past five years as companies seek more specialized tech talent.

Go deeper

FacebookTweetEmailLinkedIn
car loans, used cars
Loans and Borrowing

Oct 23, 2023

More Americans Can’t Keep Up With Car Payments

by Colin Baker Leaders Staff
Chevron Gas Deal
Markets

Oct 23, 2023

Chevron Makes $53 Billion Deal Amid Surging Gas Prices

by PJ Howland Leaders Staff
nike logo
Company Culture

Oct 20, 2023

Nike to Require More In-Office Days From Employees

by Colin Baker Leaders Staff

Recent Articles

Hiring

Nov 1, 2023

Learn the Winning Answers to the Most Common Phone Interview Questions

Come to your next phone interview fully prepared

Personal Growth

Oct 30, 2023

85 Quotes on Self-Love to Boost Your Self-Esteem

Don’t fall into the trap of harsh self-criticism

Company Culture

Oct 27, 2023

What is a Sabbatical? Your Ticket to Restful Growth and Meaning

Sabbaticals can benefits both employees and businesses

  • Business
  • Leadership
  • Wealth
Join the Leaders Community

Get exclusive tools and resources you need to grow as a leader and scale a purpose-driven business.

Subscribing indicates your consent to our Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy

Leaders.com
  • Privacy Policy
  • About
  • Careers
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms
  • Disclosures
  • Editorial Policy
  • Member Login

© 2025 Leaders.com - All rights reserved.

Search Leaders.com