Rocket maker Firefly Aerospace files to go public under ticker FLY

Rocket maker Firefly Aerospace filed for an initial public offering on Friday, with plans to trade under the ticker symbol "FLY" on the Nasdaq.

Firefly's planned offering comes during a resurgence period for IPOs after the market collapsed in 2022 as rising interest rates and skyrocketing inflation deterred investors from betting on riskier assets.

Some companies, including Klarna and ticket reseller StubHub, delayed public offerings earlier this year as President Donald Trump's tariff plans rattled global markets. But venture capitalists are becoming more optimistic after a strong June for deal activity that included a surge in crypto company Circle and a major Meta Platforms deal with Scale AI. Figma also filed its prospectus earlier this month.

Firefly, a Texas-based space transportation company, creates rockets, space tugs and lunar landers, and is widely lauded for its satellite launching Alpha rockets. Earlier this year, Firefly's lunar lander, known as Blue Ghost, successfully landed on the moon.

The company said its revenue grew more than sixfold at the end of March to about $55.9 million, from $8.3 million a year ago. The company also reported a net loss of about $60.1 million, up from $52.8 million a year ago. Firefly said its backlog totaled about $1.1 billion.

Lead underwriters on the deal include Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, Jefferies and Wells Fargo.