Telesat (Nasdaq and TSX: TSAT) reported its first-quarter 2026 financial results on Tuesday. With legacy Geostationary (GEO) revenues continuing to decline, the company remains heavily focused on advancing the technical development of its Lightspeed Low Earth Orbit (LEO) constellation.
Lightspeed technical progress and commercial traction
During the first quarter, Telesat invested $171 million into the Lightspeed program, reflecting $19 million in operating expenses and $152 million in capital expenditures, bringing its total investment to date to approximately $2.7 billion.
The company reported advancing through several technical milestones in early 2026. “During the quarter, we held further design reviews with our satellite and launch vehicle dispenser manufacturers and progressed our work on user terminals, network and satellite operations software development, and ground station deployments,” noted Telesat President and CEO Dan Goldberg.
The company confirmed it remains fully funded, utilizing cash on hand and existing financing facilities, to reach full global commercial service around the end of the first quarter of 2028.
On the commercial side, Telesat’s LEO backlog stood at approximately $1.1 billion at the end of the quarter. This figure does not yet include a multi-year contract signed in April with Northwestel to provide sovereign broadband connectivity to communities across Nunavut.
Defence strategy and the Arctic
Following Telesat’s recent announcement that it would incorporate Military Ka-band (Mil-Ka) spectrum into the Lightspeed network, Goldberg highlighted strong validation from the defence sector during the morning’s earnings call.
“We’re seeing a very positive response to our incorporation of the military Ka-band capacity to Telesat LightSpeed from allied government customers who are keen to leverage the benefits of an advanced, secure, and resilient LEO satellite constellation operating on frequencies these users have long used for mission-critical operations,” Goldberg told investors. “A number of allied governments are currently evaluating plans to secure Mil-Ka satellite services in LEO, adding this capability to Telesat LightSpeed is both important and timely”.
Goldberg also provided an update on the Enhanced Satellite Communications Project – Polar (ESCP-P), or ESCAPE, a multi-frequency satellite network intended to serve the Canadian Armed Forces in the Arctic. “Since that announcement, we’ve been engaged with the government to finalize the contractual arrangements for a significant portion of the ESCAPE program, which we anticipate will be concluded in the coming months,” he stated.
GEO pressures and debt refinancing
In the legacy GEO segment, Q1 revenue dropped 26% year-over-year to $86 million, driven primarily by the non-renewal of certain broadcast contracts in 2025 and reductions in fixed broadband services. Telesat reported a consolidated net loss of $151 million for the quarter, compared to a $51 million loss in Q1 2025, largely due to a non-cash goodwill impairment in the GEO segment and lower overall revenue.
Despite falling revenues, cost-cutting measures kept GEO adjusted EBITDA margins stable at 72% (excluding $7 million in debt refinancing expenses)ncing costs), reflecting disciplined cost controls.
Telesat continues to negotiate the refinancing of its GEO debt, which begins maturing in December 2026. To reduce market confusion between its parent entity and its legacy operations, the company officially changed the name of its GEO operating subsidiary from Telesat Canada to Telesat GEO Inc. in April.
Financial Metric (in millions of CAD) Q1 2026 Q1 2025 % Change Consolidated Revenue $87.1 $116.7 -25% Operating Expenses $55.3 $53.0 +4% Adjusted EBITDA $35.1 $67.4 -48% Adjusted EBITDA Margin 40.4% 57.7% -17.3 pts Net Income (Loss) ($150.9) ($51.5) +193%
Note: The increased net loss in Q1 2026 was primarily driven by lower revenue and a non-cash goodwill impairment loss within the GEO segment. Adjusted EBITDA for Q1 2026 includes $7 million in expenses related to the company’s ongoing debt refinancing process.