ASTS
AST SpaceMobile, Inc.
ASTS trails on the overall score without a compensating advantage in the available component scores.
MLAB
Mesa Laboratories, Inc.
MLAB has the edge over ASTS overall, supported by stronger valuation and lower modeled downside.
ASTS Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Weak | |
| Weak | |
| Unavailable |
ASTS's revenue is currently healthy, but its profitability and cash flow are weak. There isn't enough data to rate its balance sheet.
MLAB Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Healthy | |
| Strong | |
| Healthy |
MLAB's profitability, cash flow and balance sheet are currently healthy, and its revenue is stable.
ASTS PE Valuation
ASTS has no meaningful PE right now: it lost money over the past year.
MLAB PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | 12x | $135 | — |
| Current | 118x | $135 | — |
| Cheap | 142x | $163 | +20% |
| Fair | 301x | $346 | +156% |
| Expensive | 570x | $656 | +385% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
MLAB's PE is in its cheap range at 118x. If earnings grow as analysts expect, today's price would be 12x next year's earnings.
ASTS Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| -- | |
| Losses growing | |
| Strong growth | |
| -- | |
| Limited | |
| Low |
Analysts expect ASTS's losses to grow, with revenue growing. However, they disagree widely on these estimates.
MLAB Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Strong growth | |
| Stable | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Limited | |
| High |
Analysts expect MLAB's earnings to grow and its profitability to improve, with its revenue holding steady.
ASTS Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -$2.15 | -$0.91 |
| Q2 2026 | -$2.16 | -$0.27 |
| Q1 2026 | -$1.80 | +$0.19 |
| Q4 2025 | -$1.34 | +$0.61 |
| Q3 2025 | -$1.24 | +$0.88 |
| Q2 2025 | -$1.89 | -$0.64 |
| Q1 2025 | -$1.99 | -$1.01 |
| Q4 2022 | -$0.58 | -$0.21 |
ASTS is still losing money, but far less than before: $2.15 per share over the past year, against $5.76 at its worst in mid-2021.
MLAB Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $11.01 | +858% |
| Q3 2026 | $1.15 | +$1.46 |
| Q2 2026 | $0.85 | +$0.98 |
| Q1 2026 | $1.21 | +$1.57 |
| Q4 2025 | $0.65 | +$46.97 |
| Q3 2025 | -$0.31 | +$45.31 |
| Q2 2025 | -$0.13 | +$46.35 |
| Q1 2025 | -$0.36 | +$46.84 |
| Q4 2024 | -$46.32 | -25833% |
MLAB has the edge over ASTS on earnings quality, reporting a profit while its opponent remains loss making.
ASTS Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $42.3M | +187% |
| Q2 2026 | $31.5M | +2627% |
| Q1 2026 | $14.7M | +1952% |
| Q4 2025 | $54.3M | +2731% |
| Q3 2025 | $14.7M | +1240% |
| Q2 2025 | $1.2M | +28% |
| Q1 2025 | $718K | +44% |
| Q3 2022 | $4.2M | +70% |
ASTS's revenue has grown year over year for 11 quarters in a row: $42M last quarter, up 187% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -415% | +694 points |
| Q2 2026 | -948% | +10744 points |
| Q1 2026 | -1686% | +7083 points |
| Q4 2025 | -175% | +2446 points |
| Q3 2025 | -1109% | +4850 points |
| Q2 2025 | -11692% | -4693 points |
| Q1 2025 | -8769% | +2331 points |
| Q4 2024 | -2621% | N/A |
ASTS's operating margin was −415% last quarter, up 694 points from the same quarter a year ago.
MLAB Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $62.3M | +2.6% |
| Q2 2026 | $60.1M | +1% |
| Q1 2026 | $63.7M | +2.6% |
| Q4 2025 | $65.1M | +3.6% |
| Q3 2025 | $60.7M | +5% |
| Q2 2025 | $59.5M | +2.4% |
| Q1 2025 | $62.1M | +5.5% |
| Q4 2024 | $62.8M | +18% |
MLAB's revenue has grown year over year for 11 quarters in a row: $62M last quarter, up 2.6% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 13% | +5.7 points |
| Q2 2026 | 12% | +6.5 points |
| Q1 2026 | 4.3% | +1.9 points |
| Q4 2025 | 12% | +3.1 points |
| Q3 2025 | 7.8% | +1.7 points |
| Q2 2025 | 5.2% | -4.4 points |
| Q1 2025 | 2.4% | +463 points |
| Q4 2024 | 9.2% | +9.3 points |
MLAB has the edge over ASTS on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
ASTS Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -$464.2M | -$161.4M |
| Q2 2026 | -$694.8M | -$341.1M |
| Q1 2026 | -$309.7M | -$160.7M |
| Q4 2025 | -$330.7M | -$220.3M |
| Q3 2025 | -$302.9M | -$239.1M |
| Q2 2025 | -$353.6M | -$315.3M |
| Q1 2025 | -$149M | -$61.3M |
| Q4 2024 | -$110.5M | -$63.2M |
ASTS has burned cash in almost every quarter: −$1.8B over the past year, against −$916M the year before.
MLAB Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $3.7M | -48% |
| Q2 2026 | $14.2M | +1504% |
| Q1 2026 | $13.5M | +14% |
| Q4 2025 | $18M | +2.2% |
| Q3 2025 | $7.1M | +105% |
| Q2 2025 | $884K | -91% |
| Q1 2025 | $11.9M | -3.6% |
| Q4 2024 | $17.6M | +69% |
MLAB has the edge over ASTS on cash generation, producing positive trailing cash flow while its opponent burns cash.
ASTS Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | +0.4% | +1.1M shares |
| 1 year | +10% | +27.3M shares |
| 3 years | +235% | +211M shares |
| 5 years | +480% | +248M shares |
| Available history | +944% | +271M shares |
ASTS has 300M diluted shares, up 10% from a year ago.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q1 2025 | — |
| Q4 2024 | — |
| Q3 2024 | — |
| Q2 2024 | — |
| Q1 2024 | — |
| Q4 2023 | — |
| Q3 2023 | — |
| Q2 2023 | — |
MLAB Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | +0.1% | +3K shares |
| 1 year | +4.1% | +225K shares |
| 3 years | +6.9% | +373K shares |
| 5 years | +7.8% | +416K shares |
| Available history | +32% | +1.4M shares |
MLAB has the edge over ASTS on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
ASTS Net Leverage
ASTS's operating earnings (EBITDA) were negative over the past year, so its debt can't be measured against them.
MLAB Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 1.4x | Healthy |
| Q2 2026 | 1.3x | Healthy |
| Q1 2026 | 1.7x | Healthy |
| Q4 2025 | 0.9x | Very low |
| Q3 2025 | 1.2x | Healthy |
| Q2 2025 | 1.3x | Healthy |
| Q1 2025 | 1.1x | Healthy |
| Q3 2023 | -1.0x | Net Cash |
MLAB's net debt is about 1.4 years of its operating earnings (EBITDA), up from 1.2 years a year ago.
ASTS Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 34.1 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 11.9 | Oversold |
ASTS's weekly RSI is 34 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 12 (oversold).
MLAB Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 64.7 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 72.9 | Neutral |
MLAB's weekly RSI is 65 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 73 (neutral).
ASTS PE vs Technology Sector
ASTS has no meaningful PE right now: it lost money over the past year.
MLAB PE vs Technology Sector
| Metric | MLAB | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 118x | 28x | 322% above |
| PE % | 12 | 35 | 23 pts below |
MLAB is trading at 118x earnings, a 322% premium to the Technology sector's median of 28x.
ASTS Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $44.9 | 23% below |
| 20 week MA | $57.1 | 40% below |
| 50 week MA | $75.5 | 54% below |
| 100 week MA | $57.8 | 40% below |
| 200 week MA | $33.6 | 2.8% above |
ASTS has fallen below most of its moving averages, though it's still 2.8% above its 200-week average.
MLAB Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $129.6 | 4.4% above |
| 20 week MA | $118.6 | 14% above |
| 50 week MA | $102.2 | 32% above |
| 100 week MA | $101.9 | 33% above |
| 200 week MA | $112.8 | 20% above |
MLAB has the edge over ASTS on trend strength, trading above more of its moving averages.
ASTS Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $9.87 | $13.4 | +36% |
| 2021 | $13.4 | $8.71 | -35% |
| 2022 | $8.71 | $3.97 | -54% |
| 2023 | $3.97 | $6.03 | +52% |
| 2024 | $6.03 | $22.9 | +280% |
| 2025 | $22.9 | $72.0 | +214% |
| 2026 YTD | $72.0 | $34.5 | -52% |
ASTS's yearly returns have swung widely, from +280% in 2024 to −54% in 2022. It's down 52% so far in 2026.
MLAB Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $247.3 | $284.8 | +15% |
| 2021 | $284.8 | $328.9 | +15% |
| 2022 | $328.9 | $162.8 | -50% |
| 2023 | $162.8 | $104.8 | -36% |
| 2024 | $104.8 | $133.1 | +27% |
| 2025 | $133.1 | $80.5 | -40% |
| 2026 YTD | $80.5 | $135.2 | +68% |
MLAB has the edge over ASTS on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.