ASTS
AST SpaceMobile, Inc.
ASTS trails on the overall score without a compensating advantage in the available component scores.
MQ
Marqeta, Inc.
MQ has the edge over ASTS overall, supported by lower modeled downside and stronger valuation.
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.
MQ Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Healthy | |
| Healthy | |
| Strong |
MQ's revenue, profitability, cash flow and balance sheet are all currently healthy.
ASTS PE Valuation
ASTS has no meaningful PE right now: it lost money over the past year.
MQ PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Current | 15x | $18.03 | — |
| Forward | 39x | $18.03 | — |
| Cheap | 57x | $71.08 | +294% |
| Fair | 153x | $190 | +953% |
| Expensive | 383x | $474 | +2531% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
MQ's PE is in its cheap range at 15x. On analysts' estimates for next year's earnings, today's price would be 39x.
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.
MQ Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly deteriorating | |
| Strong growth | |
| Growth | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Limited | |
| Low |
Analysts expect earnings and revenue growth for MQ, with profitability improving. However, they disagree widely on these estimates.
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.
MQ Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $0.47 | -62% |
| Q3 2026 | $1.24 | +$1.56 |
| Q2 2026 | $0.11 | +$0.63 |
| Q1 2026 | $0.04 | -90% |
| Q4 2025 | -$0.12 | -160% |
| Q3 2025 | -$0.32 | -500% |
| Q2 2025 | -$0.52 | -$0.44 |
| Q1 2025 | $0.40 | +$1.84 |
| Q4 2024 | $0.20 | +$1.88 |
MQ 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.
MQ Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $176.2M | +7.9% |
| Q2 2026 | $176M | +17% |
| Q1 2026 | $165.8M | +19% |
| Q4 2025 | $172.1M | +27% |
| Q3 2025 | $163.3M | +28% |
| Q2 2025 | $150.4M | +20% |
| Q1 2025 | $139.1M | +18% |
| Q4 2024 | $135.8M | +14% |
MQ's revenue has grown year over year for nine quarters in a row: $176M last quarter, up 7.9% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 3.6% | +9.9 points |
| Q2 2026 | 2.1% | +8.2 points |
| Q1 2026 | 1.3% | +15 points |
| Q4 2025 | -4.8% | +23 points |
| Q3 2025 | -6.3% | +27 points |
| Q2 2025 | -6.1% | -90 points |
| Q1 2025 | -13% | +29 points |
| Q4 2024 | -28% | +20 points |
MQ 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.
MQ Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $26M | -70% |
| Q2 2026 | $63M | +416% |
| Q1 2026 | -$4.6M | -153% |
| Q4 2025 | $53.5M | +116% |
| Q3 2025 | $86.4M | +1118% |
| Q2 2025 | $12.2M | -51% |
| Q1 2025 | $8.7M | +$9.5M |
| Q4 2024 | $24.7M | +50% |
MQ 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 | — |
MQ Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -1% | -1M shares |
| 1 year | -5.7% | -6.4M shares |
| 3 years | -20% | -26.6M shares |
| 5 years | +80% | +47.1M shares |
| Available history | -12% | -15.1M shares |
MQ has the edge over ASTS on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $11.2M |
| Q2 2026 | $54.7M |
| Q1 2026 | $39.2M |
| Q4 2025 | $96.6M |
| Q3 2025 | $19.6M |
| Q2 2025 | $163.9M |
| Q1 2025 | $111.3M |
| Q4 2024 | $16.7M |
MQ spent $202M buying back its own shares over the past year, down 35% from the year before.
ASTS Net Leverage
ASTS's operating earnings (EBITDA) were negative over the past year, so its debt can't be measured against them.
MQ Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -17.2x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2026 | -33.3x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2026 | -138.1x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2025 | -31.8x | Net Cash |
MQ has more cash than debt.
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).
MQ Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 54.5 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 71.8 | Neutral |
MQ's weekly RSI is 54 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 72 (neutral).
ASTS PE vs Technology Sector
ASTS has no meaningful PE right now: it lost money over the past year.
MQ PE vs Technology Sector
| Metric | MQ | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 15x | 28x | 48% below |
| PE % | 0 | 43 | 43 pts below |
MQ is trading at 15x earnings, a 48% discount 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.
MQ Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $18.0 | 0.3% above |
| 20 week MA | $17.1 | 5.3% above |
| 50 week MA | $17.0 | 6.1% above |
| 100 week MA | $18.1 | 0.3% below |
| 200 week MA | $19.8 | 9% below |
MQ 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.
MQ Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | $126.0 | $69.8 | -45% |
| 2022 | $69.8 | $24.0 | -66% |
| 2023 | $24.0 | $27.9 | +16% |
| 2024 | $27.9 | $14.6 | -48% |
| 2025 | $14.6 | $19.4 | +33% |
| 2026 YTD | $19.4 | $18.0 | -7.3% |
MQ has the edge over ASTS on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.