BlackSky Technology Inc. Annual report [Section 13 and 15(d), not S-K Item 405]

Annual report [Section 13 and 15(d), not S-K Item 405]

Basis of Presentation and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (Policies)

Basis of Presentation and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (Policies)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2024

Basis of Preparation

The Company has prepared its consolidated financial statements in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles in the United States of America (“GAAP”) and the instructions to Form 10-K and Article 8 of Regulation S-X of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”). The accompanying consolidated financial statements include the accounts of the Company and its wholly-owned subsidiaries. As noted in Note 1 and Note 7, on November 6, 2024, the Company acquired the remaining 50% of the common units of LeoStella and LeoStella became a wholly-owned subsidiary of BlackSky. Prior to the acquisition, the consolidated financial statements included the Company’s proportionate share of the earnings or losses of its equity method investments and a corresponding increase or decrease to its investments, with recorded losses limited to the carrying value of the Company’s investments. All intercompany transactions and balances have been eliminated upon consolidation.

The Company’s consolidated financial statements have been prepared on a historical cost basis, except for certain financial assets and liabilities, including derivative financial instruments, which are stated at fair value. Unless otherwise indicated, amounts presented in the Notes pertain to the Company’s continuing operations.

Use of Estimates

The preparation of the consolidated financial statements requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, the disclosure of contingencies at the reporting date, and the reported amounts of revenue and expenses during the reporting period. These estimates are based on management’s best knowledge of current events and actions the Company may undertake in the future. Actual results could materially differ from these estimates. Significant estimates made by the Company include, but are not limited to, revenue and associated cost recognition, the collectability of accounts receivable, the recoverability and useful lives of property and equipment, the valuation of equity warrants and warrant liabilities, fair value estimates, the recoverability of goodwill and intangible assets, the provision for income taxes, the incremental borrowing rate to measure the operating lease right of use assets, the effective interest rate of the vendor financing agreement, the fair value of assets acquired and liabilities assumed of a business combination, and stock-based compensation.

Cash and Cash Equivalents

Cash and cash equivalents are comprised of cash in banks and highly liquid investments with original maturities of three months or less.

Restricted Cash

The Company classifies cash as restricted when the cash is unavailable for withdrawal or usage for general operations. Restricted cash represents certificates of deposits held by a bank as a compensating balance for letters of credit that facilitate certain contracts with customers and cash collateral for leasing arrangements.

Investments

The Company invests in short-term investments, which generally consist of A-1, or higher, rated corporate debt and governmental securities. The investments are classified as held-to-maturity and have a stated maturity date of one year or less from the balance sheet date. Any investments with original maturities less than three months are considered cash equivalents.

As of December 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023, the Company’s short-term investments had a carrying value of $39.4 million and $19.7 million, respectively, which represents amortized cost, and an aggregate fair

value of $39.4 million and $19.7 million, respectively, which represents a Level 1 measurement based off of the fair value hierarchy.

Accounts Receivable - net

Accounts receivable are customer obligations due to the Company under normal trade terms. The majority of the Company's sales are with domestic and international government and agencies, which limits uncollectible accounts receivable. The Company performs continuing credit evaluations on each customer’s financial condition and reviews accounts receivable on a periodic basis to determine if any accounts receivable will potentially be uncollectible. The Company reserves for any accounts receivable balances that are determined to be uncollectible in the allowance for doubtful accounts. After all attempts to collect an accounts receivable balance have failed, the accounts receivable balance is written off against the allowance for doubtful accounts.

Inventories

Inventories are categorized into raw materials and work in process. Raw materials are costs used to build satellites, including those materials and labor that are in process of being built. Work in process primarily consists of costs associated with specific anticipated contracts. As of December 31, 2024, the Company had $46 thousand of raw materials inventory and $6.0 million of work in process inventory. As of December 31, 2023, the Company did not have any inventory. Inventories are stated on a consistent basis at the lower of historical cost or net realizable value. Net realizable value is determined as the estimated selling price in the ordinary course of business, less reasonably predictable costs of completion, disposal, and transportation. The Company estimates future sales and will write down excess inventories as needed. The Company had a reserve of $0 for inventory as of December 31, 2024, and 2023, respectively. The Company’s estimates of future sales are based on confirmed and expected contracts. The carrying values of inventories approximated their fair values as of December 31, 2024.

Prepaid Expense and Other Assets, Current

Prepaid Expenses and Other Current Assets

Prepaid expenses are advance payments made in the ordinary course of business and are amortized on a straight-line basis over the period of benefit. Other current assets consist primarily of non-trade receivables and short-term deposits. The carrying values of prepaid expenses and other current assets approximated their fair values as of December 31, 2024.

Property and Equipment - net

Property and equipment are stated at cost, less accumulated depreciation. Depreciation expense is recognized in the consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss on a straight-line basis over the estimated useful life of the related asset to its residual value.

The estimated useful lives are as follows:


			Estimated useful lives (years)
Satellites			3
Capitalized software			3
Office furniture and fixtures			5
Production and engineering equipment			3 - 6
Computer equipment and software			3
Site and other equipment			3 - 4
Leasehold improvements			shorter of useful life or remaining lease term

Capitalized satellite costs include material costs, labor costs incurred from the start of the pre-acquisition stage through the construction stage, insurance, and the costs incurred to launch the satellite into orbit for its intended use. Labor costs incurred prior to and after the pre-acquisition and construction stages are charged to expense. Once the satellite has reached orbit and makes contact with the Company's network, the Company commences depreciation. The designated useful life of the Company's satellites is estimated to be three years, and depreciation is recognized using the straight-line method. Subsequent to launch, the Company's satellites must meet certain performance and operational criteria to be deemed commercially viable. If the criteria are not met, the Company assesses the satellite for impairment.

The Company capitalizes internal and external costs incurred to develop and implement internal-use software, which consist primarily of costs related to design, coding, and testing. Internal costs include salaries and allocations of fringe and stock-based compensation. When the software is ready for its intended use, capitalization ceases and such costs are amortized on a straight-line basis over the estimated life to either depreciation or cost of sales depending on the nature of the software. Costs incurred prior to and after the application development stage are charged to expense. The Company regularly reviews its capitalized software projects for impairment.

Leases

The Company leases office space under various non-cancellable operating leases with varying lease expiration dates through 2036. Several leases contain renewal options and termination options that were not reasonably certain to be exercised upon inception of the lease and are not included in the lease expiration dates. The Company determines whether a contract is or contains a lease and whether the lease should be classified as an operating or finance lease at contract inception.

The Company determines if an arrangement is a lease at inception of the contract. Operating leases are included in operating lease right-of-use (“ROU”) assets, current portion of operating lease liabilities, and long-term operating lease liabilities in the consolidated balance sheets.

ROU assets represent the Company’s right to use underlying assets for the lease term, and lease liabilities represent the Company’s obligation to make lease payments arising from the leases. ROU assets and lease liabilities are recognized at the commencement date based on the present value of lease payments over the lease term. The Company uses the implicit rate when readily determinable. For leases where the rate is not determinable, the Company determines the incremental borrowing rate. The Company does not recognize a ROU asset and a lease liability for leases with an initial term of 12 months or less; the Company recognizes lease expense for these leases on a straight-line basis over the lease term. Many of the Company’s lease agreements contain incentives for tenant improvements. For tenant improvement incentives received, if the incentive is determined to be a leasehold improvement owned by the lessee, the Company generally records the incentives as a reduction to the ROU asset, which reduces rent expense over the lease term. For these lease incentives, the Company uses the date of initial possession as the commencement date, which is generally when

the Company is given the right of access to the space and begins to make improvements in preparation for intended use. Many of the Company’s lease arrangements contain multiple lease components, such as fixed rent payments and non-lease components, such as common-area maintenance (“CAM”) costs. The Company elected not to separate the lease and non-lease components for new and modified leases executed after the adoption date. The Company's variable lease expense primarily consists of CAM expenses paid directly to lessors of real estate leases. Finance leases are not material to the Company's consolidated financial statements and the Company is not a lessor in any material arrangements. The Company does not have any material restrictions or covenants in its lease agreements, sale-leaseback transactions, land easements or residual value guarantees.

Goodwill, Intangible Assets - net, and Other Long-Lived Assets

Goodwill

Goodwill represents the excess of purchase price over the fair value of the identifiable assets acquired less the liabilities assumed in the acquisition of a business.

Goodwill is tested annually for impairment at October 1, or more frequently if events or circumstances indicate that the carrying value of goodwill may be impaired. Goodwill is tested for impairment at the reporting unit level by first taking a qualitative approach to determine whether it is more likely than not that a reporting unit's fair value is less than its carrying value. If the Company determines that it is more likely than not that a reporting unit's fair value is less than its carrying amount, the Company compares the reporting unit’s carrying amount to the fair value of the reporting unit. If the carrying amount of the reporting unit exceeds its fair value, an impairment loss is recognized in an amount equal to that excess. In testing for goodwill impairment, the Company may utilize a mix of income and market approaches that include the use of comparable multiples of publicly traded companies whose services are comparable to ours. The Company concluded it has one reporting unit as of December 31, 2024 with goodwill of $10.3 million.

The Company continuously evaluates whether indicators of impairment exist to determine whether it is necessary to perform a quantitative goodwill impairment test. A significant amount of judgment is involved in determining if an indicator of impairment has occurred. Such indicators may include (a) a significant decline in the Company's common stock value; (b) a significant decline in the Company's expected future cash flows; (c) a significant adverse change in legal factors or in the business climate; (d) unanticipated competition; (e) the testing for recoverability of a significant asset group within a reporting unit; or (f) slower growth rates. Any adverse change in these factors could have a significant impact on the recoverability of goodwill and could have a material impact on the consolidated financial statements.

Long-Lived Assets and Intangible Assets

The Company reviews long-lived assets, including intangible assets, property and equipment, satellite work in process and other long-term assets, for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amounts of the assets may not be fully recoverable. Significant judgments in this area involve determining whether a triggering event has occurred and determining the future cash flows for assets involved. In conducting this analysis, the Company compares the undiscounted cash flows expected to be generated from the long-lived assets (or asset group) to the related net book values. If the undiscounted cash flows exceed the net book value, the long-lived assets are considered not to be impaired. If the net book value exceeds the undiscounted cash flows, an impairment charge is measured and recognized based upon the difference between the carrying value of long-lived assets (or asset group) and their fair value.

Finite-lived intangible assets include various assets that are subject to amortization, which primarily includes trade names, trademarks, and customer relationships. Such intangible assets are amortized on a straight-line basis over their estimated useful lives.

Satellite Work in Process

Satellite work in process primarily represents (a) amounts paid to third party vendors for progress payments associated with the engineering, long lead procurement of satellite components, and manufacturing of the Company's satellites, (b) internal labor costs incurred to develop and integrate the Company's satellites, including salaries and allocations of fringe and stock-based compensation and (c) launch service vendors for the costs associated with launching the Company's satellites, which includes launch and launch insurance costs. Satellite work in process capitalized, but not yet paid, is recognized as the Company has the rights to the in-process assets being engineered on the Company's behalf or a refund of amounts paid to date, less certain costs. At launch, these costs, and other costs incurred to put a satellite into service, are aggregated and reclassified as property and equipment, subject to depreciation (Note 8).

Equity Method Investments

As noted in Note 1 and Note 7, on November 6, 2024, the Company acquired the remaining 50% of the common units of LeoStella and LeoStella became a wholly-owned subsidiary of BlackSky. Prior to the acquisition, the Company had the ability to exercise significant influence, but not control, over LeoStella and accounted for it under the equity method of accounting, including it as an in investment in equity method investees on the Company's consolidated balance sheets.

Significant influence typically exists if a Company has a 20% to 50% ownership voting interest in the investee or retains a voting seat on the investee's board of directors. In evaluating whether the Company had significant influence, the Company considered the nature of its ownership interest in the investee, as well as other factors that may have given the Company the ability to exercise significant influence over the investee's operating and capital financial policies. Under this method of accounting, the Company's share of the net earnings or losses of the investee were included in the Company's consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss. The Company did not recognize any percentage of LeoStella's estimated net loss during the year ended December 31, 2024 through the acquisition date since its investment in LeoStella was recorded at $0 as of December 31, 2023. The investment in LeoStella prior to acquisition was not significant to the Company's consolidated financial statements.

Intra-entity profits arising from the sale of assets from the equity method investments to the Company were eliminated and deferred if those assets were still held by the Company at the end of a reporting period. The intra-entity profits were partially recognized as the assets were consumed. As of December 31, 2023, the Company had differences between the carrying value of its equity method investment and the underlying equity in the net assets of the investee of $1.2 million. This amount was fully recognized during the year ended December 31, 2024 as part of the accounting for the acquisition of LeoStella in November 2024.

In November 2023, the Company sold its equity method investment in X-Bow Launch Systems Inc. (“X-Bow”), a space technology company specializing in additive manufacturing of solid rocket motors, and received $9.5 million from the sale of the investment. The $9.5 million gain on the sale of X-Bow was recognized as income on equity method investments in the consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss.

Equity method investments were evaluated for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicated that the carrying amounts of such investments could be impaired. If a decline in the value of an equity method investment was determined to be other than temporary, a loss would have been recorded in earnings that period.

Contingent Liabilities

The Company may become involved in litigation or other financial claims in the normal course of its business operations. The Company periodically analyzes currently available information relating to these claims, assesses the probability of loss, and provides a range of possible outcomes when it believes that sufficient and appropriate information is available. The Company accrues a liability for those contingencies where the occurrence of a loss is probable and the amount can be reasonably estimated. If a loss is probable and a range of amounts can be reasonably estimated but no amount within the range is a better estimate than any other amount in the range, then the minimum of the range is accrued. The Company does not accrue a liability when the likelihood that the liability has been incurred is believed to be probable but the amount cannot be reasonably estimated or when the likelihood that a liability has been incurred is believed to be only reasonably possible or remote. For contingencies where an unfavorable outcome is reasonably possible and the impact could potentially be material, the Company discloses the nature of the contingency and, where feasible, an estimate of the possible loss or range of loss.

Debt Issuance Costs and Debt Discount

Debt issuance costs are capitalized and amortized to interest expense using the effective interest method over the life of the related debt. Short-term and long-term debt are presented net of the unamortized debt issuance costs and debt discount in the consolidated balance sheets.

Fair Value of Financial Instruments

The Company accounts for certain assets and liabilities at fair value. Fair value is defined as the price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date.

The process for analyzing the fair value measurement of certain financial instruments on a recurring, or non-recurring, basis includes significant judgment and estimates of inputs including, but not limited to, share price, volatility, discount for lack of marketability, application of an appropriate discount rate, and probability of liquidating events. The Company utilizes the market valuation methodology and specific option pricing methodology, such as the Monte Carlo simulation, to value the more complex financial instruments and the Black-Scholes option-pricing model to value standard common stock warrants and common stock options.

The framework for measuring fair value specifies a hierarchy of valuation techniques based on whether the inputs to those valuation techniques are observable or unobservable. Observable inputs reflect market data obtained from independent sources, while unobservable inputs reflect the Company's assumptions. The hierarchy gives the highest priority to unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities (Level 1 measurement) and the lowest priority to unobservable inputs (Level 3 measurement).

The three levels of the fair value hierarchy are as follows:

Level 1 Inputs. Inputs are unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities available at the measurement date.

Level 2 Inputs. Inputs are unadjusted quoted prices for similar assets and liabilities in active markets, quoted prices for identical or similar assets and liabilities in markets that are not active, inputs other than quoted prices that are observable, and inputs derived from or corroborated by observable market data.

Level 3 Inputs. Inputs are unobservable inputs which reflect the Company’s own assumptions on what assumptions market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability based on the best available information.

Revenue Recognition

The Company generates revenue from the sale of imagery and software analytical services and professional and engineering services. Imagery and software analytical services revenue, which is mostly from contracts from domestic and international government agencies, includes imagery, data, software, and analytics. This revenue is primarily recognized from services rendered under non-cancellable subscription order agreements or, in limited circumstances, variable not-to-exceed purchase orders. Professional and engineering services revenue is generated from time and materials basis, firm fixed price service solutions, and firm fixed price long-term engineering and construction contracts.

In accordance with Accounting Standards Update No. 2014-09, “Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606)” (“Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) 606”), the Company uses the five-step model of identifying the contract with a customer, identifying the performance obligations contained in a contract, determining the transaction price, allocating the transaction price, and determining when performance obligations are satisfied, which can require the application of significant judgment, as further discussed below.

Revenue is measured at the fair value of consideration received or receivable and net of discounts. The Company applies a policy election to exclude transaction taxes collected from customer sales when the tax is both imposed on and concurrent with a specific revenue-producing transaction. The Company estimates any variable consideration, and whether the transaction price is constrained, upon execution of each contract. The Company did not have any active contracts with significant variable consideration as of December 31, 2024.

Imagery & Software Analytical Services Revenue

Imagery

Imagery services include imagery delivered from the Company’s proprietary satellite constellation and Spectra software platform and in limited cases directly uploaded to certain customers. Customers can directly task the Company's proprietary satellite constellation to collect and deliver imagery over specific locations, sites and regions that are critical to their operations. The Company offers customers several service level subscription options that include on-demand tasking or multi-year assured access programs, where customers can secure priority access and imaging capacity at a premium over a region of interest on a take or pay basis. Imagery revenue is recognized ratably over the subscription period based on the promise to continuously provide contractual satellite capacity for tasked imagery or analytics at the discretion of the customer.

Data, Software, and Analytics

The Company leverages proprietary AI and ML algorithms to analyze data coming from both the Company’s proprietary sensor network and third-party space and terrestrial sources to provide hard-to-get data, insights, and analytics for customers. The Company continues to integrate and enhance its offerings by performing contract development, while retaining the intellectual property rights. The Company also offers services related to object, change and anomaly detection, site monitoring, and enhanced analytics, through which the Company can detect key pattern of life changes in critical locations such as ports, airports, and construction sites; retail activity; commodities stockpiles; and other sites that contain critical commodities and supply chain inventory.

The Company's analytics services are also offered on a similar subscription basis and provide customers with access to the Company's site monitoring, event monitoring and global data services. Analogous with the recognition of revenue for imagery, software analytical services revenue is recognized ratably over the subscription period.

Professional and Engineering Services Revenue

The Company performs various professional services, that are highly-interrelated, including providing technology enabled professional service solutions to support customer-specific software development requests, integration, testing, and training. The Company also provides engineering services, which include developing and delivering advanced satellite and payload systems for a limited number of customers that leverage the Company’s capabilities in mission systems engineering and operations, ground station operations, and software and systems development. These services, based on the context of the contract, are capable of being distinct performance obligations.

For firm fixed price professional and engineering service contracts, the Company recognizes revenue over time using the cost-to-complete method to measure progress to complete the performance obligation (“Estimate at Completion” or “EAC”). A performance obligation's EAC includes all direct costs such as labor, fringe, materials, subcontract costs and overhead. Significant judgment is used to estimate total costs at completion on a contract by contract basis including, but not limited to, labor productivity, program schedule, technical risk analysis, complexity, scope of the work to be performed and other identified risks. Due to the continuous nature of the work, as well as when a change in circumstances warrants a modification, the EAC is reviewed and may result in cumulative changes to the contract profit. The Company recognizes changes in estimated contract sales or costs and the resulting changes in contract profit on a cumulative basis in the period in which the change is identified. If, at any time, the estimate of contract profitability indicates a probable anticipated loss on the contract, the Company recognizes the total loss as and when known. The following table presents the effect of aggregate net EAC adjustments on the Company's professional and engineering services contracts:


	Years Ended December 31,
		2024(1)		2023
		(in thousands)
Revenue		$	1	$	(1,477)
Basic and diluted net loss per share		$	0.00	$	(0.09)

(1) For the year ended December 31, 2024, the Company had a favorable EAC adjustment of $1.1 million for an existing individual professional services contract. The remaining EAC adjustments are not individually significant to the Company.

For contracts structured as cost-plus-fixed-fee or on a time and materials basis, the Company generally recognizes revenue based on the right-to-invoice when practically expedient, as the Company is contractually able to invoice the customer based on the control transferred to the customer in an amount that corresponds directly with the value to the customer of the Company’s performance completed to date.

Imagery and Software Analytical Service and Professional and Engineering Service Costs

Imagery and software analytical service costs primarily include internal labor to support the ground station network and space operations, third-party data and imagery, and cloud computing and hosting services. The Company recognizes stock-based compensation expense for those employees whose work supports the imagery and software analytical service costs it provides to customers, under imagery and software analytical service costs, excluding depreciation and amortization. For those employees who provide these services to support customer-based programs, the stock-based compensation expense is classified under imagery and software analytical services costs.

Professional and engineering service costs primarily include the cost of internal labor for design and engineering in support of long-term development contracts for satellites and payload systems, as well as subcontract direct materials and external labor costs to build and test specific components, such as the communications system, payload demands, and sensor integration. In addition, the Company also recognizes internal labor costs and external subcontract labor costs for its customer-centric software service solutions. The Company recognizes stock-based compensation expense for those employees who provide professional and engineering services support to customers, under professional and engineering service costs, excluding depreciation and amortization.

Research and Development Costs

The Company incurs research and development costs, which are expensed as incurred, for researching next generation space and ground architectures in support of its long-term strategy. With the Company's acquisition of LeoStella in November 2024, research and development expense also includes investments in next generation satellite design and functionality. In addition, the Company recognizes costs incurred before the technological feasibility stage for internal projects, such as aerospace and other satellite developments, as research and development costs.

Advertising Costs

Advertising costs are expenses associated with promoting the Company’s services and products. Advertising costs are expensed as incurred and included in selling, general and administrative expenses in the accompanying consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss.

Income Taxes

The Company accounts for income taxes following the asset and liability method, which requires the recognition of deferred tax assets and liabilities for the expected future tax consequences of events that have been included in the consolidated financial statements. Under this method, deferred tax assets and liabilities are determined based on differences between the consolidated financial statements carrying amounts of existing assets and liabilities and their respective tax bases. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are measured using enacted tax rates expected to apply to taxable income in the years in which those temporary differences are expected to be recovered or settled. The effect on the deferred tax assets and liabilities of a change in tax rates is recognized in income in the period that includes the enacted date.

The Company measures deferred tax assets based on the amount that the Company believes is more likely than not to be realized. In making such a determination, the Company considers all available positive and negative evidence, including reversals of existing taxable temporary differences, tax-planning strategies, and historical results of recent operations. In evaluating the objective evidence that historical results provide, the Company considers three trailing years of cumulative operating income or loss. Valuation allowances are provided, if, based upon the weight of the available evidence, it is more likely than not that some or all of the deferred tax assets will not be realized. A full valuation allowance was recorded against the deferred tax assets as of December 31, 2024 and 2023. Changes in tax laws and rates may affect recorded deferred tax assets and liabilities and the Company's effective tax rate in the future.

The Company believes that its tax positions comply with applicable tax law. The Company may recognize the tax benefit from an uncertain tax position only if it is more likely than not that the tax position will be sustained on examination by the taxing authorities, based on the technical merits of the position.

The Company's income tax expense or benefit, liability and/or receivable, deferred tax assets and liabilities, and liabilities for uncertain tax benefits reflect management’s best assessment of estimated current and future taxes to be paid or received.

Sponsor Shares

On September 9, 2021, BlackSky's predecessor company, Osprey Technology Acquisition Corp. (“Osprey”), completed its merger (the “Merger”) with Osprey Technology Merger Sub, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Osprey, and BlackSky Holdings, Inc. Osprey pre-Merger Class B common shares were exchanged for shares of the Company’s Class A common stock (the "Sponsor Shares") upon completion of the Merger. The Company accounted for the Sponsor Shares in accordance with the guidance contained in ASC 815-40, under which the Sponsor Shares did not meet the criteria for equity treatment and were recorded as derivative liabilities in the Company’s consolidated balance sheets as of December 31, 2024. The Sponsor Shares are adjusted to fair value at each reporting period and the change in fair value is recognized in (loss) gain on derivatives in the Company’s consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss.

Stock-Based Compensation

Restricted Stock Awards and Restricted Stock Units

The Company grants restricted stock units ("RSUs") to certain employees, for which the grant date fair value is equal to the fair value of the Class A common stock on the date of grant. In order to determine the fair value of its Class A common stock on the date of grant prior to the Merger, the Company historically performed a valuation analysis using a combination of market and income approaches. Subsequent to the Merger, the Company uses the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) trading price as the fair value of the Class A common stock for valuation purposes. For all awards for which vesting is only subject to a service condition, including those subject to graded vesting, the Company has elected to use the straight-line method to recognize the fair value as compensation cost over the requisite service period.

Certain of the Company’s outstanding RSUs had performance vesting conditions that were triggered upon the consummation of the Merger. Therefore, since the performance conditions attributable to these RSUs had been met, the Company commenced recording the associated compensation expense, inclusive of a catch-up amount for the service period between their grant date and satisfaction of the performance condition, as of the closing of the Merger. The fair value of the RSUs that include a performance condition is recognized as compensation expense over the requisite service period using the accelerated attribution method, which accounts for RSUs with discrete vesting dates as if they were separate awards. Expense related to stock-based payments is classified in the consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss based upon the classification of each employee's cash compensation. As of December 31, 2024, 4 thousand RSUs with performance vesting conditions were outstanding and the associated remaining expense of $26 thousand will be recognized through September 30, 2025.

Stock Options

The Company uses the Black-Scholes option pricing model to value all options, including stock options and options under the 2021 Employee Stock Purchase Plan ("ESPP"), and the straight-line method to recognize the fair value as compensation cost over the requisite service period. The fair value of each option granted was estimated as of the date of grant. The Company did not grant any stock options during the year ended December 31, 2024; stock options were granted during the year ended December 31, 2023. The Company uses the following inputs when applying the Black-Scholes option pricing model:

Expected Dividend Yield. The Black-Scholes valuation model requires an expected dividend yield as an input. The dividend yield is based on historical experience and expected future changes. The Company has not historically paid and currently has no plans to pay dividends on its Class A common stock.

Expected Volatility. The Company does not have sufficient historical share price history; therefore, the expected volatility was estimated based upon the historical share price volatility of guideline comparable companies.

Risk-free Interest Rate. The yield on actively traded non-inflation indexed U.S. Treasury notes was used to extrapolate an average risk-free interest rate based on the expected term of the underlying grants.

Expected Term. For stock options granted in 2021 through 2024, since there was not a significant history of stock option exercises as a public company, the Company considered the stock option vesting terms and contractual period, as well as the demographics of the holders, in estimating the expected term. For stock options granted prior to 2021, the expected term was the estimated duration to a liquidation event based on a weighted average consideration of the most likely exit prospects for that stage of development. BlackSky Holdings, Inc. (“Legacy BlackSky”) was privately funded and, accordingly, the lack of marketability was factored into the expected term of options granted. The Company will review its estimate in the future and adjust it, if necessary, due to changes in the Company’s historical exercises.

The most significant assumption used to determine the fair value of the Legacy BlackSky equity-based awards was the estimated fair value of the Legacy BlackSky Class A common stock on the grant date. In order to determine the fair value of its Class A common stock on the date of grant prior to the Merger, Legacy BlackSky historically relied on a valuation analysis performed using a combination of market and income

approaches. Subsequent to the Merger, the Company uses the NYSE trading price as the fair value of the Company's Class A common stock for valuation purposes.

Legacy BlackSky historically adjusted the exercise price of certain outstanding stock options. For each award with an adjusted exercise price, Legacy BlackSky calculated the incremental fair value, which was the excess of the fair value of the modified award over the fair value of the original award immediately before the modification. The incremental fair value was recognized as stock-based compensation expense immediately to the extent that the modified stock option already had vested, and for stock options that were not yet vested, the incremental fair value has been recognized as stock-based compensation expense over the remaining vesting period.

Warrant Liability

Warrant Liabilities

In October 2019, Osprey, BlackSky's predecessor company and special purpose acquisition company, issued 2.0 million public warrants and 1.0 million Private Placement Warrants in connection with its public offering. In March 2023, the Company issued 2.1 million Private Placement Warrants in connection with a private placement of shares of Class A common stock and accompanying warrants. The Company accounts for its warrants as either equity-classified or liability-classified instruments based on an assessment of the warrant’s specific terms and applicable authoritative guidance in ASC 480, “Distinguishing Liabilities from Equity” (“ASC 480”) and ASC 815, “Derivatives and Hedging” (“ASC 815”). The assessment considers whether the warrants are freestanding financial instruments that would require classification as a liability under ASC 480, as well as whether the warrants qualify for equity classification or require liability classification after consideration of the guidance and criteria outlined in ASC 815, including whether the warrants are indexed to the Company’s own common shares and whether the warrant holders could potentially require “net cash settlement” in a circumstance outside of the Company’s control, among other conditions that impact classification. This assessment, which requires the use of professional judgment, is conducted at the time of warrant issuance.

For issued or modified warrants that meet all of the criteria for equity classification, the warrants are required to be recorded as a component of additional paid-in capital at the time of issuance. For issued or modified warrants that do not meet all of the criteria for equity classification, the warrants are required to be recorded at their initial fair value on the date of issuance. The Company accounted for the warrants issued in October 2019 and March 2023 in accordance with the guidance contained in ASC 815-40-55-2 as liabilities at their fair value.

As of December 31, 2024, the Company’s consolidated balance sheets included liability classified warrants, reported as derivative liabilities. The fair value of the public warrants was estimated as of December 31, 2024 using the public warrants’ quoted market price. The October 2019 and March 2023 Private Placement Warrants were valued using a Black-Scholes option pricing model for initial and subsequent measurements. The liabilities associated with the public warrants and the Private Placement Warrants are subject to re-measurement at each balance sheet date until exercised, and any change in fair value is recognized in (loss) gain on derivatives in the Company’s consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss.

Transaction Costs

The Company incurs underwriting discounts and commissions, legal fees, accounting fees, placement agent fees, and other third-party costs related directly to equity issuances. Transaction costs incurred for equity issuances are allocated to the components of the transaction based on their relative fair market value, including common equity and equity warrants classified as derivatives and, as such, based on the Company's allocation, are either expensed in the consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss or recorded as a reduction to additional paid-in capital in the consolidated statements of changes in stockholders’ equity and consolidated balance sheets.

The Company has also incurred lender fees and other incremental third-party costs associated with its debt financing, as described in Note 14. Lender fees have been capitalized and included in either debt - current portion or long-term debt - net of current portion in the consolidated balance sheets, depending on the classification of the associated debt. Third-party costs associated with the debt modification were expensed in the consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss.

Additionally, during 2024, the Company incurred legal fees, accounting fees, information technology fees, and other incremental third-party costs related to its business acquisition, as described in Note 7. Transaction fees were expensed as incurred as selling, general and administrative in the consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss.

Deferred Financing Costs

Financing costs consist of legal fees, accounting fees, and other third-party costs that are directly related to the Company’s future financing transactions and will be assigned to the cost of financing upon the completion of the applicable future transaction(s). There were no deferred financing costs capitalized as of December 31, 2024. During the year ended December 31, 2023, the Company incurred deferred financing costs of $0.1 million, which were included in other assets in the Company's consolidated balance sheets as of December 31, 2023.

Deferred Offering Costs

Deferred offering costs consist of legal fees, accounting fees, underwriting fees, and other third-party costs that are directly related to the Company’s future equity offering(s) and will be charged to additional paid in capital upon the completion of the applicable future transactions. During the year ended December 31, 2024 the Company incurred $0.1 million of deferred offering costs, which were included in other assets in the Company's consolidated balance sheets as of December 31, 2024. The Company did not incur any deferred offering costs during the year ended December 31, 2023.

Business Combinations

Business acquisitions are accounted for using the acquisition method of accounting, in accordance with ASC 805, Business Combinations, and are included in the Company's consolidated financial statements from their respective acquisition dates. Assets acquired and liabilities assumed, if any, are measured at fair value on the acquisition date using the appropriate valuation method. Goodwill generated from acquisitions is recognized if the fair value of the purchase consideration transferred, or the fair value of the acquirer’s interest in the acquiree if no consideration is transferred, and any noncontrolling interests is in excess of the net fair value of the identifiable assets acquired and the liabilities assumed. In determining the fair value of identifiable assets, the Company uses various valuation techniques which requires it to make estimates and assumptions surrounding projected revenues and costs, future growth, and discount rates.

Accounting Standards Recently Adopted

On November 27, 2023, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) No. 2023-07 Segment Reporting (Topic 280): Improvements to Reportable Segment Disclosures. Among other new disclosure requirements, ASU 2023-07 requires companies to disclose significant segment expenses that are regularly provided to the chief operating decision maker. ASU 2023-07 is effective for annual periods beginning on January 1, 2024 and interim periods beginning on January 1, 2025. ASU 2023-07 must be applied retrospectively to all prior periods presented in the financial statements. The Company adopted ASU 2023-07 during the year ended December 31, 2024. See Note 4—“Segment Information” for further detail.

Accounting Standards Recently Issued But Not Yet Adopted

On December 14, 2023, the FASB issued ASU No. 2023-09 Income Taxes (Topic 740): Improvements to Income Tax Disclosures. ASU 2023-09 requires companies to disclose, on an annual basis, specific categories in the effective tax rate reconciliation and provide additional information for reconciling items that meet a quantitative threshold. In addition, ASU 2023-09 requires companies to disclose additional information about income taxes paid. ASU 2023-09 will be effective for annual periods beginning January 1, 2025 and will be applied on a prospective basis with the option to apply the standard retrospectively. The Company is currently evaluating the impacts of this update and plans to adopt these amendments using the prospective approach for annual disclosures in 2025.

On November 4, 2024, the FASB issued ASU No. 2024-03 Disaggregation of Income Statement Expenses. ASU 2024-03 requires disaggregation of certain expense captions into specified categories in disclosures within the footnotes to the financial statements. ASU 2024-03 will be effective for annual periods beginning January 1, 2027 and interim periods beginning January 1, 2028 and will be applied on a prospective basis with the option to apply the standard retrospectively. The Company is evaluating the disclosure impact of ASU 2024-03; however, it is not expected that the standard will have a material impact on the Company’s consolidated financial position, results of operations and/or cash flows.