BigBear.ai Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: BBAI) is set to report its second-quarter 2026 financial results on July 30, after the closing bell.
The upcoming report is expected to reflect continued execution of defense and security contracts alongside growing adoption of the company’s generative AI solutions.
In the first quarter of 2026, BigBear.ai posted revenues of $34.4 million, remaining largely flat year over year as gains from its Ask Sage platform offset lower Army program volumes.
Gross margin improved significantly to 34% from 21.3% in the prior year period, signaling a shift toward higher-margin software and AI platform revenues.
The company ended Q1 with a backlog of $281.9 million, up 14% sequentially, and reported a strong cash and investments position of $431.5 million.
BigBear.ai reported a first-quarter loss per share of 8 cents, narrower than the year-ago loss of 25 cents, and reaffirmed its full-year 2026 revenue guidance of $135 million to $165 million.
For Q2, the Zacks Consensus Estimate projects a loss of 4 cents per share, narrower than the year-ago loss of 6 cents, with revenues expected at $36.4 million, implying 12% year-over-year growth.
Full-year 2026 revenue is forecast to grow 14.8% from a year ago, with the annual loss per share expected to narrow sharply to 25 cents from 82 cents in 2025.
Second-quarter revenues are expected to benefit from a classified intelligence community program, airport security deployments and additional work tied to Shipyard AI and Ask Sage.
Management has highlighted a stronger pipeline supported by improving Department of Homeland Security funding, an enhanced go-to-market structure and expanding opportunities across defense and border security.
BigBear.ai continues to target National Security and Trade and Travel as its two core growth markets, with investors watching closely for progress in deploying Ask Sage across government agencies.
The company also faces scrutiny over the commercialization of Ask Sage beyond federal customers and continued adoption of CargoSeer’s AI-powered cargo inspection capabilities.
Margins are expected to benefit from a richer software and AI platform revenue mix, though ongoing investments in research, sales expansion and recent acquisitions may limit operating margin gains.
BigBear.ai stock trades at 8.66X forward 12-month price-to-sales, a steep discount to rival Palantir Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: PLTR) at 33.08X, but above C3.ai, Inc. (NYSE: AI) at 6.06X and Parsons Corporation (NYSE: PSN) at 0.92X.
BBAI shares have lost 47.6% year to date, lagging its AI-focused peers, though those peers have also faced pressure, with Palantir declining 26%, C3.ai falling 34.6% and Parsons slipping 3.8%.
Analysts view the stock as a hold, citing a growing backlog, expanding Ask Sage adoption and improving fundamentals, while execution risks and the path to profitability remain key factors to watch.
