BigBear.ai Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: BBAI) is gaining momentum across defense, security, trade, and travel markets as its applied AI solutions attract new customers and expanded deployments.
Second-quarter 2026 revenue climbed 13% year over year to $36.7 million, driven by stronger performance from its generative AI platforms and products.
Gross margin surged to 32.8%, representing an improvement of 781 basis points compared to the same quarter a year earlier.
The company secured more than 20 contracts during the quarter, with individual contract values reaching up to $5 million, signaling broad-based demand across its target markets.
Total backlog reached $270 million, up approximately $22 million from the start of the year, providing a clearer picture of near-term revenue visibility.
A five-year CargoSeer deployment agreement in El Salvador, following a successful 12-month pilot, has been highlighted as a potential template for expansion into other customs markets globally.
The company is also extending its AI capabilities into highly secure environments, with Ask Sage now supporting local and air-gapped deployments that allow customers to use generative AI without relying on external networks.
ConductorOS demonstrated its ability to coordinate multi-vendor drone systems, addressing growing demand for interoperability across autonomous platforms in defense and security operations.
Despite these operational advances, adjusted EBITDA remained negative at $11.6 million as the company increased spending on sales, go-to-market initiatives, and research and development.
BigBear.ai held $410 million in cash and investments, providing resources to pursue additional capabilities and acquisitions, though execution will remain central to broadening its growth base.
The company faces competition from Palantir Technologies (NASDAQ: PLTR), whose platforms help government and commercial customers integrate data, AI, and decision-making capabilities in operational environments similar to BigBear.ai’s target markets.
C3.ai (NYSE: AI) also competes in overlapping areas, offering enterprise AI applications spanning defense, manufacturing, and supply-chain management that challenge BigBear.ai’s push to expand beyond its traditional customer base.
Shares of BBAI have fallen 22.2% over the past six months, underperforming the Zacks Computers – IT Services industry by a considerable margin.
The stock currently trades at a forward 12-month price-to-sales ratio of 9.67, representing a discount relative to its industry peers, according to Zacks Investment Research data.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for BBAI’s 2026 loss per share has widened over the past 30 days, though the projected figure still represents a narrower loss than the year-ago loss of 82 cents per share.
BigBear.ai currently carries a Zacks Rank of 4, which corresponds to a Sell rating, reflecting lingering investor concern over the company’s path to sustained profitability.
