NextNav Q3 2026 Earnings Call - SpaceX's Echo Makes Spectrum Scarcity a Boardroom Debate

Operator: Hello, everyone. Thank you for joining us, and welcome to the NextNav third quarter 2026 earnings call. After today’s prepared remarks, we will host a question-and-answer session. If you would like to ask a question, please press star one to raise your hand, and to withdraw your question, press star one again. I will now hand the conference over to Jared Pollack. Jared, please go ahead.

Jared Pollack, IR/Moderator, NextNav: Good afternoon, everyone, and welcome to NextNav’s third quarter 2026 earnings conference call. Participating on today’s call are Mariam Sorond, NextNav’s chief executive officer, and Tim Gray, NextNav’s chief financial officer. Before we begin, let me remind everyone that this call will include certain statements that constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements may be identified by the use of the words may, anticipate, believe, expect, intend, should, could, and similar expressions. Such forward-looking statements, which may relate to NextNav’s forecast of future results, future prospects, developments, and business strategies, are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and assumptions, many of which are outside NextNav’s control and could cause actual results to differ.

In particular, such forward-looking statements include the achievement of certain FCC-related milestones and FCC approvals, NextNav’s projections, plans, objectives, and expectations, and NextNav’s future business strategies and competitive position. These statements are based on management’s current expectations and beliefs, as well as a number of assumptions concerning future events. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance upon the forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date made, and NextNav undertakes no commitment to update or revise the forward-looking statements except as required by law. For additional information regarding risks and uncertainties, please refer to the risk factors and other disclosures contained in the company’s filings with the SEC. Following prepared remarks, the company will host an operator-led question-and-answer session. In addition, a replay of our discussion will be posted to the company’s investor relations website. I would now like to turn the call over to Ms. Sorond.

Please go ahead, Mariam.

Mariam Sorond, Chief Executive Officer, NextNav: Thank you, Jared. Good afternoon, and thank you all for joining us today. The third quarter was productive on all fronts, marked by continued regulatory progress, important technical milestones, new partnerships, and perhaps most notably, highly visible market validation of the increasing value and strategic importance of low-band spectrum assets. The proposed acquisition of Grain’s low-band spectrum assets by SpaceX defines an important market precedent, which highlights the finite nature and scarcity value of low-band spectrum. We believe this creates an increasingly constructive backdrop for our long-term opportunity and further validates a trend we have discussed for some time. As demand for low-band spectrum continues to grow, we believe there is an urgency to ensure these finite resources are maximized in support of the public interest. Beyond the transaction, we were particularly pleased to see SpaceX file two ex parte letters referencing our lower 900 MHz proposal.

We believe these filings reflect growing industry recognition that additional low-band spectrum will be needed to support next-generation connectivity services. Furthermore, we believe the filings underscore the significant value that can be unlocked by putting these scarce spectrum resources to productive use in the near future. Among other things, SpaceX urged the FCC to encourage fast investments to put scarce low and mid-band spectrum to use, including for innovative services like terrestrial direct-to-device and IoT services. Further, on the regulatory front, as we have discussed previously, the FCC has formally submitted a draft Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, or NPRM, focused on promoting the development of PNT technologies and solutions for an interagency review process.

Now, with the midterm election behind us, it is important to reiterate that the core issues underpinning this proceeding, including PNT resiliency, national security, critical infrastructure protection, economic security, and public safety, have consistently received bipartisan support. We continue to work with the administration and the FCC and are well-positioned to engage constructively with the new Congress to advance a ground-based complement and backup to GPS as the process advances. While differing viewpoints are a standard feature of major spectrum proceedings, our team continues to engage extensively across the federal government and with key stakeholders, leveraging every appropriate avenue to equip decision-makers with engineering and data-driven analysis to advance the process. We believe they have resulted in meaningful progress within the administration and various federal agencies.

We also continue to engage constructively and have conversations with users in the band, including key industries such as railroad operators, tolling, and other industry stakeholders. We seek to resolve coexistence matters through a facts-based approach that relies on testing and demonstrations. Notably, we concluded testing with the freight rail industry, where we have been conducting real-world collaborative testing and detailed discussions on coexistence. Further, we have been holding early conversations with additional stakeholders in the band to develop appropriate test plans that will satisfy their systems and operational needs. NextNav continues to collaborate on coexistence testing, and we have illustrated how our 5G PNT and sensing solutions can benefit their operations. Our team continues to engage with the public safety community as we advance our 5G-powered 3D location technology to meet their needs.

To date, we have engaged with fire, police, and 911 officials across the country to advance indoor positioning capabilities that will enhance emergency response and first responder safety. These efforts have included discussions with Fairfax County, Arlington County, Phoenix, Philadelphia, and Plano Fire Departments, North Central Texas 911, and the International Association of Fire Fighters. Commercially, we have been strategic in assembling the building blocks needed to enable new applications on our spectrum, including 5G-capable PNT and sensing technologies designed to operate on standardized 5G networks. On positioning, we have partnered with Safran. On timing, Oscilloquartz. Through our partnership with Tiami and AiRANACULUS, we are extending our capabilities into long-range sensing. Together, these partnerships demonstrate the growing range of applications that can be deployed on our spectrum, including for national security, critical infrastructure, and public safety.

Specifically with Tiami, a recognized leader in drone sensing, we are showing how their existing capabilities can be integrated with NextNav signaling and deployed on our low-band spectrum. Importantly, this work highlights how sensing applications can operate on standardized 5G networks using our spectrum, creating a path towards scalable deployment of wide-area sensing capabilities. With AiRANACULUS, we are combining our technology and spectrum with their advanced signal processing, machine learning, and AI capabilities to improve detection, identification, and tracking of multiple drones over long distances. What’s key is that NextNav uniquely brings together the combination of the spectrum and technology capabilities needed to enable a wide-area, long-range sensing solution at scale, including with sensing applications directly relevant to national security. Moreover, as these building blocks come together, we believe they expand the range of high-value applications that can be deployed on our spectrum.

Separately, we achieved important technological validation milestones through real-world deployment and testing. Since early this year, we have been operating in Santa Clara County, California, under an experimental license utilizing the proposed band configuration and transmitting on a live 5G network environment. These activities provide a real-world opportunity to validate our solution and further support the extensive technical analysis already on the record. Notably, we recently announced field testing results showing single-digit meter positioning performance for both indoor and outdoor. This includes accurate positioning that can serve as a backup and also a complement to GPS in areas where GPS is challenged. Importantly, throughout our testing in Santa Clara, there has not been a single claim of interference. Alongside our regulatory process and commercial milestones, we remain in active dialogue with potential strategic partners across telecommunication providers and technology companies.

The demand for finite low-band spectrum continues to grow as the range of applications expands across wireless carriers, satellite operators, and D2D providers, as well as critical infrastructure, public safety, and national security use cases. With that, I will turn things over to Tim for a review of our financials. Tim?

Tim Gray, Chief Financial Officer, NextNav: Thank you, Mariam, and good afternoon, everyone. On liquidity, we finished the third quarter 2026 with approximately $290 million in cash equivalents, short-term, and long-term investments. This strong cash position was bolstered by the capital actions we took last quarter, including going debt-free and eliminating our public SPAC warrants. I will also note that as of last month, all our private SPAC warrants have been exercised using the cashless method, which reduced our potential dilution. Combined, all these actions have strengthened our balance sheet and provide us with the flexibility and resources to execute our strategy from a position of much greater strength. We continue to manage our use of capital and balance our approach to liquidity as we continue to advance on our strategic goals.

For the third quarter, a reminder that the gains and losses related to our outstanding private warrants fluctuate based on movements in our stock price. During the quarter, we recognized a gain of approximately $13 million associated with the change in fair value of the warrants liability. These non-cash gains partially offset the company’s net loss for the quarter, resulting in a net loss of approximately $4.2 million. With that, I will turn the call back over to the operator for questions. Operator?

Operator: We will now begin the question-and-answer session. Please limit yourself to one question and one follow-up. If you would like to ask a question, please press star one to raise your hand. To withdraw your question, press star one again. We ask that you pick up your handset when asking the question to allow for optimum sound quality. If you are muted locally, please remember to unmute your device. Please stand by while we compile the Q&A roster. Your first question comes from Griffin Boss with B. Riley. Your line is open. Please go ahead.

Griffin Boss, Analyst, B. Riley: Hi. Good afternoon. Thanks for taking my question. I just want to start off on the regulatory front. Mariam, you mentioned bipartisan support. I think we would agree with that, obviously. But I am just curious if there is more color you could provide about the Democratic sweep we saw in the midterms and whether that changes your outlook on the NPRM’s path through the OIRA process. Does it make it more or less urgent for the FCC to perhaps try and get this out this year before the new Congress steps in in January? Just any additional color to the extent you are able to provide would be helpful.

Mariam Sorond, Chief Executive Officer, NextNav: Thanks, Griffin, for the question. First of all, PNT resiliency has been a longstanding bipartisan priority on both sides of the aisle. This is going back to the time where Senator Markey and Senator Cruz passed and co-sponsored the National Timing Resilience and Security Act. We expect this to continue as an urgency and a priority for Congress. We also recently have heard Chairman Carr publicly state that he has had no concerns about his relationship with the Congressional Democrats, and that the FCC would be going, quote unquote, "full steam ahead" in 2027 regardless of the election’s outcome. We believe the FCC will continue to make spectrum policy and PNT a key priority, particularly around bands of spectrum with old rules and updating them for future technologies.

Another data point to share is, if you recall, our NOI had bipartisan support on a vote of 4 to 0. National security will also continue to be a priority of the administration. I think we’re in a good place to work with both sides of the aisle on an issue that everybody believes is urgent and a priority.

Griffin Boss, Analyst, B. Riley: Great. Thank you for that, Mariam. For my follow-up, I just want to clarify on the counter-drone sensing opportunity here. Can any of these capabilities happen, or can you provide them under the current license, or are these additional capabilities that you’ll be able to provide with the final FCC order for 5G use?

Mariam Sorond, Chief Executive Officer, NextNav: I mean, we’re currently demonstrating this, our PNT in Santa Clara under the proposed rules that we have. We obviously have capabilities to do some technologies on the existing rules, but ideally, this needs to be on a 5G network. This is what ISAC, which is the integrated sensing technology that has been developed by 5G to support this. This is where PNT is relying on the PRS signal. These will all work much better in a 5G ecosystem that actually has the commercial scale and the technology is future-proof to evolve them as 5G goes to 6G and the future generation of technology. We would like to see it go to the 5G technology.

Griffin Boss, Analyst, B. Riley: Okay, understood. Makes sense. Thank you, Mariam. Thank you, Tim. Appreciate it.

Mariam Sorond, Chief Executive Officer, NextNav: Thank you.

Operator: Your next question comes from Tim Horan with Oppenheimer. Your line is open. Please go ahead.

Tim Horan, Analyst, Oppenheimer: Thanks, guys. The California trial, does that kind of simulate real-world conditions for when, let’s say, those get built out as part of a 5G network, what a carrier would be doing in terms of power and coverage or in-building penetration? Yeah.

Mariam Sorond, Chief Executive Officer, NextNav: Yeah. Thank you, Tim, for the question. The 5G network in Santa Clara is operating on 5G powers for both the base station and device on 5G towers. It is very much a real-world situation of how you would do PNT in a 5G network. It’s showing and demonstrating the technology. Invite everyone to come visit us in Santa Clara to see how we provide the accuracy that is needed for the complement and backup proposal that we are. It works great.

Tim Horan, Analyst, Oppenheimer: I know you said there’s been no reports of interference, but have you done maybe more extensive or intensive trials yourself to see if there was any interference?

Mariam Sorond, Chief Executive Officer, NextNav: The Santa Clara network is to demonstrate that we are meeting a national security imperative. But obviously, we are transmitting at full 5G powers across the base station and the device. We have not heard. The way that the STA is set up is that it allows anyone in the band to call with an interference issue. We’ve not had any.

Tim Horan, Analyst, Oppenheimer: Okay. Thanks. Are you hearing, is there any, or when do you think the next band of sub-1 gigahertz spectrum can be freed up other than yourself at this point? Just curious if you’re hearing of any.

Mariam Sorond, Chief Executive Officer, NextNav: I mean, I really can’t speculate on what other spectrum could be in the pipeline that would free up. It would need to be going through a regulatory process and a clearing process, similar to what was done, for example, when we saw the incentive auction happen in 600 MHz. If there is new spectrum to be coming up, the regulatory process will need to follow very closely and the same timelines that we saw over there. Low band continues to be very scarce currently, especially as we see this market dynamics of needing low band for the new entrants and even the existing players. I believe that the short term is really what’s available out there.

Tim Horan, Analyst, Oppenheimer: Lastly, are you continuing to have conversations with the FCC, and have you had any conversations with OIRA? Do you have any sense what the delay is at this point? I know you said in the earnings release you’re making progress on the regulatory front. I guess if you can elaborate on that, it’d be great.

Mariam Sorond, Chief Executive Officer, NextNav: Yeah, we continue to talk to the administration and all the federal agencies. As we can see, there are folks who are going to see the OIRA, and they have to manage their process, they have to hear out everyone, and then they have to be able to ask their questions that they need. So we’re working constructively with everyone as this process continues.

Tim Horan, Analyst, Oppenheimer: Got it. So you think it’s just a matter of everyone interfacing with OIRA and expressing what their concerns are, and then OIRA ultimately making a decision?

Mariam Sorond, Chief Executive Officer, NextNav: Yeah, I think the whole purpose of the OIRA process is designed to allow interested parties to present their views. We’re not surprised that our opponents are using this interagency process, especially since the FCC sent the NPRM out. Some parties are slower than others to have their meetings, but it’s continuing.

Tim Horan, Analyst, Oppenheimer: Do you have any sense on the timing, where they are in the process? Have they met with everyone at this point?

Mariam Sorond, Chief Executive Officer, NextNav: We’re not going to disclose a sense of timing because this is a process that is managed by OMB and OIRA, and how they see this and who else that they might want to talk to. It is really their process, so I can’t comment on their timing.

Tim Horan, Analyst, Oppenheimer: I appreciate that. Okay, thanks a million. Good luck.

Mariam Sorond, Chief Executive Officer, NextNav: Thank you.

Operator: Your next question comes from Greg Pendy with Clear Street. Your line is open. Please go ahead.

Greg Pendy, Analyst, Clear Street: Hey, thanks for taking my question. Can you just remind us, I know the recent rail data came out, but is there any other coexistence data or test results that you’ll be submitting to the FCC on record to address any of the other opposition filings out there?

Mariam Sorond, Chief Executive Officer, NextNav: Thank you for the question. I think we have put substantial amount of coexistence data. The FCC has sent an NPRM. We believe we have shown the path to move forward. As part of the NPRM process, the FCC may require further analysis or more data, and we would be working with them to make sure that we provide that when it’s needed.

Greg Pendy, Analyst, Clear Street: Okay, got it. Thanks a lot.

Mariam Sorond, Chief Executive Officer, NextNav: Thank you.

Operator: Your next question comes from David Joyce with Seaport Research Partners. Your line is open. Please go ahead.

David Joyce, Analyst, Seaport Research Partners: Thank you. With the broader satellite and wireless competitive landscape in flux, attention’s obviously been drawn to the potential for direct-to-device use cases. You did allude to that earlier, but what testing, if any, have you done on that front? What other elements would need to be in place for you to see if there’s any progress that can be made there?

Mariam Sorond, Chief Executive Officer, NextNav: Yeah, thank you for the question. I think our focus has been on PNT, and our testing has been on terrestrial PNT. But of course, I think in the D2D space, there is existing testing on low band spectrum that has been done. I think that testing is a validation of what D2D can do. I don’t think it needs to be reproduced, and I think the stakeholders who are interested in it have access to their own test data to be able to tell what the performance is on low band. We’re focused on PRS and PNT because that is a new capability that has not been demonstrated and tested.

David Joyce, Analyst, Seaport Research Partners: Appreciate it. Thank you.

Mariam Sorond, Chief Executive Officer, NextNav: Sure.

Operator: There are no further questions at this time, and that concludes the NextNav third quarter 2026 earnings call. Thank you for attending. You may now disconnect.