Airgain NASDAQ: AIRG reported first-quarter 2026 results that management described as a “solid start” to the year, pointing to expanding commercial activity across its core markets and growth platforms, including Airgain Connect and Lighthouse. President and CEO Jacob Suen said the company is “began converting the strategic groundwork we laid last year into broader commercial momentum across the business,” as it continues its shift toward “a higher value system-level connectivity company.”
Airgain Connect expands through acquisition and growing pipeline
Suen highlighted expanded Airgain Connect capabilities following the acquisition of the “HPUE MegaFi 2 assets from Nextivity,” which he said strengthens Airgain’s vehicle gateway portfolio for public safety, utilities, and enterprise fleet applications. He said the addition enables Airgain to serve customers seeking either “a fully integrated vehicle gateway” or “a simpler high-power router solution.”
According to Suen, both AirgainConnect Fleet and AirgainConnect MegaFi 2 are part of the AT&T FirstNet offering and can be ordered through AT&T’s SPID portal.
On commercial progress, Suen said Airgain closed a tier 2 energy-sector customer in March that is deploying Airgain Connect across “more than 300 maintenance and service vehicles” after field trials showed improved connectivity and ease of installation.
He also said the Airgain Connect pipeline has expanded and advanced:
- More than 55 tier 1 and tier 2 opportunities, up about 40% from roughly 40 cited on the prior call.
- More than one-third of tier 1 and tier 2 opportunities are now in trial or post-trial stages, up from a quarter on the prior call.
- Most opportunities are now coming from non-first responder markets, which Suen said makes the mix “more attractive.”
During Q&A, Suen said tier 1 sales cycles remain “12 to 18 months,” and the company is “in the cycle time.” He added that tier 2 and tier 3 deal velocity has increased, saying that in 2025 the company closed “one deal per month,” while in 2026 year-to-date “it’s been about two deals per month.” Suen also said opportunity sizes are increasing as the company pursues larger non-first responder fleets that can involve “10,000s of vehicles.”
Lighthouse moves toward enterprise trial and commercialization discussions
Suen said Airgain is progressing Lighthouse in the U.S. by working with “a business sponsor and a tier 1 Mobile Network Operator” toward a live enterprise trial, which he characterized as a move “from network validation into the business and commercial base.” If the trial proceeds as expected, Suen said initial commercialization could begin toward the end of 2026, with a broader opportunity developing in 2027.
He cited customer challenges including “coverage, capacity, and the cost of network upgrades,” and said Lighthouse can offer a faster and more cost-effective option than traditional in-building systems such as DAS or small cells. Suen said indoor deployments represent the near-term opportunity, with initial deployments “targeted toward the end of this year,” while outdoor use cases are expected to follow a longer evaluation cycle.
Internationally, Suen said Airgain’s relationship with Omantel in the Middle East remains “an important entry point,” noting deployment activity had been paused due to conflict in the region, but engagement has resumed and the company expects to move forward with initial deployments “over the coming months.”
In response to an analyst question, Suen said technology validation has been completed through prior trials and the company is now working with the MNO’s sales team to identify one or two enterprise customers for a live trial. He described target customers as those where the MNO previously “had to walk away from deals” due to budget constraints and said Airgain’s approach could offer a solution at “a fraction of” legacy costs.
Core markets: consumer design win, IoT order, and new robotics and drone activity
In consumer, Suen said Airgain secured a “multi-year, multi-million dollar embedded antenna design win” for a next-generation 5G home connectivity platform with a tier 1 North American mobile network operator, with production units anticipated later in 2026. He said consumer revenue declined sequentially due to seasonality, and the company expects Q2 consumer revenue to remain “relatively stable” while it monitors a gateway-level supply constraint tied to memory availability and pricing at a single OEM serving cable operators.
CFO Michael Elbaz said the company saw “no revenue impact” and “no gross margin impact” from the memory-related shortages in Q1, and said the company is being conservative in Q2 expectations because the impacted OEM believes the issue is temporary and “will be worked out by the end of the quarter.”
During Q&A, Suen said Airgain has a “path” to returning to prior consumer revenue levels of $7 million to $8 million per quarter, but added the timing is uncertain: “Is that gonna be happening this year or next year? We don’t know that yet, although it’s trending very positively.”
In enterprise IoT, Suen said Airgain received a $4 million purchase order from a long-standing customer, with shipments expected to be completed in 2026 and initial shipments in Q2. He also pointed to a new design win with Coco Robotics and said the company is seeing activity in adjacent areas such as drones, including “pre-production shipments in Q2” for a program involving autonomous VTOL rotorcraft for defense and commercial applications.
Q1 financial results and Q2 outlook
Elbaz reported first-quarter sales of $11.5 million, which he said was at the midpoint of guidance. By segment, he reported enterprise sales of $5.0 million, automotive sales of $0.9 million, and consumer sales of $5.6 million. During Q&A, Suen clarified Q1 revenue mix as 49% consumer, 8% automotive, and 43% enterprise.
Non-GAAP gross margin was 44.2%, down from 46.3% in the prior quarter, which Elbaz attributed primarily to “an unfavorable product mix.” Non-GAAP operating expenses were $6.1 million, modestly higher sequentially due to first-quarter marketing and trade show activity, but down 8% year-over-year as the company worked to optimize its operating model.
Adjusted EBITDA was negative $0.9 million, while non-GAAP EPS was negative $0.08. Airgain ended the quarter with $7.1 million in cash, which Elbaz said was relatively flat sequentially, including $0.6 million in net cash proceeds from its at-the-market offering.
For the second quarter ending June 30, 2026, Elbaz guided for sales of $12.5 million to $14.5 million, with a $13.5 million midpoint, representing 17% sequential growth at the midpoint driven by enterprise and automotive. The company expects non-GAAP gross margin of 42.5% to 45.5% (44% at the midpoint) and operating expenses of about $5.8 million. Elbaz said non-GAAP EPS is expected to be positive $0.01 at the midpoint, with adjusted EBITDA expected to be positive $0.2 million at the midpoint.
In closing remarks, Suen said the company has “good visibility into Q2” and sees momentum across consumer demand, IoT repeat orders and new design wins, Airgain Connect conversions, and Lighthouse deployment activity. “Our focus is execution,” he said, including converting pipeline into deployments and improving profitability through 2026.
About Airgain NASDAQ: AIRG
Airgain, Inc NASDAQ: AIRG is a provider of intelligent wireless connectivity solutions designed to enhance data transmission, network performance and antenna efficiency for a range of devices. Headquartered in San Diego, California, the company develops both embedded and external antenna systems, as well as associated connectivity software, to support wireless applications across cellular, Wi-Fi, machine-to-machine (M2M) and Internet of Things (IoT) markets.
The company's product portfolio includes modular smart antennas, parallel path phase-diversity antennas and advanced array antenna solutions that are optimized for environments such as smart homes, industrial automation, transportation and enterprise networking.
Further Reading
This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.
Before you consider Airgain, you'll want to hear this.
MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Airgain wasn't on the list.
While Airgain currently has a Moderate Buy rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.
View The Five Stocks Here
Looking for the next FAANG stock before everyone has heard about it? Click the link to see which stocks MarketBeat analysts think might become the next trillion dollar tech company.
Get This Free Report
