Good day, and thank you for standing by. Welcome to the Q1 2026 KVH Industries Earnings Conference Call. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. After the speaker's presentation, there will be a question and answer session. To ask a question during the session, you will need to press star one one on your telephone. You will then hear an automated message advising your hand is raised. To withdraw your question, please press star one one again. Please be advised that today's conference is being recorded. I would now like to hand the conference over to your first speaker today, Anthony Pike, CFO. Please go ahead.
Thank you, operator. Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us today for KVH Industries first quarter results, which are included in the earnings release we published earlier this morning. Joining me on the call is the company's Chief Executive Officer, Brent Bruun. A copy of the earnings release was filed with the SEC under Form 8-K this morning, and a copy of the release, along with a recording of today's call, will be available on our website at investors.kvh.com. This conference call contains certain forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in these statements. Words such as expect, may, intend, anticipate, will, and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements, which include projections, plans, initiatives, and other future events.
We undertake no obligation to update these statements. You should review the cautionary statements in our most recently filed Form 10-K under the heading Risk Factors. We will also discuss adjusted EBITDA, a non-GAAP financial measure. Our press release defines this term and reconciles it to GAAP net income or loss. Brent.
Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us. The shift to LEO that we highlighted last quarter continues to gain traction. Our first quarter results demonstrate that KVH is successfully capitalizing on this momentum. We are encouraged by the results that reflect sustained demand for our solutions, along with strong execution across the organization. Total revenue for the quarter came in at $32.3 million, increasing sequentially from the fourth quarter 2025. This growth was primarily driven by strong shipments of our communication terminals, which continue to see healthy demand across our core markets. Those shipments are the foundation of our recurring revenue model and a leading indicator for future subscriber activations. As expected, service revenue was consistent with the previous quarter.
The first quarter typically reflects seasonal patterns in our business, where service revenue is either flat or slightly down compared to the fourth quarter. This trend has held steady over the past several years, and this quarter was no exception. One of the highlights of the quarter was our record level of connectivity unit shipments. We shipped approximately 3,100 units, a 70% increase over our previous high achieved in the third quarter 2025. This milestone reflects both strong market demand and our team's ability to execute at scale. Importantly, these shipments position us well for anticipated activation growth as we move into the second quarter. Which brings me to our subscriber base. We ended the quarter with approximately 9,600 vessels. This reflects continued adoption of our solutions and the strength of our value proposition in the maritime market.
Within that base, the shift I described is visible in the numbers. LEO services now represent over 45% of our airtime revenue, up from less than 30% a year ago. Our standalone VSAT subscriber base saw a decrease during the quarter, as expected, reflecting the ongoing industry-wide shift toward LEO. We continue to view this business as an important part of our portfolio as customers migrate to our broader multi-orbit offering. We are exploring an additional LEO service that will further strengthen our multi-orbit offering, giving customers more choice and flexibility for their onboard connectivity. Additionally, we are working to expand our onboard role beyond connectivity. We are seeing encouraging progress in our newer service offerings. In particular, our IT service is gaining traction, with the service currently being evaluated on a number of vessels.
While still early, feedback has been positive, and we see this as an important step toward expanding our role as a broader solutions provider. We also remain focused on our existing differentiated value-added services. In addition to managed IT, we have made meaningful progress with our Link content platform. Crew welfare has always been important in maritime operations, and it has gained even greater attention in recent years. Our Link service directly addresses this need by delivering content that enhances crew morale and onboard experience. We are encouraged by the traction we are seeing and are continuing to invest in the platform. In the coming months, we plan to introduce live stream content, further increasing its value to customers and crew alike. Finally, we continue to focus on expanding our global footprint.
We see significant opportunities in key growth regions, particularly India and Latin America, where demand for reliable connectivity solutions is increasing. Our efforts in these regions are aimed at strengthening partnerships, increasing market presence, and capturing long-term growth opportunities. In conclusion, here's what we delivered in the first quarter. Record shipments, a growing subscriber base, LEO mix shifting exactly as planned, managed IT in early trials, a content platform expanding its reach, and a geographic footprint linked to market opportunities. The shift is real, and we're capturing it. Last quarter, I said I've never been more confident in KVH's direction. Q1 only strengthens that conviction. We remain firmly focused on disciplined execution as we advance our transition to LEO-based solutions. Thank you. With that, I'll turn it over to Anthony.
Thank you, Brent. With respect to our first quarter financial results, service gross profit was $9.8 million, which is consistent with the prior quarter. Service gross margin was 35%, which was up slightly from 34% in the prior quarter. Airtime depreciation expense, which is a non-cash charge, represented 7% and 8% of the service revenue in the first and fourth quarters, respectively, which impacted these gross margins. As Brent mentioned, total subscribing vessels at the end of Q1 were over 9,600, which is up 7% from the prior quarter. The Q1 operating expenses totaled $9.7 million compared to operating expenses of $10.5 million in the prior quarter. Q4 operating expenses included $0.8 million of non-recurring costs related to transaction costs from the acquisition we completed in Q4, as well as some restructuring costs.
Our adjusted EBITDA for the quarter was $2.8 million, and capital expenditure for the quarter was $2.6 million. The capital expenditure of $2.6 million included $1 million related to our ongoing ERP project and the fit out of our new U.S. headquarters, both of which will be completed in 2026, and $0.4 million related to non-cash expenditure on VSAT antennas used in our Agile rental program , where the inventory has already been purchased in prior periods. This EBITDA compares to $3.1 million and capital expenditure of $2.4 million in the fourth quarter of 2025.
Our ending cash balance of $59.2 million was down approximately $10.8 million from the beginning of the quarter. This decrease was driven by installment payments to Starlink of $16 million related to our bulk purchase of data. Overall, we're encouraged with the first quarter's performance. We had another record quarter for connectivity antenna shipments, representing, as Brent mentioned, an increase of 70% from the previous high in Q3 2025. Subscribing connectivity vessels were up 7% quarter-on-quarter and 30% year-on-year. Our LEO airtime revenue is very close to overtaking our legacy VSAT airtime revenue for the first time. All of which evidences our continued success in executing our strategy to transition to a LEO-driven maritime satellite communications market leader.
This concludes our prepared remarks, and I will now turn the call over to the Operator to open the line for the Q&A portion of this morning's call. Operator.
Thank you. At this time, we will conduct the question-and-answer session. As a reminder, to ask a question, you will need to press star one one on your telephone and wait for your name to be announced. To withdraw your question, please press star one one again. Our first question comes from the line of Chris Quilty of Quilty Space. Your line is now open.
Thanks, Brent. Question for you. I mean, you did say 3,100 units shipped in the quarter, because I think, like, the best you've ever done is 1,600 previously.
Chris, 3,100 is correct. The previous high, and Anthony can give you the exact number, was approximately 1,800, a bit more, I believe, around 1,850.
Okay.
It's a lot of I mean, that's a crazy number. Was there I'm sorry. [crosstalk]
Yeah. I mean, that's sort of a crazy number. Was there something unusual going on in the quarter, maybe related to Iran? Do you think that, y ou know, it was just a uptick in the new markets?
It didn't have anything to do specifically with Iran. We did sell a number of units into the Asia Pac region for low data plans that will be used on fishing fleets. Nevertheless, they will still turn into paying subscribers.
Gotcha. I mean, is that level sustainable? I think I only had, like, 3,400 net adds this year.
Yeah.
What sort of transition are you seeing from shipments? Is it still the sort of 60 to 90 days from shipment? Initiation of service?
That's pretty typical. You know, 60 and 90 days, and it does take a while. Would I anticipate that we're gonna stay at this rate? Not necessarily. I think that, you know, we'll stay at a good rate, but I think this quarter in particular, I'd just like to point out that it was particularly high, and I think it has to do with the seasonality aspects too, in that, you know, although the revenue was flat because of suspended vessels, it's the time of year where, both in the leisure and in particular fishing, they're getting their boats in and ready to go.
Gotcha. There was no new market expansion. You have talked about stepping up your efforts in India and Latin America. Does that involve, you know, incremental costs of people on the ground or advertising?
Yeah, there'll be incremental costs. We're looking to expand our sales team in addition to, you know, marketing efforts, but not beyond what we had anticipated this year, and it's, you know, the budget is embedded into the guidance that we provided.
Gotcha. India has not yet given the full license for Starlink or OneWeb service at this point, have they?
No. OneWeb, I believe, is further along. You know, and VSAT is being widely adopted there.
Until the LEO shows up.
They're trialing OneWeb right now, so they're a bit ahead. We are focusing on both VSAT, OneWeb, and Starlink when it's ready to go.
Yeah. Again, back to the unit shipped this quarter. Was the greater availability of OneWeb a major factor in that or, any pricing changes? I'm just trying to get to the bottom. That's kind of a shockingly big number.
Well, well, OneWeb wasn't a major factor. As I'm sure you're aware, Starlink has made their antennas even more affordable. As I say, I think a lot of this was prep for the upcoming seasons for both leisure and fishing.
Gotcha. Anthony, when you look at the roll-off of the GEO capacity, and I know you've got some step-downs in the contracts for GEO capacity, has anything changed, you know, from, you know, last quarter or last year in terms of the margin profile that you expect out of that business for the year?
Not particularly. We disclosed previously the drop in the commitment. Where, you know, where we are, we're fairly happy with. I think, you know, the decline has been very steady. It has been more predictable in recent times. No. Chris, the short answer is no.
Gotcha. The managed IT services, where do those revenues land? You know, again, like the market expansion, are there any anticipated significant costs with stepping this up, or can you generally match costs as you know, scale with revenue?
Yeah. Well, there are costs, but it's the same answer as the previous one. They're budgeted costs, and they're with the guidance that we provided. Chris, maybe we should give other people a chance to ask questions. If you have any others, we can take it on at the end.
Okay. My apologies. I will pass the floor.
Okay. Thank you.
Thank you. As a reminder, if you do have a question, please press star one one on your telephone to join the Q&A queue. Give it one moment, please.
Okay. I guess, Chris, if you have any other questions, we can go back to him, operator.
All right. We're back to Chris Quilty. Your line is now open.
All right. You couldn't get rid of me. Really only had one more question. Just CommBox, any updates there? You know, on product features, distribution, attachment rates?
Yeah. That's a great question. We recently introduced a paywall, which will enable, you know, point of sale type of purchases for our customers that take it from us. They need to set up the payment stream. We have plans to increase that, where we would actually have the point-of-sale application come to KVH, where we could sell crew bandwidth directly. That's the biggest development in CommBox this past quarter.
Gotcha. Actually, I know I already asked this question somewhat, but do you see any, you know, lasting impact out of the Iranian conflict, that drives connectivity in any way?
No.
Using more capacity or, you know, you lose customers because the dark fleet goes away?
Well, we're not seeing any impact now. Obviously, like everyone, we hope this all dies down. I wouldn't anticipate any reduction in capacity. If you go back to COVID, right, when people were trapped on vessels for weeks at a time, our usage actually went up. If these vessels are sitting idle, they're still using bandwidth. As of this point, we haven't seen any meaningful impact one way or the other.
Perfect. Well, congrats on the numbers, guys. Hope you can keep it up. Good start to the year.
Okay. Thanks, Chris. Thank you, everyone.
Thank you. I am showing no further questions at this time. This does conclude our session today. You may now disconnect. Thank you so much.
Thank you. Have a good day, everyone.