Skip to navigationSkip to main contentSkip to right columnADVERTISEMENTRich Smith, The Motley FoolWed, August 5, 2026 at 9:02 PM GMT+2 3 min readSatellite communications company ViaSat (NASDAQ: VSAT) stock tumbled 4.5% through 2 p.m. ET Wednesday after reporting mixed earnings last night.As TheFly.com reports, ViaSat's fiscal Q1 2027 earnings of $0.17 per share (non-GAAP) were nearly twice the $0.09 per share that analysts expected; however, the company's revenue fell just short of the predicted $1.2 billion.Missed Nvidia in 2009? This Rare Signal Is Flashing Again. In 2009, a "Double Down" signal flashed for a little-known chipmaker called Nvidia. For the first time in years, that same "Total Conviction" signal is flashing for a company 1/100th the size of Nvidia. Continue »Image source: Getty Images.ViaSat Q1 earnings by the numbersDespite the apparent earnings beat, however, not all ViaSat's news was good. Earnings calculated under generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) were negative $52 million -- better than last year's $56 million loss, but still a loss. Sales declined 1% year over year at ViaSat, with communications services revenue flat and defense revenue declining 4%.But not all the news was bad either. Free cash flow at ViaSat, for example, was positive despite the GAAP loss, with ViaSat generating cash profits of $72 million, a 19% year-over-year increase. ViaSat also took in $1.3 billion in new orders during the quarter, more than it recorded as sales going out the door -- and resulting in a positive book-to-bill ratio of 1.08 that implies sales growth will resume in the near future.What's next for ViaSat stock?ViaSat noted that over the last 12 months, its total free cash flow generated is $189 million, so the jump to $72 million is significant. Still, even assuming ViaSat can maintain this level of quarterly cash generation going forward, at its current $11.1 billion market capitalization, ViaSat stock trades at nearly 59 times FCF -- and that's before accounting for its $5.2 billion in net debt. Counting that, the company's enterprise value would be closer to 86 times FCF, which seems expensive to me.At this price, I fear ViaSat stock looks more like a sell than a buy.Yesterday, 4:26 PMReports Q1 revenue $1.16B, consensus $1.2B.Should you buy stock in Viasat right now?Before you buy stock in Viasat, consider this:The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Viasat wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut are built for long-term growth and could produce monster returns in the coming years.Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $396,758!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $1,300,820!*Terms and Privacy PolicyEU DSA contactPrivacy & Cookie SettingsMore Info