SEC 8-K filings with transcript text
Aug 13, 2026
2 merlininc8-kxex99181326.htm
Document
Exhibit 99.1
Merlin, Inc. Reports Second Quarter 2026 Results
Ended Second Quarter 2026 With $183.9 Million in Cash, Cash Equivalents, and Short Term Investments, and No Debt
BOSTON, MA – August 13, 2026 – Merlin, Inc. (Nasdaq: MRLN), an aerospace and defense technology company building the operating system of record for autonomous flight, today announced operating and financial results for its second quarter ended June 30, 2026.
Business Highlights
•USSOCOM C-130J contract progress. On June 4, 2026, Merlin announced the completion of the Critical Design Review (CDR) for the C-130J autonomy program. The next phase is to integrate the system onto an aircraft and then begin ground testing, moving Merlin closer to deployment across USSOCOM’s C-130J fleet.
•Autonomous landing milestone at Oshkosh. On July 17, 2026, Merlin executed the first fully autonomous landing at the EAA AirVenture Oshkosh airport using a conventional fixed wing aircraft (Cessna 208B Grand Caravan).
•Strategic industry partnership expansion. Merlin and Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) signed a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding to advance AI-powered autonomy for Part 25 commercial cargo aircraft. The collaboration establishes a phased path toward platform integration, civil certification, and commercialization, expanding Merlin’s partner ecosystem and positioning its technology to address the approximately 2,400-aircraft global civil cargo market (excluding China and Russia) identified in Airbus's 2025 Cargo Global Market Forecast.
•Civil certification progress. Merlin has achieved the Stage of Involvement 3 (SOI 3) milestone with the New Zealand Civil Aviation Authority (CAANZ), in coordination with the FAA under a Bilateral Aviation Safety Agreement. Separately, Merlin successfully concluded an important certification issue paper with the CAANZ addressing the use of AI/ML-based natural language processing within Merlin Pilot, which enables voice-based interaction with air traffic control. This technical progress advances Merlin’s civil certification strategy and long-term objective of addressing a global commercial aviation market of more than 22,000 aircraft as reported in the August 2025 IATA Global Commercial Aircraft Fleet Report.
“Each of these milestones tackles an independent challenge across commercial, technology, and certification, and that diversity is what makes them so important. We believe these milestones represent meaningful evidence of progress toward our mission to build a certifiable autonomous core that is capable of safely and reliably flying any aircraft for any use case. In other words, we are building what we believe will be the operating system of record for the next century of aviation” said Matt George, CEO of Merlin.
Second Quarter 2026 Financial Results
•Second quarter 2026 total revenue of $2.2 million, compared to $1.0 million in the first quarter of 2026
•Second quarter 2026 GAAP net loss of $(58.4) million, compared to $(90.4) million in the first quarter of 2026
•Second quarter 2026 Adjusted EBITDA* loss of $(27.8) million, compared to an Adjusted EBITDA loss of $(23.3) million in the first quarter of 2026
•Cash, cash equivalents, and short-term investments of $183.9 million at June 30, 2026, compared to $123.1 million at March 31, 2026
*For all Non-GAAP financial measures, see the reconciliation table at the end of this earnings release for further discussion
Conference Call Details
Merlin will host a live webcast on August 13, 2026 beginning at 4:30 pm ET to discuss its second quarter 2026 financial results. A registration link as well as the live webcast will be accessible on the Company’s investor relations website at investors.merlinlabs.com. A replay will be available for a limited period following the call.
About Merlin
Merlin is an aerospace and defense technology company building the operating system of record for autonomous flight. Through a first-principles approach, Merlin is redefining what’s possible across aviation, aerospace, and defense with the goal of delivering full-stack autonomy for any aircraft, military or civilian, from takeoff to touchdown. The Merlin Pilot system powers a growing range of aircraft and mission profiles, proven through hundreds of autonomous flights from test facilities across the globe. With $100M+ total in IDIQ contract ceiling value under its C-130J autonomy program with USSOCOM, Merlin is advancing American leadership in autonomous aviation by helping to solve national security challenges through safe, reliable autonomy. To learn more, visit www.merlinlabs.com or follow us on X @merlinaero.
This press release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the “safe harbor” provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding Merlin’s expected financ
May 14, 2026
2 ea029055601ex99-1.htm
Exhibit 99.1
Merlin, Inc. Reports First Quarter 2026 Results
Company Introduces Condor, Merlin’s first product family, bringing Merlin Pilot to large, multi-crew aircraft for civil and defense missions
BOSTON, MA – May 14, 2026 – Merlin, Inc. (Nasdaq: MRLN), an aerospace and defense technology company building the operating system of record for autonomous flight, today announced operating and financial results for its first quarter ended March 31, 2026. This was the Company’s first quarterly report of operations as a public company following the close of its business combination with Inflection Point Acquisition Corp. IV on March 16, 2026.
Business Highlights
●Automated takeoffs. On April 11 and April 21, Merlin executed its first fully automated takeoffs on fixed wing aircraft, one in the United States and one in New Zealand.
●Certification progression. Merlin’s civil certification program is advancing with the New Zealand Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), working in partnership with the FAA. The Company has completed SOI 1 and SOI 2 and is targeting the first certified, fully automated takeoff-to-touchdown flight on a fixed wing aircraft.
●C-130J program. Merlin continued execution on its prime IDIQ contract with USSOCOM for C-130J autonomy, a $105 million ceiling contract and the anchor of the Company’s defense revenue base.
“For a hundred years, aviation has been built, fundamentally, around human crews. We believe its next hundred years will be built around autonomy,” said Matt George, Merlin’s Founder and Chief Executive Officer. “This is our first earnings report since we became a public company in March. The first quarter of 2026 reflected our continued progress on the Merlin Pilot, qualification across airframes, and our efforts towards achieving certification. Our operating focus going forward is converting that progress into scaled commercialization, and we intend to take further concrete steps in that direction in the coming quarters as we build a generational autonomous AI aviation company.”
Introducing Condor
Condor is being introduced to bring Merlin Pilot into large, multi-crew aircraft alongside the human pilots already in the cockpit. It is designed to make operations safer and more productive, and to expand the envelope for reduced-crew missions. It applies to both civil and defense markets.
On the civil side, Condor targets large-airframe cargo, where we believe pilot shortages and rising crew costs create structural demand for autonomy. Merlin has entered into a memorandum of understanding with World Star Aviation Limited, a leading freighter lessor, to advance Condor’s commercial development and deployment frameworks. This arrangement is preliminary and non-binding, and is subject to the negotiation of a definitive agreement.
On the defense side, the autonomy stack being advanced on the C-130J provides the technical foundation for Condor’s applicability to additional large military aircraft.
Liquidity
On May 1, 2026, Merlin closed an equity financing led by an existing fundamental institutional shareholder. The full terms are described in the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on April 29, 2026 Form 8-K. Following the close, cash, cash equivalents, and short-term investments were approximately $183 million, with no debt outstanding.
Leadership
Michael Baker joined as Chief Marketing Officer effective March 31, 2026, bringing nearly fifteen years of brand and communications leadership, most recently as Global Head of Brand and Communications at Formlabs. Mark Brunner joined as Chief Revenue Officer effective April 13, 2026, bringing more than twenty-five years of experience spanning military service, defense policy, and business development at the intersection of government and advanced technology. Together, the CMO and CRO positions are intended to help establish the Company’s architecture for market-building and enterprise-sales accountability as programs are expected to mature from development to deployment.
First Quarter 2026 Financial Results
●First quarter 2026 Total revenue of $1.0 million, compared to $0.9 million in the first quarter of 2025
●First quarter 2026 GAAP net loss of $(90.4) million, compared to $(12.7) million in the first quarter of 2025
●First quarter 2026 Adjusted EBITDA* loss of $(23.3) million, compared to an Adjusted EBITDA loss of $(10.4) million in the first quarter of 2025
●Cash, cash equivalents, and short-term investments of $122.8 million at March 31, 2026, compared to $59.3 million at December 31, 2025
* For all Non-GAAP financial measures, see the reconciliation table at the end of this earnings release for further discussion
Conference Call Details
Merlin will host a live webcast on May 14, 2026 beginning at 8:30 am ET to discuss its first quarter 2026 financial results. A registration link as well as the live webcast will be a
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