--- title: "Knightscope Earnings Call: Record Growth, Rising Risks" type: "News" locale: "en" url: "https://longbridge.com/en/news/286980490.md" description: "Knightscope Inc. reported Q1 2026 revenue of $6.0 million, doubling year-over-year, marking its strongest quarter. The company achieved its first positive gross margin of 7.7% and narrowed its loss per share to $0.74. Despite record growth, management cautioned about rising operating losses and cash burn due to heavy investments and integration costs. The acquisition of Event Risk contributed significantly to revenue, and Knightscope aims to build a robust Autonomous Security Force amid a $230 billion market opportunity." datetime: "2026-05-20T00:24:06.000Z" locales: - [zh-CN](https://longbridge.com/zh-CN/news/286980490.md) - [en](https://longbridge.com/en/news/286980490.md) - [zh-HK](https://longbridge.com/zh-HK/news/286980490.md) --- # Knightscope Earnings Call: Record Growth, Rising Risks Knightscope Inc Class A ((KSCP)) has held its Q1 earnings call. Read on for the main highlights of the call. ### Claim 55% Off TipRanks - Unlock hedge fund-level data and powerful investing tools for smarter, sharper decisions - Discover top-performing stock ideas and upgrade to a portfolio of market leaders with Smart Investor Picks Knightscope Inc. delivered a cautiously optimistic tone on its latest earnings call, mixing record revenue growth and a long-awaited positive gross margin with mounting losses and integration risks. Management highlighted strong demand for its autonomous security technology and the immediate benefits of its recent acquisition, but also stressed that investors should expect continued cash burn and elevated spending as the company pursues a multi-year scale-up. ## Record Revenue Surge Marks Strongest Quarter Yet Knightscope reported Q1 2026 revenue of $6.0 million, more than doubling year over year from $2.9 million and marking the strongest quarter in its history. Management framed this growth as evidence that its security technology and services are gaining traction, even as the company remains in investment mode. ## Balanced Growth Across Services and Products On a pro forma basis including the Event Risk acquisition, Q1 revenue would have reached about $10 million versus $7.2 million a year earlier, a roughly 39% increase. Service revenue climbed to $4.2 million, up 98% year over year, while product revenue jumped 128% to $1.8 million, signaling momentum on both recurring and hardware sales. ## Event Risk Acquisition Immediately Accretive The newly acquired Event Risk business added $2.4 million of revenue in its first 32 days, generating $400,000 in gross profit and a 17.5% segment margin, and was net income accretive by about $100,000. Knightscope paid roughly $18 million in total consideration, blending cash, debt repayment and stock, and management underscored the deal as a cornerstone of its security force strategy. ## First Positive Gross Margin Marks Key Inflection For the first time in recent history, Knightscope turned in a positive consolidated gross profit of $465,000, or 7.7% of revenue, compared with a gross loss of $668,000 and a negative margin last year. Core technology margins also swung from roughly negative 23% to a modest positive 1.5%, a $1.1 million year-over-year improvement that management called a critical step toward profitability. ## Core Technology Shows Solid Organic Momentum Excluding the acquisition, core technology revenue rose 26% year over year, climbing from $2.9 million to $3.7 million. The company pointed to this organic growth as validation that demand for its autonomous security platforms is expanding independent of deal-driven boosts. ## Per-Share Loss Narrows Despite Heavy Dilution Knightscope’s loss per share improved to $0.74 from $1.28 a year earlier, a 42% improvement even though the weighted average share count grew 156%. Management cast this as evidence that operating leverage is starting to appear, though investors must weigh the benefit against significant dilution from prior capital raises and deal consideration. ## Product Roadmap Advances With K7 and Orchestration The company reported ongoing progress on its K7 autonomous security robot, with a limited release targeted for this summer, and continued work on a next-generation K1 device. An orchestration software platform, intended for internal release in the fourth quarter, is designed to integrate robots, software and personnel into a unified managed service. ## Building an Autonomous Security Force at Scale Headcount has now surpassed 400 employees as Knightscope formalizes its Autonomous Security Force vision aimed at a cited $230 billion total addressable market. The company also completed a five-year collaboration with Carnegie Mellon to develop a national security robotics lab, which it believes enhances its technology leadership and market positioning. ## Liquidity Levers Provide Short-Term Flexibility As of March 31, 2026, Knightscope held $11.4 million in cash and cash equivalents, providing some cushion for near-term operations. Management noted that its at-the-market equity facility remains active, offering additional flexibility to raise capital as needed while it integrates Event Risk and ramps its security offerings. ## Operating Losses Swell With Heavy Investment Despite topline strength, the net loss widened to $10.3 million from $6.9 million in the prior-year quarter, driven by sharply higher operating expenses of $10.8 million. Research and development spending more than doubled to $4.7 million, while selling, general and administrative costs climbed 51% to $6.1 million, reflecting both integration efforts and aggressive product investment. ## Cash Burn Rises Amid Deal and Growth Spending Knightscope’s cash balance fell from $20.6 million at year-end 2025 to $11.4 million, primarily due to acquisition-related outflows and ongoing investment. About $6.1 million of cash went to the Event Risk transaction, alongside roughly $1 million of direct deal costs, underscoring the near-term pressure on liquidity even as management pursues scale. ## Margins Positive but Not Yet Sustainable Management cautioned that the newly positive gross margin remains fragile, with consolidated margins at 7.7% and core technology at only 1.5%. They warned that supply chain variability and the absence of full scale mean margins are not yet at a steady-state level and could fluctuate as integration and growth initiatives proceed. ## Labor-Heavy Service Model Weighs on Costs Service costs now include about $1.8 million of contracted labor tied to the acquired security force, creating a recurring expense that compresses short-term margins. Knightscope expects these labor costs to moderate as it achieves integration synergies and scales its combined hardware, software and human security services. ## Integration Costs Add to Near-Term Drag The company recognized approximately $1 million of one-time transaction expenses in SG&A this quarter related to the acquisition and signaled that additional near-term integration spending is likely. Even excluding these one-off items, normalized operating expenses of $9.8 million were nearly 60% above last year’s run rate, reflecting the intensity of the current build-out phase. ## Liquidity and Going-Concern Risks Under Scrutiny Knightscope flagged its ongoing operating losses and the need for additional capital as material risks, aligning with standard going-concern disclosures for early-stage growth companies. Excluding one-time transaction costs, the normalized quarterly net loss remained sizable at about $9.3 million, highlighting that the path to break-even is still distant. ## Forward Guidance Centers on Scale and Margin Expansion Looking ahead, management emphasized integrating Event Risk and scaling the Autonomous Security Force while sustaining heavy investment in R&D and go-to-market capabilities. They are targeting an internal launch of orchestration software in the fourth quarter and a limited K7 deployment this summer, with long-term ambitions for substantial recurring revenue and margin expansion driven by operational scale, manufacturing efficiency and higher-margin software sales, even as cash burn and reliance on funding facilities persist. Knightscope’s latest earnings call paints a picture of a company accelerating growth and sharpening its strategic positioning, but at the cost of larger losses and heightened liquidity risk. For investors, the story hinges on whether record revenue, early acquisition accretion and product milestones can translate into durable margins before the cash cushion and shareholder patience thin out. ### Related Stocks - [KSCP.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/KSCP.US.md) ## Related News & Research - [Knightscope announces annual shareholder meeting](https://longbridge.com/en/news/293797500.md) - [CoinFerenceX and The Best Event Join Forces to Launch "CoinFerenceX The Best Event Singapore," the Decentralised Summit](https://longbridge.com/en/news/294127456.md) - [Flutter Entertainment Announce Management Participation in Upcoming Event | FLUT Stock News](https://longbridge.com/en/news/294535272.md) - [Jim Cramer Called the Situational Awareness Blowup a 'Clearing Event:' Is That Why SNDK, NBIS Bounced?](https://longbridge.com/en/news/294739165.md) - [Oil tumbles as Trump cancels attack on Iran to reach nuclear deal](https://longbridge.com/en/news/294614703.md)