Share of space-based Earth-imaging company Planet Labs soared 45% after the company reported better-than-expected first-quarter results.

Planet Labs announced breakeven adjusted first-quarter results from sales of $66.3 million, up 10% year over year. Wall Street was looking for a loss per share of 4 cents on sales of $62.3 million, according to FactSet.

Free cash flow was $8 million. It's the first time the company has generated positive quarterly free cash flow.

"We had an excellent first quarter, exceeding our expectations, demonstrating solid validation of our strategic direction and great execution," said CEO Will Marshall in a news release. Looking ahead, we're responding to strong demand signals by prioritizing the delivery of global insights at scale via artificial-intelligence-enabled solutions and rapidly expanding our satellite-services offering."

For the second quarter, Planet Labs expects sales of $65 million to $67 million. Wall Street was projecting $65.4 million. For the full year, Planet Labs expects sales of $265 million to $280 million. Wall Street was projecting about $270 million.

Coming into Thursday trading, Planet Labs stock is up 72% since the Nov. 5 presidential election. President Trump plans to use more commercial service providers to meet the government's space needs. That's lifted stocks in the sector.

Shares of space launch provider Rocket Lab, Planet Labs peer BlackSky Technology, and equipment manufacturer Redwire were up 128%, 67%, and 113%, respectively, since the election.

Wedbush analyst Dan Ives called the quarter "strong" in a Thursday report. "Planet Labs finds itself at the center of multiple market-changing transformations that will present significant opportunities in the pipeline to generate durable, profitable growth into fiscal year 2027," added the analyst. Ives lifted his price target on Planet Labs stock to $7 from $5, and has a Buy rating.

Pipeline growth looks strong. Backlog ended the quarter at $527 million, up from $221 million a year ago.