6K Additive posts record $7.1M Q2 revenue as U.S. metal powder demand rises in aerospace and defense

6K Additive (ASX: 6KA) reported record second-quarter 2026 revenue of $7.1 million, up 63% year over year, with backlog rising to $11.9 million. Powder revenue reached $5 million, up 25% sequentially and 63% from the prior-year quarter, driven by defense contractors, aerospace companies, OEMs, and contract manufacturers. The Burgettstown, Pennsylvania firm produces titanium, nickel, copper, tungsten, tantalum, rhenium, niobium, and C-103 powders for metal additive manufacturing, plus alloy products for the aluminum industry. Titanium was a standout: powder revenue rose 67% quarter over quarter as demand for U.S.-made feedstock continued to climb.

The result sits in the powder supply layer that often governs metal AM production long after printer selection is settled. Aerospace and defense buyers are pulling domestic titanium and specialty powders to reduce overseas material exposure, while 6K's UniMelt microwave plasma process recycles certified machining scrap, used AM powder, supports, and failed builds into new feedstock. That mix of provenance and scrap-loop economics matters more for production offtake than for demo builds, especially as LPBF and related metal AM processes move from trial cells toward repeatable factory demand.

For metal AM programs, growth at the powder layer often shows industrial offtake before it appears in OEM machine-revenue headlines.