the activity that you start via an intent can return something to you (StartActivityForResult). it's easy enough if the activity you start is yours. with 3rd party apps, it only works if that app has been written to return something. many - if not most - are not.
in the case of sending an sms, there is an additional issue: if you are not publishing on play, it would not be difficult to add the necessary code to your sms sender. if your idea is to publish the app, then you will have a problem because google will not usually allow you to override the system sms app.
another possibility: the app started by your intent could restart your app with an intent of its own. your original activity (the caller) can check to see if it's being started
by the system or by another activity and act accordingly. in some ways this could be an interesting option.
but, in the end, the real issue boils down to which app sends the sms. if it's yours, no problem. if it's the pre-installed app, then you need to know if it exposes setResult() or if it can use an intent to start another activity (ie, yours). or you'll have to convince google to allow you to override the default app.