A few months ago, space was hot.
SpaceX (SPCX) came public with a record-shattering IPO that raised $75 billion and gave the stock an initial valuation of $1.75 trillion – a valuation that would rise to more than $2 trillion in its first week of trading.
Just prior to the SPCX IPO, Amazon acquired Globalstar (GSAT) for $11.57 billion in an effort to beef up its satellite business and challenge SpaceX’s (and Elon Musk’s) Starlink, with the goal of launching 3,200 satellites into low-Earth orbit by 2029 – vastly expanding from the 200 satellites Amazon currently operates. For comparison, Starlink already has about 10,000 satellites in orbit, providing satellite internet to more than 10 million users globally.
This spring, the Artemis II just circumnavigated the moon, taking the astronauts aboard “where no man has ever gone before.” Also, Project Hail Mary – the space-based film starring Ryan Gosling – was a big hit at the box office, raking in $684 million in worldwide ticket sales.
But that was a few months ago. Since then, space – and space stocks – have cooled off considerably. And it all started about a week after SpaceX’s ballyhooed IPO on June 12.
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As is common of most high-profile companies when they come public, SPCX was grossly overhyped, with its valuation far exceeding its fundamentals. So, predictably, its shares came crashing back to earth after the initial sugar rush wore off, sending them plummeting from highs above 225 in their first week to as low as 104 earlier this month. It has since recovered in the last couple weeks, boosted by an improved market environment and its first earnings release since coming public. But even in that earnings report (which topped estimates), its flaws were laid bare: the company is not yet profitable, and the $7.8 billion in revenue it generated in the second quarter was less than Best Buy (BBY), Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) and Target (TGT).
Those three past-their-prime companies have a combined market cap of $158 billion. Trading back above its 135 IPO price, SPCX is now valued at $1.87 trillion. So, I still wouldn’t buy SPCX shares at current levels. If you want access to the emerging space race, there are cheaper – and potentially way more profitable – ways to do it.
Here are three space stocks not named SpaceX that I like right now.
3 Space Stocks to Buy Instead of SpaceX
AST SpaceMobile (ASTS)
Market cap: $26 billion
One-year return: 40%
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AST SpaceMobile aspires to be like Starlink, but with a twist: The company is building a low-Earth orbit satellite-based internet service that’s designed specifically for smartphones around the world. It’s still early in its development – the company launched its first satellite in September 2024, and just started generating revenue last year – but its ambitious goals are getting closer to becoming a reality, as the company has inked deals with more than 50 telecommunications companies, including AT&T, Verizon, Vodafone of the U.K. and Canada’s Orange, and plans to launch up to 40 satellites this year. And Wall Street is eating the story up, with the stock up 40% in the last year and from 2 per share just over two years ago to 67 per share as of this writing.
Can it go higher? It already was – touching as high as 133 in late May. The stock is undoubtedly volatile but tends to surge on new satellite launches, new deals with big telecom companies, and on earnings. As long as space remains in favor, it could easily get back to that May high – and beyond.
Rocket Lab Corp. (RKLB)
Market Cap: $51 billion
One-year return: 77%
Rocket Lab does basically what it says: provide launch services for rockets in the U.S., Canada, Japan and elsewhere. It also provides other space systems solutions, including spacecraft design, manufacturing, components, constellation management solutions, flight and ground software, etc. It makes small- and medium-sized rockets and something called the Electron, an orbital small-launch vehicle for large constellation deployments, interplanetary missions and – eventually – human spacecraft missions. The last part is especially relevant in the wake of the successful Artemis II mission, as governments around the world attempt to deploy human beings further and further into space. Revenues have more than doubled the last two years (from $245 million in 2023 to $602 million last year), and are expected to double again to $1.2 billion by next year. The company is not yet profitable, but accelerating revenues are always a good sign of growth. Like ASTS, RKLB is currently trading (80) well below its May peak (150). I like the upside.
Planet Labs (PL)
Market cap: $8.3 billion
One-year return: 244%
The one-year return for this mid-cap stock is jaw-dropping and makes this stock a bit more precarious than the other two. But this satellite maker is growing steadily, with revenues improving by double digits every year this decade, and should continue to do so for the foreseeable future, with revenues estimated to grow by 42% in its current Fiscal 2027 and by another 31% next year.
Like the other two space stocks on this list, PL had a fall from grace in June and July, plummeting from record highs above 51 a share to just under 20 a share by the end of July. But it’s showing signs of life in August, inching back to the 23-24 range. And the steady year-over-year revenue growth (and narrowing losses) make for a good foundation.
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*This post has been updated from a previously published version.