Space is no longer just the final frontier. Now it's also an investment opportunity.
We have SpaceX to thank for that. Its pioneering use of reusable rockets and eye-popping $2 trillion valuation have shown investors what's possible above the clouds. Now is the time to start understanding space stocks so you don't miss out on potential gains.
Operating in the vacuum of space is hard, but understanding the space story is easy. Space was too expensive for companies to take on, leaving governments as the entities with enough financial thrust to launch big space projects. Those projects, such as the Apollo missions, were more about generating inspiration and demonstrating technical superiority over adversaries than about creating a sustainable business model that could be measured in hard dollars and cents.
Then Elon Musk decided that the equivalent of throwing away the plane after each flight wasn't a good idea. In 2015, his company SpaceX successfully landed a rocket booster after its return from space, ushering in the era of reusability that dramatically lowered the cost of reaching orbit. Lower costs enabled the development of new applications, such as Earth imaging and SpaceX's space-based broadband product, Starlink. Starlink now has more than 10 million customers and generates billions in annual sales, with profit margins north of 60%.
Costs to reach space will go even lower as SpaceX develops its larger, fully reusable rocket, Starship. Lower costs will enable even more applications across defense, commercial, and government arenas.
Today, "all three space end markets...are synchronized with positive momentum," wrote Stifel analyst Jonathan Siegmann in a Tuesday report. "Political policy, military mission goals, technological innovation, and cheaper-than-ever access to space have strengthened the entire space ecosystem."
In short, space isn't going away. It's only going to grow in importance.
How to invest, of course, is the key question. You could just buy SpaceX stock. (Siegmann rates shares Buy and has a $190 price target.) It's the leader in launch and space-based applications, and space could turn out to be a winner-take-all market as internet search has.
There are probably ways for other companies to coexist. Blue Origin and Rocket Lab are building reusable rockets. Amazon.com and AST SpaceMobile are building Starlink-like satellite constellations. Other companies will develop different applications where SpaceX doesn't have a presence. And many companies can build satellites and other space hardware to sell to other companies and NASA.
Along with SpaceX, Siegmann's Buy-rated space stocks include launch and space services provider Rocket Lab, hardware providers Kratos Defense & Security Solutions and Applied Aerospace & Defense, satellite maker MDA Space, and space-based data analytics provider Spire Global.
That's six stocks. There are many other space stocks he doesn't cover, including Firefly Aerospace, Planet Labs, BlackSky, Voyager Technologies, HawkEye 360, Redwire, York Space Systems, Telesat, Viasat, Karman, AST SpaceMobile, and others.
More will be coming. The space invasion has begun -- at least as far as Wall Street is concerned.
Write to Al Root at allen.root@dowjones.com
This content was created by Barron's, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. Barron's is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
July 07, 2026 12:40 ET (16:40 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2026 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
Comments