The space industry has developed by leaps and bounds in recent years, driven by major investments from billionaires such as Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and Richard Branson, who have succeeded in massively reducing the cost of rocket and satellite launches. Increasingly, space is also a new and exciting industry for investors, promising potential in the years ahead. According to a report by Morgan Stanley, the space industry could grow from $400 billion to over $1 trillion by 2040, not even taking into account new markets such as space tourism. We present a small selection of space stocks in this article.
BlackSky Technology
- Company: Blacksky Technology Inc
- Symbol (TWS): BKSY
- ISIN: US09263B1089
- Stock Exchange: New York Stock Exchange
- Country: USA
- Currency: US Dollar (USD)
- Market capitalization: USD 0.26 billion
- Sales (TTM) in USD: 0.29 billion
BlackSky Technology was founded in 2014 and is headquartered in Herndon, Virginia. The company specializes in geospatial information services, imagery and related data analytics products and services, as well as systems that include satellite and ground systems development and operations for commercial and government customers worldwide. Satellites are becoming more common as technology advances and helps us transfer information between space and Earth faster. BlackSky Technology is building a satellite network to quickly monitor the Earth's landscape with its software-as-a-service platform. It can generate and transmit images in about 90 minutes. Its customers include U.S. intelligence agencies and commercial clients in the commodities and insurance industries.
Virgin Galactic
- Company: Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc
- Symbol (TWS): SPCE
- ISIN: US92766K1060
- Stock Exchange: New York Stock Exchange
- Country: USA
- Currency: US Dollar (USD)
- Market capitalization: USD 2.72 billion
- Sales (TTM) in USD: 3.29 million
Virgin Galactic is an aerospace company based in the U.S. state of New Mexico that aims to offer suborbital flights for space tourists, i.e. flights into space where the Earth's gravitational field is not left and the spacecraft does not enter orbit. In addition, the company is working on orbital space flights and science missions. Virgin Galactic sells tickets for future flights at a price of $ 454,000 per seat, but needs to complete more test flights before it can begin customer flights. The company's most recent test was a successful flight in July 2021, when founder Richard Branson joined the crew of the spacecraft. Virgin Galactic's long-term potential lies in expanding its fleet and mastering technology that can make the price of flights affordable to more customers and bring space tourism into the mainstream. The stock's low market capitalization, currently just under $3 billion, leaves plenty of room for upside if Virgin Galactic is successful.
Lockheed Martin
- Company: Lockheed Martin Corporation
- Symbol (TWS): LMT
- ISIN: US5398301094
- Stock Exchange: New York Stock Exchange
- Country: USA
- Currency: US Dollar (USD)
- Market capitalization: USD 119.2 billion
- Sales (TTM) in USD: 67.04 billion
Lockheed Martin is active in the aerospace and defense sectors. The company was formed in 1995 from a merger of Lockheed Corporation and Martin Marietta Corporation. Lockheed Martin is well connected to the aerospace industry thanks to its extensive experience with missiles and propulsion systems, which it has gained from manufacturing various weapons systems and vehicles for the US military. Much of Lockheed Martin's revenue comes from US government purchases. The space division - including satellites, space transportation and defense systems - is responsible for around a fifth of total sales. In 2019, former US President Donald Trump founded the Space Force, a new division of the US military. Should space become a new arena for geopolitical tensions in the future, Lockheed Martin's existing relationships and experience in the space industry should help the space segment continue to grow as part of the company's overall business.
Boeing
- Company: The Boeing Company
- Symbol (TWS): BA
- ISIN: US0970231058
- Stock Exchange: New York Stock Exchange
- Country: USA
- Currency: US Dollar (USD)
- Market capitalization: USD 107.83 billion
- Sales (TTM) in USD: 62.29 billion
On the one hand, Boeing is known as a manufacturer of aircraft for civil and military air transport. On the other hand, Boeing is one of the most experienced companies in the field of space travel. As one of the first space stocks, Boeing built the first stage of the Saturn V rocket that took the Apollo 11 astronauts to the moon in 1969. Now, the same New Orleans facility is building the rocket for what is known as the Space Launch System (SLS) under contract to NASA. The SLS is intended to be the most powerful rocket ever, carrying astronauts and probes into deep space. However, there have been recent delays and cost overruns. Boeing also developed the Starliner capsule to transport astronauts to and from the ISS. Boeing also builds satellites and manages the ISS for NASA. With the company frequently making negative headlines in recent years due to both the MAX 737 and space-related issues, the stock price fell from around $440 in January 2019 to a price level of around $120 and is at $190 at the time of writing this article.