5 Space Stocks to Watch as the Industry Takes Off

The $1.75 trillion SpaceX IPO has recently thrust space stocks into the spotlight. The largest slated public offering in history, it has awakened investors to the astronomical opportunities within the sector.

Here, we are going to highlight five stocks that offer exposure to the space theme. From rocket launch logistics to satellite communications and defense infrastructure, we believe these five companies are uniquely positioned to capture market share as space evolves from a frontier market into a multi-trillion-dollar industry.

SpaceX

We can’t talk about space stocks and not mention SpaceX. With a market cap of near $2 trillion¹ and revenues of $19 billion in 2025², it’s the largest player in the space sector by far.

The bull case here is multi-faceted. For a start, there’s the company’s dominance on the launch front. Since 2023, SpaceX has launched more than 80% of mass to orbit for the world each year meaning that it has a near monopoly over global launch services. It’s worth noting here that it hasn’t just launched its own satellites – it has also launched satellites for the US government and other companies.

Second, there’s Starlink – a network of small satellites operating in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) that provides high-speed broadband internet across the globe. Today, there are around 10,000 Starlink broadband and mobile satellites in operation, providing internet connectivity to over 10 million subscribers globally. Already, this is a major revenue driver for the company. In 2025, for example, SpaceX’s Connectivity segment – which includes Starlink – delivered revenue of $11.4 billion, up 50% year-over-year.

Then, there’s artificial intelligence. Here, the company – which owns the Grok LLM – is rapidly constructing AI compute infrastructure on earth with the goal of putting infrastructure in space as soon as 2028. The rationale behind this goal is that AI infrastructure in space will be able to utilize the power of the Sun and handle energy-intensive AI workloads at far greater scale and efficiency than terrestrial alternatives. Note that SpaceX already has AI compute deals with the likes of Google and Anthropic which suggests that it is becoming a critical infrastructure backbone in the AI ecosystem.

Put all this together and the total addressable market (TAM) here is enormous – SpaceX believes it could be as high as $28.5 trillion. Investors should be aware, however, that SpaceX is not yet profitable and its high valuation today presents a risk.

Amazon

While SpaceX is without doubt the most dominant space business in the world today, there are other companies that are eager to capture market share. One such company is Amazon, which in recent years has been quietly building its own space satellite network – Amazon Leo.

In Amazon’s 2025 letter to investors³, CEO Andy Jassy noted that over the last seven years, the company has put more than 200 satellites into space (making it the third-largest Low Earth Orbit network in operation today behind SpaceX and Eutelsat OneWeb). He added that in the years ahead, the company plans to launch thousands more.

Jassy went on to say that Amazon Leo will offer much faster internet speeds than what are available now. It will also seamlessly integrate with AWS to enable enterprises and governments to move data back and forth for storage, analytics, and AI.

It’s worth pointing out that while Amazon Leo is officially scheduled to launch in mid-2026, it already has “meaningful” revenue commitments from enterprises and governments, according to the company. For example, Delta Airlines recently announced that it had chosen Amazon Leo for future Wi-Fi services and will equip 500 planes with the technology in 2028.

Of course, the downside to this stock is that it’s not a direct play on space. This is a diversified company, and space is only a small part of the business meaning that there’s no guarantee that space milestones will move the stock price.

Planet Labs

Behind Amazon in terms of the number of satellites in orbit comes Planet Labs. It has around 200⁴ small-scale satellites in operation.

Its goal is to image the Earth on a daily basis and make change visible, accessible, and actionable. Currently, it is collecting over 350m sq km of imagery on a daily basis, which is used by businesses, governments, and research institutions to monitor the earth in near real time.

In recent years, this company has become a key player in the defense and intelligence industries. Today, it has contracts with the likes of the US National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA), the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), NATO, and the German government (in 2025 it won a $280 million defense contract⁵ from the German government).

However, it is also gaining traction in the agriculture industry. Via its satellites, customers can monitor global crop health, predict agricultural yields, track illegal mining operations, and manage supply chain logistics via port activity tracking.

In terms of its financials, revenues are expected to amount to around $430 million⁶ this year, up from $308 million last year, so growth is rapid. The company is not profitable, however, so it’s higher up on the risk spectrum from an investment perspective.

Rocket Lab

Another company that is a major player in the industry and aiming to capture market share is Rocket Lab. It’s a vertically-integrated, diversified space systems company that offers everything from launch services to spacecraft components.

Rocket Lab is a strong force in the launch space. To date, it has completed more than 90 orbital launches (the only company that has completed more launches is SpaceX). These have been executed via its flagship Electron rocket. This rocket – which has a 300 kg⁷ max payload capacity – was built specifically to address a massive bottleneck in the space industry: allowing small satellites to dictate their own launch schedules and exact orbital destinations rather than hitchhiking as "secondary payloads" on large-scale rockets.

Yet rocket launches are only part of the story here. Because in recent years, Rocket Lab has acquired a number of satellite component companies and built out a comprehensive end-to-end space systems business. As a result, it is now a vital player in the space supply chain. Today, it manufactures reaction wheels, star trackers, solar panels, and electric propulsion systems, and it has contracts with the US Space Development Agency (SDA) and private companies such as Globalstar.

Looking at Rocket Lab’s financials, this company is certainly growing quickly. This year, revenue is expected to amount to around $916 million⁶ versus $602 million in 2025. There are no profits, however, and the company also sports a high valuation. Therefore, investors should expect stock price volatility.

Firefly Aerospace

Rounding out the list is Firefly Aerospace, which is relatively unknown compared to a lot of other space stocks. It’s positioning itself as an end-to-end space transportation firm, providing launch services, in-space orbital vehicles, and lunar landers.

Firefly is aiming to bridge the gap between small-satellite small-lift rockets (like Rocket Lab’s Electron) and heavy-lift workhorses (like SpaceX's Falcon 9). To that end, it has developed the Alpha and Eclipse rockets. The former is an active, two-stage liquid-fueled rocket capable of lifting 1,030 kg⁸ to Low Earth Orbit, which to date has done seven orbital launches (note that only three⁹ of these were fully successful). Meanwhile, the latter, which was co-developed with defense giant Northrop Grumman and is set to be launched in 2027, is a medium-lift launch vehicle rocket designed to carry up to 16,300 kg¹⁰ to LEO.

Looking beyond launch technology, Firefly has developed some really interesting in-space infrastructure. An example here is its Elytra orbital vehicles, which are designed to provide on-demand payload delivery, imaging, long-haul communications, and domain awareness across cislunar space. Another example is its Blue Ghost lander, which is designed to ferry science instruments and commercial payloads to the lunar surface. This lander – the first commercial lunar lander to successfully touch down on the Moon – is being used for NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program.

Now, this is the smallest company of the five space stocks listed here. Today its market cap is only around $5 billion¹. It is growing rapidly though – this year the company is expected to generate revenue of around $440 million⁶ versus $160 million in 2025. As with SpaceX, Planet Labs, and Rocket Labs, however, the company is not yet profitable, meaning that there are significant risks for investors.

Footnotes:

¹Google Finance, as of June 15, 2026

²SEC.gov, Space Exploration Technologies Corp., as of May 20, 2026

³Amazon News, CEO Andy Jassy’s 2025 Letter to Shareholders, as of April 9, 2026

⁴Planet, Planet FAQ, as of June 15, 2026

⁵Via Satellite, Planet Highlights Defense Momentum With $280M German Government Deal, as of July 1, 2025

⁶LSEG, as of June 12, 2026

⁷Rocket Lab Corp, ELECTRON, as of June 15, 2026

⁸Fireflyspace, Alpha Launch, as of June 15, 2026

⁹Space News, Firefly Alpha returns to flight, as of March 12, 2026

¹⁰Fireflyspace, Eclipse Launch, as of June 15, 2026