SpaceX could give investors a historic IPO. But anyone who wants to rely on the space economy today will find the most exciting alternative at Amazon.
• According to Reuters, Starlink is already financing key future expenses for the Musk Group
• Amazon is building a serious Starlink counter-proposal with Leo, Globalstar and AWS connection
• Pure play vs. broader business model
The fact that SpaceX, with a targeted valuation of more than two trillion US dollars, could be about to make its biggest stock market debut of all time has long been considered one of the most noticed stock market topics of the year. Elon Musk’s AI and space company is said to want to raise around $75 billion from a possible share placement. This would mean that SpaceX would significantly exceed Saudi Aramco’s previous IPO record.
For investors, the planned IPO is not only explosive because of its size. A successful SpaceX IPO is likely to bring greater focus to the space industry as a whole. What is particularly exciting is the question of which listed companies already offer a comparable future fantasy. One of the few real answers leads to Amazon, of all places.
Why Amazon is a serious SpaceX competitor
The company is working with Amazon Leo on its own satellite network in low Earth orbit. As CEO Andy Jassy wrote in this year’s shareholder letter, the company has already launched more than 200 satellites into space. The official launch is planned for mid-2026, with thousands more satellites to follow in the coming years.
The crucial point is the integration into Amazon’s existing ecosystem. According to Jassy, Leo should not only enable fast internet connections, but also “seamlessly integrate into AWS”. Amazon is primarily targeting companies, governments and organizations that want to combine connectivity with the cloud, data storage, analysis and AI applications.
With the acquisition of Globalstar, Amazon is expanding its attack on Elon Musk’s SpaceX. The expanded Amazon Leo D2D system is intended to help mobile network operators to offer voice, text and data services outside of classic mobile networks. In addition, Amazon Leo will provide satellite services for certain iPhone and Apple Watch models in the future.
The difference from Elon Musk’s SpaceX
Despite the progress, the gap to SpaceX remains significant. According to Reuters, Starlink already has around 10,000 satellites in space, while Amazon Leo has just 3,236 satellites planned – and only operates 243. The Globalstar takeover is unlikely to solve the problem either, as Amazon continues to be heavily dependent on external rocket launches to expand its network.
This is exactly where the most important difference lies. With its own rockets, SpaceX controls a central part of the value chain itself. At the same time, Starlink has long been more than a future project: According to Reuters, the satellite internet service doubled its operating result last year to 4.42 billion US dollars and was thus able to offset the loss of the space division.
This would give SpaceX more direct access to space travel, Starlink and Musk’s AI ambitions in the event of an IPO. Investors would therefore focus more on a focused future theme, but also on a business model with high capital requirements and great technological expectations.
Why Amazon is still the only real alternative
So Amazon is not a pure SpaceX replacement. Unlike Musk’s space company, Amazon is not a pure-play stock, but it is more broadly hedged. The group combines capital strength, AWS, corporate customers, Apple connection and, with Globalstar, additional satellite know-how.
That’s exactly why Amazon could currently be the most compelling publicly traded alternative to the SpaceX fantasy. No other mega-cap combines cloud infrastructure, global customer relationships, mobile satellite services and its own ambitions in low Earth orbit in a comparable way. For investors, this means that with SpaceX you would be exposed to greater risk, but could benefit more from a boom in the space industry. Amazon, on the other hand, acts as a more broadly secured alternative, in which the existing business model cushions possible risks of the satellite project.
Benedict Kurschat, editorial team at finanzen.net
This text is for informational purposes only and does not constitute an investment recommendation. finanzen.net GmbH excludes any claims for recourse.
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