James Altucher
Investor & Author, Technology & Markets
STMicroelectronics is a cheap way to play SpaceX, because it sits where satellite builders spend their money: if SpaceX has to make a million satellites, STMicroelectronics has to make a million ways to connect them. Rocket Lab, AST SpaceMobile and SpaceX are all in a land grab for spectrum and satellites, and all three may win, but each is oddly priced like a trillion-dollar startup. x.comÂ
STMicroelectronics supplies key chips for Starlink satellites and terminals, so more SpaceX launches mean more demand for STMicro. Space and semiconductor themes are converging in the stock, which is emerging from a 26-year base with accumulation, and the market is likely starting to price in the SpaceX IPO narrative. x.comÂ
STMicroelectronics is a European growth stock for the long-term space trend as a chip supplier to SpaceX and Tesla. It delivers more than 5 million chips a day for Starlink, needed for the phased-array antennas in its terminals, and has over 40 years of expertise in chips that withstand cosmic radiation. x.comÂ
STMicroelectronics is a cheap option on SpaceX taking off in both neocloud and space, since its LEO business, about 10% of sales, supplies all of Starlink. At under 30x 2027 estimated earnings, it also brings full analog and power-semiconductor exposure, and those power semis are its link to the neocloud side. x.com x.comÂ
SpaceX's satellite network should let Starlink Mobile provide equivalent cellular service with far less terrestrial infrastructure than other carriers. Acquiring some cell towers therefore makes sense. StockSavvyShay says SpaceX is in talks to secure at least 80,000 US cell sites. x.comÂ
Voyager Technologies looks particularly interesting as a picks-and-shovels supplier to the space economy. At a $1.5B market cap, it builds propulsion, missile defense, spacecraft electronics, space intelligence and agentic AI, stations, lunar infrastructure and orbital computing; it partners with Palantir and Anduril. Rocket Lab, AST SpaceMobile and Voyager could be like Apple, Microsoft and Intel in the 1980s: their value in two decades matters more than in two years. x.comÂ
AST SpaceMobile's selloff on SpaceX news looks excessive because the satellite-connectivity market could support multiple winners; AST need not be close to SpaceX to have a place. A further fall would make the opportunity more interesting, and AST would probably be the pick over SpaceX. x.com x.com x.comÂ
AST SpaceMobile's selloff looks irrational: if SpaceX plans to compete directly as a mobile network operator, AST's satellite connectivity could shift from a useful partnership to an operational necessity for global carriers. The case depends on SpaceX actually pursuing that competition. x.comÂ
AST SpaceMobile's reliance on competitor SpaceX for satellite launches weakens its moat further. SpaceX has bought its own spectrum, raising competitive risk. Piper Sandler downgraded ASTS over the pace of 2026-27 launches and SpaceX's potential to limit launch availability or undercut service pricing, though the bank remains constructive beyond 2027. x.comÂ
STMicroelectronics has more upside than Infineon, though it is priced accordingly. It leads in space by selling RF chips for Starlink terminals, 60% of its data-center revenue comes from optics and microcontrollers rather than power chips, and it makes its own substrate wafers in Sicily while Infineon outsources. Infineon is the safer play: STM's margins fell to zero in the last trough versus Infineon's steady 10%, and competitors may take some of its Starlink business. x.com x.comÂ
SpaceX remains unattractive: its reported $8 billion spectrum deal covers only a tiny fraction of what a nationwide wireless network would require, even with expensive satellites that last just five years. x.comÂ
