{"id":8502,"date":"2026-06-22T05:03:56","date_gmt":"2026-06-22T05:03:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fintechpulse8.com\/?p=8502"},"modified":"2026-06-22T05:03:56","modified_gmt":"2026-06-22T05:03:56","slug":"spacex-is-overvalued-moneyweb","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fintechpulse8.com\/?p=8502","title":{"rendered":"SpaceX is overvalued &#8211; Moneyweb"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div id=\"textFreeArticle\">\n<p>This is not going to make me very popular, but every way I look at SpaceX stock shows that it is overvalued. By a lot!<\/p>\n<p>For those living under a rock, SpaceX is a smooshing together of two Elon Musk companies: SpaceX\/Starlink and his Twitter acquisition, renamed X, which has spun up yet another LLM called Grok (to rename the entire thing to X.AI Holdings).<\/p>\n<p><strong>SpaceX corporate structure<\/strong><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_1844768\" style=\"width: 565px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1844768\" class=\"wp-image-1844768 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/www.moneyweb.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Figure-1-555x340.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"555\" height=\"340\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.moneyweb.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Figure-1-555x340.jpg 555w, https:\/\/www.moneyweb.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Figure-1-150x92.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.moneyweb.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Figure-1-185x113.jpg 185w, https:\/\/www.moneyweb.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Figure-1-230x141.jpg 230w, https:\/\/www.moneyweb.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Figure-1-744x455.jpg 744w, https:\/\/www.moneyweb.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Figure-1.jpg 755w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 555px) 100vw, 555px\"\/><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-1844768\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Source: SpaceX IPO documents<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>In classic Musk-style, he has used his successful company (namely, Tesla and\/or SpaceX) to hoover up his loss-making disaster (namely, SolarCity and\/or X.AI Holdings).<\/p>\n<p>How loss-making?<\/p>\n<p>Well, in FY25, \u201cConnectivity\u201d (i.e., Starlink) is SpaceX\u2019s profit engine, generating $4.4 billion in operating profit on $11.4 billion in revenue. SpaceX\u2019s \u201cSpace\u201d segment turned $4 billion revenue into a $0.5 billion loss.<\/p>\n<p>While \u201cAI\u201d (i.e. X.AI Holdings) generated $3.2 billion in revenue and reported a gigantic $6.3 billion operating loss.<\/p>\n<div class=\"visible-sm-block visible-xs-block m1010\">\n<div class=\"ad-container-wrapper\">\n<p>ADVERTISEMENT<\/p>\n<p>CONTINUE READING BELOW<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>And, here\u2019s the trick, you cannot invest in just Space and Connectivity alone. If you invest in SpaceX, then you also have to invest in (in other words, subsidise) the deeply questionable X.AI cash-burn.<\/p>\n<p><strong>SpaceX\u2019s reporting segments<\/strong><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_1844767\" style=\"width: 565px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1844767\" class=\"wp-image-1844767 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/www.moneyweb.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Figure-2-555x396.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"555\" height=\"396\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.moneyweb.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Figure-2-555x396.jpg 555w, https:\/\/www.moneyweb.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Figure-2-150x107.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.moneyweb.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Figure-2-158x113.jpg 158w, https:\/\/www.moneyweb.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Figure-2-230x164.jpg 230w, https:\/\/www.moneyweb.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Figure-2-450x320.jpg 450w, https:\/\/www.moneyweb.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Figure-2.jpg 725w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 555px) 100vw, 555px\"\/><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-1844767\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Source: Summarised SpaceX IPO documents<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>But surely this is just a snapshot in time and, much like Tesla, the group is investing now (that is, making a loss) so that in the future it can earn super profits?<\/p>\n<p>Well, this is where SpaceX\u2019s own disclosure is interesting, as it reveals what it believes its \u201cTotal Addressable Market\u201d (or \u201cTAM\u201d) is per segment.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;\">(Think about TAM as the total market size, such that if a company addressed 100% of TAM, the company\u2019s revenue would\u00a0<em>equal<\/em> the market size, as 100% of sales here would be the company\u2019s.)<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>SpaceX\u2019s segmental total addressable market (TAM \u2013 $bn)<\/strong><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_1844769\" style=\"width: 565px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1844769\" class=\"wp-image-1844769 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/www.moneyweb.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Figure-3-555x202.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"555\" height=\"202\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.moneyweb.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Figure-3-555x202.jpg 555w, https:\/\/www.moneyweb.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Figure-3-1024x373.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.moneyweb.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Figure-3-150x55.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.moneyweb.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Figure-3-215x78.jpg 215w, https:\/\/www.moneyweb.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Figure-3-230x84.jpg 230w, https:\/\/www.moneyweb.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Figure-3-744x271.jpg 744w, https:\/\/www.moneyweb.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Figure-3.jpg 1033w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 555px) 100vw, 555px\"\/><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-1844769\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Source: SpaceX IPO documents<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>This is going to irritate the bulls, but I am just plain going to ignore X.AI\u2019s TAM as a dystopian future whereby all humans are replaced by AI (which also means that all consumers are broke, so who exactly is buying the outputs of this system of horrors?). Rather, I will focus only on Space and Connectivity\u2019s TAM.<\/p>\n<div class=\"visible-sm-block visible-xs-block m1010\">\n<div class=\"ad-container-wrapper\">\n<p>ADVERTISEMENT:<\/p>\n<p>CONTINUE READING BELOW<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Collectively, Space and Starlink have a TAM (as disclosed by SpaceX, so this is the <em>optimistic version of it<\/em>!) totalling $1,980 billion.<\/p>\n<p>Well, $1.9 trillion is close to the (at the time of writing this) $2.5 trillion that SpaceX\u2019s market is trading at, right? Maybe add a little option for X.AI, and we have a justifiable valuation?<\/p>\n<p>Nope, not even close.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>TAM is <em>sales<\/em>, not profits. Even if you addressed 100% of a potential market, you still have costs to consider. And, if SpaceX\u2019s IPO documents and most optimistic forecasts are anything to go by, SpaceX has a <em>lot<\/em> of costs.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Maybe forecasts show some great upside?<\/p>\n<p>Well, also nope, as despite analyst consensus forecasting basically a tripling of sales, the group only grinds out losses for incoming periods \u2026 Maybe one day there will be material profits for shareholders, but you <em>have<\/em> to be in this one for the long haul to get them.<\/p>\n<p><strong>SpaceX\u2019s broker consensus earnings before interest &amp; tax (Ebit)<\/strong><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_1844770\" style=\"width: 565px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1844770\" class=\"wp-image-1844770 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/www.moneyweb.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Figure-4-555x115.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"555\" height=\"115\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.moneyweb.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Figure-4-555x115.jpg 555w, https:\/\/www.moneyweb.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Figure-4-150x31.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.moneyweb.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Figure-4-215x45.jpg 215w, https:\/\/www.moneyweb.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Figure-4-230x48.jpg 230w, https:\/\/www.moneyweb.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Figure-4-744x154.jpg 744w, https:\/\/www.moneyweb.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Figure-4.jpg 979w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 555px) 100vw, 555px\"\/><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-1844770\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Source: Koyfin (18\/06\/2026)<\/p>\n<div class=\"visible-sm-block visible-xs-block m1010\">\n<div class=\"ad-container-wrapper\">\n<p>ADVERTISEMENT:<\/p>\n<p>CONTINUE READING BELOW<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Perhaps another way to phrase this is that SpaceX is currently trading on an enterprise value-to-sales (EV\/Sales) of 131 times.<\/p>\n<p>If SpaceX\u2019s revenue carries on at current levels, the company literally never incurs a single expense (in other words, revenue equals profits) nor pays taxes, and pays out <em>all<\/em> of this unrealistic profit to shareholders, it will<em> still<\/em> take a century and 31 years to get just your capital back (with zero return).<\/p>\n<p>A lot can be said for Musk, his followers, the hype that follows <em>and<\/em> how SpaceX has gamed the passive markets via indices (combined with a small free float) to <em>force<\/em> this listing, share price and valuation.<\/p>\n<p>Read:<\/p>\n<div class=\"ApplePlainTextBody\" dir=\"auto\">Elon Musk: World\u2019s first trillionaire<\/div>\n<div class=\"ApplePlainTextBody\" dir=\"auto\">SpaceX IPO raises $75bn in biggest debut ever<\/div>\n<div class=\"ApplePlainTextBody\" dir=\"auto\">Sequoia\u2019s Roelof Botha joins SpaceX board after record IPO<\/div>\n<p>Humans can get caught up in all this as well as dreams of space (what is the \u201cTAM\u201d of Mars? What multiple do I put on \u201ctaking the light of consciousness to the stars\u201d?), which is why I ran a token-heavy Claude Discounted Free Cash Flow Model on SpaceX based on its <em>own<\/em> IPO documents \u2013 none of the market\u2019s optimism here nor my own bias allowed.<\/p>\n<p>Claude\u2019s cold-hearted conclusion is that a 10-year DCF values SpaceX\u2019s equity at roughly $3.49 to $10.59 per share. This is a small fraction of the $135 offer price, and even less of the current c.$200 per share market price.<\/p>\n<p>Because the index investors are being forced to buy the company with extreme urgency (it is large in indices) <em>and <\/em>its free float (what the index investors <em>can <\/em>buy) is small, SpaceX\u2019s share price could well go higher for the time being \u2026 But for how long can its rockets defy the gravity of its valuation?<\/p>\n<p><em>* Keith McLachlan is CEO of Element Investment Managers.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>#SpaceX #overvalued #Moneyweb<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This is not going to make me very popular, but every way I look at SpaceX stock shows that it is overvalued. By a lot! For those living under a&hellip; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8503,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[791,1652,1843],"class_list":["post-8502","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-investing","tag-moneyweb","tag-overvalued","tag-spacex"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fintechpulse8.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8502","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fintechpulse8.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fintechpulse8.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fintechpulse8.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fintechpulse8.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=8502"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.fintechpulse8.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8502\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fintechpulse8.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/8503"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fintechpulse8.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8502"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fintechpulse8.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8502"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fintechpulse8.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8502"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}