SpaceX is heralded as the future of space flight. The firm holds a number of records, such as being the only private group to return a spacecraft from low Earth orbit and deliver cargo to the International Space Station. But is there a way you could actually invest in SpaceX as a sole investor? Here are a few ways you can do just that.
Invest Indirectly
Alphabet, Google’s parent company, owns a 7.5% stake in SpaceX. If you buy Alphabet stock, you indirectly own a piece of SpaceX. You then own stock that is booming as Google makes money off its large network of online ads, robotics, video broadcasting, and Google Maps. And unlike SpaceX, which is still burning cash, Google/Alphabet is generating a healthy profit. Another option is investing in Fidelity, which has a 2.5% stake.
Invest in their Suppliers
One way to invest in a fintech is to invest in the IPOs of new companies. In the case of SpaceX, composites manufacturer Hexcel’s shares and software vendor Siemens are traded on the stock market. There are more of these suppliers around, but it can take some hunting to find them since around 80% of SpaceX’s parts are made in-house and many of their suppliers like Paragon D&E are privately owned.
They are also noted for tapping automotive and other suppliers who make something they need and upgrading their capability to “space-grade” so they don’t have to pay the aerospace market rates for parts. Another option for those who want to invest in SpaceX is investing in Tesla, the other company Elon Musk owns but also has publicly listed.
Invest in their Customers
One of the reasons SpaceX exists is to lower the cost of moving people and equipment into space. One way you could invest in SpaceX’s success is to buy shares in companies like Inmarsat, Hughes Communication and Eutelsat who will profit from SpaceX successfully lowering the price of spaceflight.
The Potential of an IPO
In this article, which was published on dollarcents.org, Elon Musk is quoted as saying he’ll issue an IPO after there is a colony on Mars. And while SpaceX has had a multiple delivery contracts with NASA to resupply the ISS, the company isn’t quite ready for Mars. That mission is tentatively slated for 2024, but it might be pushed farther back.
Elon Musk’s 2018 launch is slated to put a Tesla Roadster into orbit around Mars, per his December 2017 announcement. Maybe he’s doing it as a joint publicity move, but there might be other reasons behind the move. The practical application is verifying the ability of their rockets to deliver a cargo to Mars orbit successfully.
Conclusion
As you can see, there are many ways that you can invest in SpaceX. While you cannot buy stock in SpaceX itself, you can invest indirectly in SpaceX by buying shares of the companies that own a stake in SpaceX, investing in their suppliers, or in SpaceX’s increasingly large customer base.