If SpaceX (NASDAQ: SPCX) ultimately reaches public markets at a valuation approaching $1.7 trillion, most investors will focus only on getting shares.
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That’s understandable.
For years, ordinary investors have watched one of the most important private companies in the world create value from the sidelines. The moment shares become available, demand will be enormous.
But by the time many investors gain access to the stock, investment banks will have completed their models, institutional investors will have established positions, and analysts will have spent months determining what they believe the company is worth.
This is why you should pay attention to what happens next.
Because the moment Wall Street places a public-market value on SpaceX, analysts, portfolio managers, and institutional investors will gain something they’ve never had before: a benchmark for the future of space.
And once that benchmark exists, they’ll start looking for other companies operating in adjacent markets that may offer more room for upside.
Here are 3 companies that stand out.
Intuitive Machines Is Building the Lunar Economy
Wall Street rarely gets the chance to value an entirely new industry from the ground floor. That’s what makes Intuitive Machines (NASDAQ: LUNR) so interesting.
You see, while investors debate whether the moon will eventually support meaningful economic activity, NASA officials, defense agencies, and commercial customers are already spending money as if that future is coming.
The company generated $186.7 million in first-quarter revenue while contracted backlog reached about $1.1 billion, providing substantial visibility into future business activity. Indicating that customers are already paying the company to build pieces of it.
NASA isn’t preparing astronauts to revisit the moon for a photo opportunity. Agency officials are funding communications systems, navigation networks, and surface operations because they expect people and equipment to keep returning there. Intuitive Machines sits directly in the middle of that effort.
If analysts begin using SpaceX as a benchmark for future space infrastructure, companies already generating revenue from lunar development, like Intuit, could attract significant attention.
Recent weakness hasn’t been enough to break the stock’s larger uptrend. Shares recently traded around $34.86, and buyers continue stepping in after pullbacks. That tells me investors remain focused on the company’s long-term role in the lunar economy rather than short-term contract headlines.
Rocket Lab Is Becoming More Than a Launch Company
The story around Rocket Lab (NASDAQ: RKLB) stopped being about rockets a long time ago.
Today, the company generates revenue from launch services, spacecraft manufacturing, satellite components, engineering solutions, and government contracts.
No wonder why in its Q1 2026 earnings release, the company reported a revenue of $200.3 million, a 63% YOY growth. Gross margin reached 38.2%, while backlog expanded to about $2.2 billion.
The market’s fascination with SpaceX tends to obscure an important reality.
A future space economy will require more than one launch provider.
From government agencies needing launch capacity, to defense contractors needing spacecraft systems, and commercial customers needing satellites.
Rocket Lab is building products that serve all three groups.
The company’s continued investment in the Neutron rocket reflects what customers are increasingly demanding: larger payloads, more frequent launches, and greater flexibility.
That’s where the SpaceX IPO could matter.
Once analysts assign a public-market value to the dominant launch company in the world, investors will inevitably ask what smaller companies with growing market share might be worth.
The chart suggests many investors may already be reaching that conclusion.
RKLB stock shares traded at $143.20 after extending one of the strongest uptrends in the market. Buyers spent months building a base before pushing the stock sharply higher in May on expanding volume. The stock remains comfortably above both its 50-day and 200-day moving averages, indicating that institutions continue to accumulate shares despite the massive advance.
AST SpaceMobile Wants to Transform Global Connectivity
Every major technological revolution creates two categories of winners.
The companies that build the infrastructure.
And the companies that use that infrastructure to deliver services.
SpaceX helped convince governments, corporations, and investors that orbital infrastructure can support real businesses.
AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ: ASTS) wants to build one of those businesses.
The company is developing a satellite network designed to connect ordinary smartphones directly to space-based communications systems.
If successful, AST could become part of the global telecommunications industry.
The company reported $14.7 million in first-quarter revenue and ended the quarter with approximately $3.5 billion in cash and cash equivalents, providing substantial resources to continue deploying satellites and expanding commercial capabilities.
The opportunity here extends far beyond launches.
Billions of people carry smartphones.
Hundreds of millions live or work in areas where connectivity remains unreliable.
AST is pursuing a future in which those devices connect directly to satellites without specialized equipment.
And technically, momentum has returned in a big way as shares recently traded around $119.70 after surging through a key resistance level that had held for months. The combination of heavy volume and a strong breakout suggests investors are becoming optimistic about the company’s direct-to-device satellite network.
Why Smaller Space Stocks Could Benefit the Most From the SpaceX IPO
Most investors assume the SpaceX IPO story begins when shares start trading.
I think it begins when analysts publish their valuation models.
The moment Wall Street places a public-market value on SpaceX, thousands of analysts, portfolio managers, and institutional investors will start reassessing what launch networks, orbital communications systems, and lunar infrastructure might be worth.
Some will buy SpaceX.
Others will search for companies operating in markets that SpaceX helped validate, but that still trade at a fraction of their valuation.
That’s where Intuitive Machines, Rocket Lab, and AST SpaceMobile enter the conversation.
NASA officials are already funding lunar infrastructure. Government agencies and commercial customers are already buying launch services and spacecraft systems. Telecom providers are already exploring satellite-based connectivity.
Those trends existed before the IPO.
A public SpaceX valuation may force more investors to notice them.
And when capital starts flowing into an emerging industry, the biggest gains don’t always belong to the company making the headlines. Sometimes they belong to the companies that investors discover immediately afterward.
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