Not SpaceX: The Forgotten Satellite Stocks Quietly Plugging Into the Future of Space That Are Investible Today

While Starlink soaks up each abstraction headline, 2 publically traded outer operators person softly turned niche networks into existent businesses. I've been tracking these names for years, and the setup successful 2026 is the astir absorbing it has ever been: 1 is being acquired by Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN), the different is up triple digits twelvemonth to day and hardly talked about. Here's however I'm reasoning astir the investable lawsuit for both.

The backdrop matters. Global IoT connected devices were astir 22 cardinal successful 2025 and are forecasted to scope 47 cardinal by 2031, and the U.S. Space Force unsocial is putting $9.8 cardinal into Satellite Communication wrong a $59.7 cardinal FY2027 abstraction budget. Mega-constellations drawback the spotlight, but specialized operators with licensed spectrum and defence ties are the picks-and-shovels furniture underneath.

Iridium: The Profitable L-Band Quiet Compounder

Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM) runs the planetary L-band web that powers defence radios, aviation safety, maritime IoT, and present PNT services done its 2024 Satelles acquisition. The banal is up 200% twelvemonth to day to $51.78, yet it inactive trades astatine a guardant P/E of 47 connected $876 cardinal successful trailing revenue.

The communicative is authorities positive IoT. Engineering and Support for Government roseate 10% successful Q1 2026 to $39.47 cardinal connected Space Development Agency work, and commercialized IoT information climbed 5% with the full subscriber basal reaching 2.56 million. CEO Matt Desch said "we proceed to put successful cardinal areas of differentiation... including IoT, PNT, nationalist information missions and aviation information services."

You'd privation to ain Iridium if you judge defence spectrum and machine-to-machine connectivity go much invaluable arsenic constellations multiply. If you deliberation mega-constellations commoditize outer dependable and data, the thesis weakens.

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Globalstar: Apple's Silent Partner, Now Amazon's Target

Globalstar (NASDAQ:GSAT) is the outer furniture down Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL)'s iPhone exigency SOS. In April 2026, Amazon announced a definitive merger astatine $90.00 per share, folding Globalstar into Amazon Leo's direct-to-device ambitions. Shares closed astatine $84.21, up 350% implicit 1 year.