| Company | Ticker | Mkt cap / val ▼ | Revenue | Rev growth | EV / Revenue | Regime | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SpaceX | Private | $800B | $15.5B* | n/d | 51.6x | OPTIONALITY | Dec-25 secondary at $800B ($421/sh); IPO expected 2026. *Total rev est.; Starlink $11.4B disclosed (FY25) |
| AST SpaceMobile | ASTS | $28.5B | $0.18B | n.m. | 163x | OPTIONALITY | Pre-revenue; FY26E guide $150–200M. Priced on direct-to-cell TAM |
| Rocket Lab | RKLB | $47B | $0.60B | +38% | 78.1x | OPTIONALITY | FY25 rev $602M (+38%); backlog $1.85B; acquiring Iridium at $8.0B EV |
| Intuitive Machines | LUNR | $4.4B | $0.21B | guide | 21.0x | OPTIONALITY | FY25 rev $210M; FY26E guide $0.9–1.0B on lunar/SDA ramp |
| Planet Labs | PL | $9.3B | $0.31B | +26% | 30.2x | REVENUE | FY26 rev $307.7M (+26%); record year, AI/defense demand |
| Iridium Comms | IRDM | $8.0B | $0.87B | +5% | 9.2x | REVENUE | FY25 rev $872M, op. EBITDA $495M (57%). Take-out by RKLB at $8.0B EV ($54/sh) |
| Peer median (ex-SpaceX) | — | — | — | — | — | — | recomputes on visible peers |
Do not median across the two regimes. The revenue cohort — Iridium at 9.2x sales on a 57% EBITDA margin, Planet at 30x growing 26% — is genuinely comparable and cash-anchored. Rocket Lab (78x), AST SpaceMobile (163x), and SpaceX (~52x on estimated revenue) are priced on addressable-market optionality, not near-term sales. The transaction that makes the point: Rocket Lab is acquiring Iridium at ~9x sales — using its own 78x optionality multiple as acquisition currency to add $872M of profitable, recurring revenue. That is the arbitrage the split creates, and a single blended multiple would have hidden it.