Share prices of aerospace companies surged across the board after SpaceX, founded by Tesla CEO Elon Musk, formalized plans for an initial public offering (IPO) in 2026. Expectations are rising that the industry will enter a full-fledged growth phase once the “flagship” space and aerospace company, which provides its Starlink satellite communication services to about 8 million people in 150 countries, moves ahead with its IPO.

According to the securities industry on the 15th, the share prices of aerospace companies have jumped sharply over the past week. The trigger was a report by the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) on the 5th (local time) stating that “SpaceX executives said the company is reviewing the possibility of an IPO in 2026.” Rumors that “SpaceX is preparing for an IPO” were later confirmed as fact when SpaceX Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Bret Johnson said in a shareholder letter on the 12th (local time) that the company is actually preparing for a listing next year.

In the domestic stock market, Hanwha Systems’ share price rose 9.0% between the 8th and the 15th. Hanwha Systems is considered a leading beneficiary in the space and aerospace sector, with technological strengths in low Earth orbit satellite communication systems and space semiconductors. Shares of Seah Besteel Holdings, which is building a special alloy plant in Texas for aerospace and defense applications, also rose 55.9% over the same period. Seah Besteel Holdings is also known to be pursuing the supply of special alloys to SpaceX through its subsidiary Seah Changwon Integrated Special Steel. The share prices of Spear (39.0%) and HVM (39.0%), which supply special metals to SpaceX, and Satrec Initiative (18.8%), a manufacturer of satellite communication equipment, also climbed in tandem.

In the exchange-traded fund (ETF) market, “Plus Aerospace & UAM” (8.05%) and “1Q US Aerospace Tech” (8.02%) recorded the top two returns over the past week. On the New York Stock Exchange, the share price of EchoStar, a telecommunications company that secured SpaceX shares worth USD 8.5 billion (about KRW 12.52 trillion) through a spectrum-use agreement in September this year, jumped 44.1% between the 5th and 12th (local time).

Expectations are growing that if SpaceX actually lists in the second half of next year (July–December), the aerospace industry will enter a turning point. The US securities industry believes that SpaceX will inject up to USD 30 billion (about KRW 44.2 trillion) in external capital, the largest amount in global IPO history, thereby invigorating the aerospace industry.

With the injection of new capital, SpaceX is expected to globally expand its Starlink business, which launched services in Korea on the 7th. US securities markets project that SpaceX’s annual revenue, estimated at around USD 15 billion (about KRW 22.1 trillion) this year, will grow to USD 22–24 billion next year.

However, some remain cautious. They argue that the space and aerospace industry is still in its infancy, and corporate business structures are not yet solid. Park Ki-hyun, a researcher at Kiwoom Securities, said, “Among aerospace companies, SpaceX is one of the few generating substantial revenue,” adding, “Many other companies are still posting minimal earnings, so indiscriminate ‘blind investing’ could be risky.”

Popular News