Many space companies contributed to NASA’s awe-inspiring Artemis II mission and have seen their stocks soar as there is massive interest in the lunar economy. So, let’s talk about the Procure Space ETF (UFO), the first pure-play space ETF, writes Neena Mishra, director of ETF Research at Zacks Investment Research.
SpaceX filed its IPO paperwork with the SEC recently. Bloomberg reported that the space company plans to raise as much as $75 billion in the offering – for a target valuation of over $2 trillion. Founded in May 2002, SpaceX now holds a de facto monopoly on rocket launches, and its satellite internet division, Starlink, is reportedly a major cash generator.
Procure Space ETF (UFO)
Like many high-profile startups, it has remained private as institutional investors continued to pour money into the firm. Now, Elon Musk’s ambition to build data centers in space is helping drive the company’s IPO plans. Orbital data centers would require hundreds of billions, if not trillions, of dollars.
Blue Origin, founded by Amazon.com Inc.’s (AMZN) Jeff Bezos, is pursuing similar orbital data center concepts, while Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL) is working on a space-based data center project, codenamed Suncatcher, with test launches expected in 2027.
Overall, the global space economy is expected to reach $1.8 trillion by 2034, up from $613 billion in 2024, according to McKinsey. UFO offers exposure to the trend by primarily investing in companies that derive a majority of their revenues from space-related industries.
Planet Labs PBC (PL), Rocket Lab Corp. (RKLB), EchoStar Corp. (SATS), and ViaSat Inc. (VSAT) are among its top holdings.
