Space Investment Falls -41%

🚀 Space Investment Falls -41%

July 21, 2023

The Space Scoop

Week Ended 07.21.2023

Happy Friday! We apologize for no newsletter last week, but we're back. And so is earnings season which kicked off this week. The calendar is filling out nicely for the next few weeks. Lets dive in.

Market Max-Q

Top Stories

1) Q2 2023 Space earnings kicked off this week with Lockheed Martin ($LMT) reporting on Tuesday morning. Space segment highlights include:

  • Net Sales: $3.2B, +12% YoY

  • Oper Profit: $312M, +15% YoY

  • Oper Margin: 9.9% vs. 9.6% YoY

  • Total Equity Earnings (ULA): $20M

  • Shares: -3.0%

2) Space Capital released their Q2 Space Investment Quarterly Report.

  • As expected, private investment in space was down in the continued tougher market than what we experienced when many space SPACs were going public. There was $6.0B invested in Q2, marking a -41% YoY decrease from the 1H 2022.

  • "Q2 was the lowest quarter for private market investment in the Space Economy since 2015 due to a lack of large late-stage rounds - just six companies raised more than $100M."

  • "2021 was the 'peak of inflated expectations' with large financings in Launch, speculative investments in Emerging Industries, mega rounds by crossover investors in Location-based Services, and a crescendo of disappointing SPACs."

  • Venture capital continues to be the largest source of funding for space companies this year, with $2.7B invested in 145 companies, accounting for 33% of the total investment and 81% of financing rounds.

In Other News

LightRidge Acquires Trident Systems 

The private-equity owned space and airborne sensor firm announced it acquired the space electronics and subsystems supplier, Trident Systems, on July 17th. LightRidge is a portfolio company of ATL Partner and the terms were undisclosed.

Chart of the Week

Space Capital Q2 Space Investment Quarterly 

Links

• Virgin Galactic ($SPCE) Broadens Access to Space With First Private Astronaut Mission ‘Galactic 02’• Rocket Lab ($RKLB) Deploys Satellites for NASA and Commercial Constellation Operators, Successfully Recovers Booster• Spire ($SPIR) Selected by RDC Aviation To Enhance Airline Profitability and Operating Cost Insights• AMN Selects Hughes ($SATS) JUPITER System To Expand Mobile Network Access for Consumers in Madagascar and Nigeria• Sidus ($SIDU) Awarded Subcontract by Parsons ($PSN) for US Space Force Launch Manifest Systems Integration Support• Rocket Lab ($RKLB) Announces Launch Window for Next Mission in Multi-Launch Contract for Capella Space

Opinion

• SpaceX Forecasts Doubling of Revenue to $8 Billion• Young Space Firms Are Driving Acquisition Activity• Tragedy Won’t End the New Golden Age of Exploration• Intuitive Machines ($LUNR): Moon Landing Is Hard, but Achieving Profitability Targets Will Be Harder• Rocket Lab ($RKLB): Reusability Is Important, but Other Factors Are Potentially More Crucial• Rocket Lab ($RKLB): Growing With SpaceX• Rocket Lab ($RKLB): Promising Early Signs

Earnings Calendar

• $IRDM: Jul 25 - Before Market Open• $BA: Jul 26 - Before Market Open• $GD: Jul 26 - Before Market Open• $NOC: Jul 27 - Before Market Open• $SPCE: Aug 1 - After Market Close• $SATS: Aug 7 - Before Market Open• $RKLB: Aug 8 - After Market Close• $BKSY: Aug 9 - Before Market Open• $SPIR: Aug 9 - After Market Close• $ASTR: Aug 14 - After Market Close• $LLAP: Aug 15 - Before Market Open

*Company confirmed dates only.