Starlink IPO: revenue, investors, valuation & how to invest

What is Starlink?

Starlink is a division of SpaceX that is developing satellite internet technology. The basic idea is the ability to provide high-speed internet access around the world using satellites. SpaceX is using its engineering expertise to create the world’s most advanced broadband system with thousands of satellites orbiting the Earth. 

This new satellite network communication system will provide fast and widespread internet coverage like never before. There are over 3,000 Starlink satellites currently in orbit, and in total, there will be around 12,000 satellites, potentially rising to an astronomical 42,000 at some stage.

Most satellites providing internet services are ‘geostationary’ and orbit the planet quite slowly, which can create latency and slow speeds (because of the time taken for data to move between a user and the satellite). Using a constellation of satellites that use a low earth orbit path with entire global coverage will reduce latency and provide reliable internet access regardless of location.   

Right now, Starlink is a part of SpaceX and isn’t its own company. However, this will likely change at some stage, and Starlink will become an individual entity rather than just a side project of SpaceX.

Starlink key company facts

Starlink company statistics

Below is a breakdown of some key figures, including Starlink’s revenue, number of satellites in space, plus top investors and competitors.

Starlink number of satellites

Starlink revenue estimates

Starlink’s competitors

In such a new space (excuse the pun), few companies can compete with Starlink’s business model. It’s a pretty unique prospect, yet there are still some potential competitors:

• Amazon (Kuiper Systems)
• OneWeb
• Viasat
• Geespace
• Telesat
• The EU (with the help of firms like Airbus, SES, and Eutelsat)
• HughesNet
• Microsoft (Azure Orbital)

Starlink’s top investors

At the moment, understanding who Starlink’s major backers are is slightly tricky because it’s still just a division within SpaceX. But, we can take a look at the top SpaceX investors to get an idea about who is supporting Starlink:

• Elon Musk
• Alphabet
• Sequoia Capital
• Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund
• Abu Dhabi Investment Authority
• Alpha Dhabi
• Matthew Brown Companies
• Stableton Financial
• Kinetic Partners
• Mirae Asset Venture Investment

When is the Starlink IPO?

It’s hard to know for sure, but self-proclaimed ‘Technoking’ Elon Musk has hinted that the Starlink IPO (initial public offering) will likely take place in 2025 or 2026. However, we may see a Starlink IPO sooner than this. Elon Musk’s main criteria is that he wanted Starlink to be profitable with a predictable cash flow. 

Perhaps the performance of Starlink is outpacing even Musk’s expectations, as SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell stated that Starlink recorded its first quarter of positive cash flow in 2022 and is on track to turn a profit in 2023.  

So, this could be a surprise IPO that’s worth keeping an eye on. However, a Starlink IPO may partly depend on how the overall space sector and SpaceX are performing. The Starlink IPO will have to fit in with the broader business plans of Musk and SpaceX. There’s no guarantee that the stars will align to create the ideal conditions for Starlink to press ahead with its initial public offering.

We’ll have to wait for further news to see when Starlink plans to go public. Elon Musk was quite cautious with his initial IPO predictions. Still, the business seems to be tracking better than expected, and an initial public offering in the near future may be just what Starlink needs to blast off.

How to invest and buy shares after the Starlink IPO

After the Starlink IPO date, you can freely buy the newly listed stock. Interactive Brokers and eToro are two top-rated brokers where you can access Starlink shares and buy the stock with low fees after the IPO. Take a look at both these brokerage options below:

Founded in 1978, the IBKR platform lets you access over 150 market destinations in 33 countries and trade any asset you may be looking for: Stocks, Bonds, ETFs, Forex, Funds, Commodities, Options, Futures, CFDs, Cryptos Futures, and even tiny small companies (a.k.a micro caps).

If you want to buy Starlink stock after the IPO, here’s how you can buy shares using Interactive Brokers:

1. Open a trading account with Interactive Brokers.
2. Deposit funds into your account.
3. Once it’s available, search for the Starlink stock, there is no confirmed ticker symbol right now.
4. Place the type of order you wish to use (e.g., market, limit, stop, etc.).
5. Once you’ve bought your desired number of Starlink shares, continue to monitor performance.

If you’d like to learn more about the IBKR platform, check out our full-length Interactive Brokers review.

Founded in 2006 in Israel, eToro now has over 30 million customers worldwide. The platform is widely known for its social and copy trading features. It allows users to trade stocks, forex, commodities, cryptocurrencies, CFDs, and ETFs.

If you’re planning to buy Starlink stock after the IPO, here’s how you can buy shares using eToro:

1. Open an account with eToro.
2. Head to the ‘Markets’ page, and select ‘Stocks’.
3. Search for the Starlink stock and select ‘Trade’.
4. Next, hit ‘BUY’.
5. Choose how much you want to invest in Starlink or the number of shares you want to buy.
6. Select your leverage (or ensure that leverage is set to X1).
7. Decide on a take-profit parameter if you want to automate a future sale of your Starlink stock.
8. Finally, hit ‘Open Trade’.

If you’d like to learn more about eToro, check out our in-depth eToro review.

Bottom line on investing in the Starlink IPO

Interestingly, Starlink was just a side project within SpaceX, yet it has quickly become an integral part of the company. A big reason for this is that Starlink solves problems and has a real-world use case today instead of proprietary technology that could be important at some unknown future date. 

The rapid growth of Starlink satellites and subscribers shows demand for this service. Only a tiny portion of total internet users are connected to the Starlink satellites, but this also means there’s plenty of opportunity for growth. It was predicted that the Starlink IPO would be a few years away, but as the company is growing from strength to strength and beating expectations, I wouldn’t be surprised if the Starlink initial public offering gets the green light for launch soon. 

Unlike some of the SpaceX business endeavours, Starlink has a business model that’s easier to define and sell to investors. It’s still going to be a massive challenge to build this full-scale network of satellites in space, but it’s looking more and more achievable. Investing in Starlink will be a risk, but it could be an investment in what will become the largest global internet provider. Yet, alongside other firms, tech juggernauts like Amazon and Microsoft will put up a fight and compete against Starlink in this internet space race. So it’s not a definite outcome that Starlink will beat out everyone else, but the company is definitely off to a great start.