Low-Earth orbit satellite stocks to buy are gaining increased recognition after a recent news report that Seattle-based Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) is exploring the acquisition of mobile satellite operator Globalstar Inc. (NASDAQ: GAT), of Covington, Louisiana.
A key appeal for potential buyers is that satellites operating in low-Earth orbit (LEO) bring communication services to the military, other government agencies, businesses, non-profits and consumers. Another advantage with LEO services is that they are provided from satellites that orbit 160-2,000 km, or 100-1,242 miles above the ground, avoiding communication delays that occur in geostationary orbit (GEO), 35,000 km, or 22,000 miles, above the Earth, where other spacecraft are positioned in high-Earth orbit.
One of the most senior companies operating in LEO is McLean-Virginia-based Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ: IRDM). Its constellation of 66 satellites is in Low-Earth orbit approximately 780 kilometers, or 485 miles, above the Earth, providing stronger signals and faster connections through smaller antennas with lower power requirements than spacecraft in geostationary orbit. The unique structure of Iridium’s Low-Earth Orbit allows satellites to converge at the poles, ensuring coverage in the remote high-latitude regions that other satellite providers may not be able to serve.
Iridium’s 66-Satellite Constellation.
Low-Earth Orbit Satellite Stocks to Buy: Perry’s Profitable Trades
Bryan Perry, a seasoned Wall Street trader who leads the Hi-Tech Trader advisory service and the Cash Machine investment newsletter, recently notched a handful of profitable satellite industry recommendations. He told me to expect some of them to be repurchased when he sees value returning at reduced share prices after a recent jump due to the Globalstar rumors.
Perry has a dedicated Space Race Portfolio in his Hi-Tech Trader advisory service. He forecasts strong growth in that sector.
“The virtue of the space sector in a negative market lies in its contractual density,” Perry explained. “Unlike consumer apps that rely on uncertain user retention, space companies, particularly those in Earth Observation (EO) and secure communications, are anchored by multi-year government and defense contracts. As terrestrial geopolitical tensions rise, the demand for space domain awareness and sovereign satellite constellations becomes inelastic.”
Bryan Perry heads Hi-Tech Trader and Cash Machine.
Low-Earth Orbit Satellite Stocks to Buy: IRDM
“Iridium shares have nearly doubled off their recent bottom on investor enthusiasm that Iridium could be an acquisition candidate,” wrote Louie DePalma, a satellite, space and defense analyst with Chicago-based investment firm William Blair & Co. “Over the next year, we see greater than 10% upside for Iridium shares based on our sum-of-the-parts analysis.”
DePalma is giving Iridium an “outperform” rating. The main risk for Iridium is giant SpaceX, he added.
I interviewed Vincent O’Neill, the chief financial officer of Iridium, who said his company is producing such strong free cash flow that some Wall Street analysts told him they have trouble valuing the company. In fact, Iridium’s pro forma free cash flow — a forward-looking estimate of a company’s cash generation after capital expenditures and anticipated mergers, acquisitions or restructuring — was almost $300 million in the fourth-quarter of 2025. Free cash flow is important, since it measures a company’s funds after covering its operating expenses and capital expenditures.
“Our business remains robust, and we feel confident in our ability to continue generating significant free cash flow as we transform our business and add new services,” said Matthew Desch, Iridium’s CEO.
The first Iridium satellite was deployed in 1997, with its full network of 66 satellites becoming operational in 1998. In 2019, Iridium completed an upgrade to the Iridium constellation, replacing all its satellites without disrupting service.
The satellites of the Iridium network cover the entire earth in a way that no other communications provider thus far can match. Iridium’s LEO network uses L-band frequencies to communicate with the users. Those frequencies are more resilient to weather than the ones used by most GEO networks, helping to provide reliable communications amid adverse conditions in the air, on the sea or on the ground.
L-band, in 1-2 GHz, is essential for military operations to provide long-range, weather-resistant and secure communications. The L-band also is heavily used for Global Positioning Services (GPS), satellite communications (SATCOM) with low interception probability and military telemetry that records and transmits instrument readings. That particular band also supports essential air-to-ground, air-to-air and radar operations.
Together, the Iridium satellites create a global mesh of coverage. In orbit, each satellite is cross-linked to four others, providing advantages in reliability and resiliency. The cross-links provide network optimization and redundancy, ensuring that data can be rerouted and transmitted at the fastest possible speeds, regardless of what happens on Earth or in space.
Chart courtesy of www.stockcharts.com.
Low-Earth Orbit Satellite Stocks to Buy: VSAT
ViaSat (NASDAQ: VSAT), a satellite operator headquartered in Carlsbad, California, also is rated “outperform” by DePalma, of the William Blair & Co. investment firm.
In a recent research note, DePalma highlighted Southwest Airlines (NYSE: LUV) announcing that it is equipping more than 300 aircraft this year with SpaceX’s Starlink system. DePalma confirmed with ViaSat that Southwest will not be installing Starlink across the aircraft that are equipped with ViaSat.
“In addition, ViaSat plans to add support for LEO satellite connectivity from Telesat (NASDAQ: TSAT), when that service becomes available,” DePalma wrote. “Our inflight connectivity tracker documents how Starlink has gained major momentum. Some of this momentum has come at the expense of ViaSat as several non-U.S. airlines that connect to Inmarsat’s network have switched over to Starlink. However, it seems that Delta (NYSE: DAL), American Airlines (NYSE: AAL) and Southwest remain committed to using ViaSat, with ViaSat set to add ViaSat-3 capacity.”
However, the commitments could change if the ViaSat-3 service does not live up to expectations, DePalma cautioned.
“Investors increasingly view ViaSat as a ‘double special situation’ because of ViaSat’s ability to unlock value associated with its defense tech division and its trove of global L-band spectrum assets,” DePalma wrote. “ViaSat’s defense and advanced technologies business is on pace to generate $1.4 billion in revenue for its fiscal 2026 on 12% growth with a 22% EBITDA margin.”
Defense contractor L3Harris’s (NYSE: LHX) planned initial public offering (IPO) of its solid rocket motor missile solutions business increases the probability it will seek to take its defense and advanced technologies business public, too, DePalma wrote. Defense tech remains as strategic as ever, with the Trump administration floating a potential $1.5 trillion budget, he added.
Low-Earth Orbit Satellite Stocks to Buy: Valuing ViaSat
DePalma, using a sum-of-the-parts analysis, valued ViaSat’s defense technology business at $5 billion, based on a 16-times earnings before income, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) multiple, a discount to the 21-times EBITDA multiple for Leonardo DRS (NASDAQ: DRS). Leonardo DRS, Inc. is an Arlington, Virginia-based defense contractor originally founded as DRS Technologies, Inc. trading at that time on the New York Stock Exchange. DRS Technologies was acquired by Leonardo’s predecessor, Finmeccanica, in 2008. Leonardo DRS provides advanced defense technologies and systems primarily to the U.S. military, along with U.S. national security customers and allies around the world.
William Blair estimates that ViaSat’s satellite communications business is worth at least $4 billion. In addition, the investment firm values ViaSat’s L-band spectrum assets at $3.5 billion with a wide range of potential uses.
“When taking into account $5 billion in net debt, we estimate that ViaSat shares may be valued at greater than $60 per share over the next 12 months,” DePalma wrote in his latest research note. “As a result, we rate shares outperform. The main risks for ViaSat include challenges associated with monetizing its L-band spectrum, the potential that the company elects not to IPO or sell its defense tech business, and intense competition from SpaceX.”
Viasat is incorporating LEO capacity into its services through a “multi-orbit” strategy by partnering with Ottawa, Canada-based Telesat (NASDAQ: TSAT) to use that latter’s Lightspeed LEO network starting as soon as year-end 2027, mainly to enhance connectivity for aviation, maritime and energy sectors. While traditionally a GEO (Geostationary) operator, Viasat now offers hybrid, managed services combining LEO with its existing high-throughput GEO satellites.
Chart courtesy of www.stockcharts.com.
Low-Earth Orbit Satellite Stocks to Buy: Gilat
Shares of Israel’s Gilat Satellite Networks Ltd. (NASDAQ: GILT) likely are benefiting from investor enthusiasm related to the widely reported potential SpaceX IPO, DePalma wrote. While the latest consolidated quarterly financials at Gilat were above consensus, much of the strength came from the company’s Peru division, with defense revenue slipping below the company’s guidance, he added.
“Results were also impacted by the U.S. government shutdown,” DePalma wrote. “Management expects that Gilat will receive a large Stellar Blu award in the second quarter and reported progress with both Boeing (NYSE: BA) and Airbus for line-fit. In addition, the company is making progress with forging a partnership with a major ecosystem operator.
“Another plus is that during the quarter, the company raised $100 million via a private placement offering. Gilat intends to use the proceeds for defense mergers and acquisitions (M&A), potentially in the area of electronic warfare.”
“We believe shares remain attractive as the satellite communications industry is not a winner-take-all market, despite SpaceX’s leadership,” DePalma wrote. “Gilat is one of the leading global providers of modems, antennas and solid state power amplifiers (SSPAs) in the highly strategic $3 billion satellite communications infrastructure market.”
The company’s “high-performance systems” are used by satellite operators, mobile network operator customers and defense contractors, DePalma wrote. Plus, satellite operators seek redundancy and many governments desire sovereign networks, he added.
“In response to the tremendous success of SpaceX’s Starlink, a litany of low-Earth orbit, or LEO, copycat satellite constellations is planned,” DePalma wrote. “LEO satellite networks have proved indispensable on the battlefield and offer significant performance enhancements over traditional geostationary networks.”
Chart courtesy of www.stockcharts.com.
Low-Earth Orbit Satellite Stocks to Buy: Telesat’s CEO Goldberg
During an interview I conducted at the recent Satellite 2026 Conference in Washington, D.C., Daniel Goldberg, the president and chief executive officer of Telesat (NASDAQ: TSAT; TSX: TSAT), told me that the industry overall is positioned to benefit if privately held SpaceX is able to successfully complete an initial public offering (IPO). Such a large company going public could be good for the entire industry by raising the visibility of what space companies do, Goldberg added.
“It will mean there is a whole new investor base interested in space companies,” Goldberg said.
If SpaceX trades at the multiples that are expected, it should cause investors to think they can gain exposure to an “exciting and fast-growing” sector, Goldberg continued.
“My expectation is that it will be a really good thing for the whole, publicly traded space ecosystem,” Goldberg told me. “I am excited to see [SpaceX] going public, if that is indeed what happens, and we hope they have a great reception in the market.”
Paul Dykewicz interviews Telesat’s President and CEO Dan Goldberg.
Geopolitical Risk
“The current war in Iran actually started with the 1979 Islamic Revolution,” said Hugh Grossman, the leader of the DayTradeSPY options trading room. “The central, state-sanctioned change followed the November 4, 1979 seizure of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran and the subsequent 444-day hostage crisis, symbolizing opposition to U.S. policies. In chanting ‘Death to America,’ perhaps President Jimmy Carter should have finished off the conflict at that time, but Americans, being the patient society we are, graciously kicked the problem down the road. Decades later, Iran has developed — ironically with the financial, military and technological help from America — the means to seriously threaten us.”
Grossman and his partner Jon Johnson have an options trading success rate with the State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE: SPY) of more than 83%. With the market showing volatility, Grossman describes the DayTrade SPY options trading room as an alternative to the vagaries of stocks.
Paul Dykewicz, www.pauldykewicz.com, is an accomplished, award-winning journalist who has written for Dow Jones, the Wall Street Journal, Investor’s Business Daily, USA Today, the Journal of Commerce, Seeking Alpha, GuruFocus and other publications and websites. Paul is the editor of StockInvestor.com and DividendInvestor.com, a writer for both websites and a columnist. He further is the editorial director of Eagle Financial Publications in Washington, D.C., where he edits monthly investment newsletters, time-sensitive trading alerts, free e-letters and other investment reports. Paul previously served as business editor of Baltimore’s Daily Record newspaper. Paul also is the author of an inspirational book, “Holy Smokes! Golden Guidance from Notre Dame’s Championship Chaplain,” with a foreword by former national championship-winning football coach Lou Holtz. Follow Paul on Twitter @PaulDykewicz.
