SpaceX, Amazon, and the Race to Own the Consumer's Digital Life. Which Stock Wins?

Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) and Space Exploration Technologies (NASDAQ: SPCX) are both trying to become more important to consumers' digital lives.

Amazon already affects how people shop, watch shows, subscribe to services, use smart-home devices, and interact with cloud-powered technology. SpaceX is using Starlink satellite broadband and direct-to-cell service to bring internet access to consumers.

Image source: Getty Images.

Amazon generated $716.9 billion in net sales in 2025, while SpaceX generated just $18.7 billion in revenue. While that size gap does not automatically make Amazon a better stock, it shows the different risk profiles investors are dealing with.

Amazon is already monetizing consumer behavior at scale

Amazon's biggest advantage is that it is already embedded in consumers' daily behavior. In 2025, the company generated $269.3 billion in sales from online stores, $172.2 billion from third-party seller services, $68.6 billion from advertising, $49.6 billion from subscriptions, and $128.7 billion from its AWS cloud computing business. Hence, Amazon earns money at several points in the consumer journey, from product discovery and advertising to subscriptions, transactions, seller services, and cloud infrastructure.

Its advertising business is also gaining momentum, with revenues rising 24% year over year to $17.2 billion in the first quarter. Many Amazon advertisements appear when shoppers are already comparing products or getting ready to buy. The company's advertising business is proving to be a competitive edge because Amazon is monetizing purchase intent, not just screen time.

Amazon's relationship with consumers also extends well beyond shopping. Prime, Prime Video, Kindle, Fire TV, Echo, Ring, Blink, and eero give the company multiple ways to connect to customers across entertainment, reading, smart-home devices, home security, subscriptions, and Wi-Fi.

Beyond all of that, though, AWS continues to be a key growth engine. In the first quarter, AWS revenue rose 28% year over year to $37.6 billion, while AWS operating income reached $14.2 billion, up from $11.5 billion in the prior-year period. The company's large and highly profitable cloud computing business will play a pivotal role in Amazon's artificial intelligence (AI) ambitions.

Amazon possesses the consumer data and cloud infrastructure to support more personalized shopping tools, smarter ads, better digital assistants, and cloud services for companies building their own AI products. The company recently launched Alexa for Shopping, a new AI shopping assistant built from Rufus and Alexa+. Rufus helps shoppers compare products and answer shopping questions, while Alexa+ adds a more conversational and personalized experience across Amazon's app, website, and devices.

The AWS AI infrastructure is also supported by large customer commitments. OpenAI has committed to lease approximately 2 gigawatts of computing capacity powered by Amazon's custom Trainium chips. Anthropic has also committed to securing up to 5 gigawatts of Trainium capacity. Meta Platforms has signed an agreement to deploy tens of millions of Amazon's custom Graviton server chips to support AI workloads.

Amazon Leo, formerly known as Project Kuiper, is the company's low Earth orbit satellite internet network. As of mid-June, the constellation had grown to 367 satellites, and the company has secured more than 100 rocket launches to deploy additional satellites. It's becoming a formidable player in the satellite broadband market.

Additionally, Amazon's agreement to acquire Globalstar could help Amazon Leo connect directly to phones for voice, data, and messaging services beginning in 2028. The company has also entered into a multiyear agreement with Delta Air Lines to install Amazon's Leo satellite technology on its aircraft, with an initial installation on 500 planes starting in 2028.

However, the main risk for Amazon is its elevated spending. Amazon's trailing-12-month free cash flow fell sharply in the first quarter as its AI-related infrastructure spending rose. The company also faces regulatory pressure and heavy competition.

Yet, Amazon is funding these bets from a much stronger profit base than SpaceX.

SpaceX is trying to move closer to consumers through Starlink

The biggest way SpaceX could move closer to consumers is through Starlink mobile.

SpaceX already offers direct-to-cell satellite technology with T-Mobile US in the U.S, allowing compatible phones to connect through Starlink when they are in locations where regular tower coverage is weak or unavailable. According to Reuters, SpaceX also plans to launch a Starlink mobile service via a consumer mobile plan or a mobile connectivity product for U.S. consumers, which could put it in direct competition with Verizon Communications, AT&T, and T-Mobile US. This could position SpaceX as a prominent consumer telecommunications player.

With nearly 10.3 million subscribers, Starlink is already a meaningful consumer internet business. If it expands into mobile service, Starlink could become more useful for travel, emergency coverage, and areas with weak cellular networks.

SpaceX is also expanding its satellite capacity for a larger Starlink business. In January, the Federal Communications Commission approved the company's request for permission to deploy an additional 7,500 Gen2 Starlink satellites, which would bring SpaceX's authorized network to 15,000. More satellites will help Starlink improve coverage, support direct-to-cell service, and eventually offer faster mobile applications. SpaceX's recent purchase of wireless spectrum from EchoStar is also significant because spectrum is essential for expanding wireless connectivity.

However, investors should not view Starlink mobile as a full replacement for regular wireless networks or 5G service yet. And the bigger issue for investors is valuation and execution risk. SpaceX still trades at about 82 times trailing-12-month sales even after its post-IPO pullback. That type of ambitious valuation is particularly difficult to justify for a company that is still relying heavily on Starlink's profits while pouring funds into rockets, AI infrastructure, spectrum expansion, and mobile ambitions. The Starship rocket, which has yet to carry a commercial payload, is especially important because it could help SpaceX launch larger satellites and expand Starlink capacity more efficiently, but delays would weaken a major part of the company's growth story.

SpaceX can prove a more disruptive connectivity story if Starlink mobile becomes a widely used consumer wireless platform. But Amazon looks like the stronger risk-adjusted winner in the race to own a piece of consumers' digital lives.

Manali Pradhan, CFA has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Amazon and Meta Platforms. The Motley Fool recommends Delta Air Lines, T-Mobile US, and Verizon Communications. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.