Why AST SpaceMobile Stock Zoomed 53.5% Higher Last Month

Shares of AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ: ASTS) bumped 53.5% last month, according to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence. As a space economy stock trying to directly compete with Starlink in satellite internet, AST SpaceMobile is getting love ahead of the upcoming SpaceX IPO, with the stock up a whopping 389% in the last year alone.

Here's why AST SpaceMobile stock jumped in May, and whether the stock is a buy in June.

A leader in direct-to-device internet

Starlink is the undisputed leader in satellite internet services in 2026, generating $11.4 billion in revenue in 2025 alone. While it will keep putting more satellites in orbit, there is one hiccup to getting Starlink internet: the terminals. To use Starlink, customers need to buy a terminal that serves as an antenna to receive high-speed satellite internet.

AST SpaceMobile believes it will be the first satellite constellation capable of delivering high-speed internet directly to mobile devices without an antenna. How? Through ultra-large arrays and other innovations in satellite technologies. The company is still in the deployment stage of these satellites, generating barely any revenue today, but investors can see the potential in the revenue Starlink is generating with its terminal-based system.

Through a bunch of stock offerings, AST SpaceMobile has enough raised capital -- it had $3 billion in cash on the balance sheet at the end of last quarter -- to build all its massive satellites and send them into orbit under rocket launch contracts. Management believes revenue will reach $150 million to $200 million in 2026, driven by U.S. government contracts and partnerships with mobile carriers worldwide.

Image source: Getty Images.

Time to buy AST SpaceMobile?

The potential for AST SpaceMobile is vast. It has partnerships with the big three mobile carriers in the United States to upsell its services to customers, filling gaps in the existing land-based cell tower network. Globally, there are billions of customers who could be sold these services, enabling AST SpaceMobile to rapidly grow to billions in revenue.

But that's all the company is right now: a story of potential. A lot can go wrong with building a satellite internet service, including the recent misalignment of a satellite after a Blue Origin launch. AST SpaceMobile stock is also already priced like it will be a massive success, with a market cap of $46 billion as of this writing. For these reasons, it is probably best to avoid buying this stock after its May jump. It is liable to disappoint investors over the next few years.

Brett Schafer has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends AST SpaceMobile. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.