Is Planet Labs The Cheapest Stock In The Space Economy?

Planet Labs (NYSE: PL), a developer of satellite constellations, went public through a merger with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) on Dec. 8, 2021. Its stock closed at $11.35 on the first day and eventually reached a record high of $51.40 on May 28, 2026.

Today, its stock trades at about $25. Like many of its industry peers, Planet Lab had rallied ahead of SpaceX's (NASDAQ: SPCX) market debut in June, but pulled back after that massive IPO drew investors away from the smaller space stocks. A massive $1.5 billion at-the-market stock offering that same month exacerbated its decline.

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After that pullback, Planet Lab still trades at 27 times this year's sales. That price-to-sales ratio might seem high, but it actually looks cheap compared to SpaceX or AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ: ASTS), which trade at 132x and 43x this year's sales, respectively. So is Planet Labs actually one of the cheapest hypergrowth stocks in the nascent space economy?

What does Planet Labs do?

Planet Labs designs, builds, and launches satellite constellations for government and commercial clients. It's deployed 462 satellites since 2013, and about 200 remain in orbit.

It generates most of its revenue from government and defense contracts (especially for sovereign intelligence infrastructure), but it's gaining more commercial customers across the agriculture, digital mapping, insurance, energy, and utilities sectors.

It mainly relies on SpaceX's Falcon 9 rockets and Rocket Lab's (NASDAQ: RKLB) Electron rockets to launch its low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites, which only have a maximum lifespan of three to five years. These satellites are comparable to Starlink's smaller satellites, but they're tiny compared to AST SpaceMobile's massive satellites. However, these three companies don't directly compete with each other because their satellites serve different markets.

How fast is Planet Labs growing?

From fiscal 2022 to fiscal 2026 (which ended this January), Planet Lab's revenue rose from $131 million to $308 million. Its adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) also turned positive in fiscal 2026.

By the end of the first quarter of fiscal 2027, its backlog had grown 72% year over year to $906 million, driven by its robust growth in the defense and intelligence markets. It's also expanding its AI-driven analytics services to lock its customers into its ecosystem.

From fiscal 2026 to fiscal 2029, analysts expect Planet Lab's revenue and adjusted EBITDA to grow at CAGRs of 35% and 115%, respectively. Those explosive growth rates could justify its valuation, unless it keeps diluting its investors with more stock offerings. It looks cheap relative to its peers, but its outstanding share count has risen 36% since its market debut. Its insiders have also sold more than twice as many shares as they bought over the past 12 months. It might be worth nibbling at these levels, but investors should brace for significant volatility.

Leo Sun has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends AST SpaceMobile, Planet Labs PBC, and Rocket Lab. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.