Prediction: Here's What a $5,000 Investment in SpaceX Stock Could Be Worth in 2031

Source The Motley Fool

Key Points

  • SpaceX reported a 92% revenue increase in the 2026 second quarter, and Wall Street expects 137% growth next year.

  • It has rocket-launching, satellite broadband, and AI businesses, but only satellite is profitable.

  • SpaceX stock trades at a high price-to-sales multiple, and it isn't likely to last too long.

  • 10 stocks we like better than Space Exploration Technologies ›

Space Exploration Technologies (NASDAQ: SPCX) stock is not off to a great start. Although the stock soared in its first week of trading, at this writing it's 27% off its high and trading below its first-day opening price.

There's a lot to like about SpaceX, and the company is just getting started in its three businesses: rocket launching, satellite broadband, and artificial intelligence (AI). If you have $5,000 to invest, here's how much it might be worth in 2031.

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Satellite in space.

Image source: Getty Images.

SpaceX is much more than space

SpaceX is known for its rocket-launching business that brings space exploration to new levels. It's perfecting its reusable rocket technology, which should make the process more affordable and increase access to space travel. It sends rockets to bring satellites into space, and it also works with private clients, including the U.S. government. It already has 78 launches year to date as of the end of the second quarter.

Starlink is its satellite broadband business, and it's the largest of its kind. It has 10,200 satellites in orbit and serves 12 million customers in 167 countries.

Finally, it merged with Elon Musk's xAI earlier this year, rounding out its business portfolio. xAI makes money by selling data center space to cloud companies and through its large-language model (LLM), Grok.

The first two businesses have a strong connection, and both are based around some kind of space technology. xAI fits in more tangentially, as Musk envisions sending data centers into space to be powered by the sun.

The company as a whole delivered strong performance in the 2026 second quarter, its first as a public company. Revenue increased 92% year over year, a smashing opening, and net loss improved from $1 billion to $541 million. Space revenue increased 29%, but it's still not profitable. The company is investing in research and development, which it believes will eventually lead to a 99% reduction in costs from the historical average, as well as expand its market opportunity.

Starlink revenue was up 66% over last year, and operating income increased 79%. Starlink is way ahead of any competition, and customer count doubled year over year.

Finally, AI sales were up 247% over last year, although its dragging down total profitability; Operating loss was $1.3 billion. This is where the company is spending, and capital expenditures were $15.8 billion in the second quarter. It makes sense, considering that this is where management sees its greatest opportunities.

What could happen over the next five years

Wall Street expects revenue to 137% in 2027, an acceleration from today's already phenomenal rates. Analysts are looking for $39 billion in full-year revenue for 2026, which makes SpaceX a fairly small company. Tesla, for example, Musk's original company, has $103.6 billion in trailing 12-month revenue.

Here are a few options for how much revenue SpaceX might have in 2031, based on different compound annual growth rates (CAGR):

  • 100%: $1.25 trillion
  • 50%: $296 billion
  • 30%: $144.8 billion

That's quite a range. The 100% rate doesn't seem plausible, but if you assume a 50% CAGR, keeping the price-to-sales ratio of 69 constant, the market cap would exceed $20 trillion. That seems hard to believe, and you have to assume the ratio will come down. If it's halved, the market cap would still be an eye-raising $10 trillion, although that's more reasonable for five years from now.

I would say that's the best-case scenario, and it implies the stock gaining 500% from nearly $2 trillion today. If it happens, your $5,000 would be worth $25,000. More realistically, though, I think the ratio will come down further, and the CAGR is likely to as well. Using 20 as a more reasonable price-to-sales estimate with a 50% CAGR, SpaceX stock would be worth $5.9 trillion, and your $5,000 investment could be worth $15,000. At a 30% CAGR, the market cap would be only $2.9 trillion, and your investment would be worth $7,250. Keep in mind that SpaceX is fairly risky today, since it isn't profitable, and the end result could be very different from what came out of this exercise.

Should you buy stock in Space Exploration Technologies right now?

Before you buy stock in Space Exploration Technologies, consider this:

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Jennifer Saibil has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Tesla. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Disclaimer: For information purposes only. Past performance is not indicative of future results.
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