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Billionaire Bill Ackman Called SpaceX's Starlink a "Near Monopoly" in Global Satellite Internet, But Said He Won't Buy the Stock.
Key Points
Bill Ackman says the most common thought on Wall Street is to never bet against Elon Musk.
SpaceX's current valuation limits its upside and increases the chance of a pullback.
Ackman says that SpaceX's business isn't as "predictable" as it'd like right now.
Billionaire Bill Ackman made most of his fortune running his hedge fund, Pershing Square Capital Management. And like many billionaires who make their fortune in the stock market, when Ackman speaks on investments, he tends to command more attention than your average Joe.
Ackman recently gave a nod to Space Exploration Technologies (NASDAQ: SPCX), saying the company's Starlink business -- which provides satellite internet service -- has a "near monopoly" and that many on Wall Street follow the rule of "never bet against Elon" Musk.
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Despite the praise for Musk and Starlink, Ackman says he isn't touching SpaceX right now because of one key concern.
Bill Ackman, Pershing Square Capital Management CEO. Image source: Getty Images.
Why Ackman won't buy the stock right now
SpaceX hasn't reported its first earnings as a public company yet (that's happening on Aug. 4), but we can look at its 2025 earnings to get a sense of how expensive the stock is.
SpaceX made $18.7 billion in 2025, and at the time of writing, its market cap is $1.49 trillion. That's a trailing price-to-sales (P/S) ratio of about 79. For perspective, the "Magnificent Seven" stock with the highest trailing P/S ratio is Nvidia, sitting at 18.7 -- about a quarter that of SpaceX.
Good companies don't always make good investments when prices are too high, and that seems to be the case with SpaceX right now. When a company is priced for perfection, anything short of high-level execution could (and often does) result in sharp pullbacks or downturns.
Ackman also noted that an extremely high valuation also limits some of SpaceX's upside right now. It's much harder to double in value when you're valued at $1.49 trillion (a top 10 public company in the world) versus $100 billion or so.
Will Ackman ever buy SpaceX shares?
The rule on Wall Street is never say never, so we can't definitively say whether Ackman and Pershing Square will eventually scoop up SpaceX shares. However, Ackman noted that SpaceX wasn't a part of the plan right now because the company doesn't have the "degree of predictability" that Pershing Square is looking for.
That said, SpaceX is still very early in its public tenure, and with Ackman calling Musk the "most talented technologist, entrepreneur of our generation," you'd have to think that, with the right pricing, Ackman would find value in owning SpaceX shares.
Ackman prizes value and a good price in investments, but it seems it will be a while before SpaceX reaches that point, especially while it's still unprofitable. With a high-profile initial public offering (IPO) like SpaceX, it's often best to let the dust settle before making an investment decision. That's the route I'm taking.
Stefon Walters has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Nvidia. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.