Wedbush Gives SpaceX the AI Glow-Up: "It's Much More of an AI Play" 🚀

Wedbush initiated coverage of SpaceX (SPCX) with an Outperform rating and a $190 price target on Tuesday, framing the company as an artificial intelligence infrastructure play rather than a traditional space business. The firm outlined its thesis on CNBC's Fast Money, with Global Head of Tech Research Dan Ives arguing that SpaceX's emerging AI compute operation could make it one of the market's top long-term hyperscaler bets. "It's much more of an AI play, and that's our whole view from a data perspective," Ives told CNBC.

The $190 target implies about an 11% upside from SPCX's Tuesday close of $170.86. Wedbush values the company using a sum-of-the-parts model, in which AI compute forms a major component alongside the launch business and Starlink. Ives acknowledged the stock looks expensive against current revenue but said execution over the next two to three years could position SpaceX as one of the market's best AI plays.

Starlink remains SpaceX's primary revenue engine, generating roughly $11.4 billion last year, about 61% of the company's total, and posting a solid operating profit even as SpaceX recorded a net loss overall. Wedbush's $190 target leans heavily on Starlink's recurring subscriber revenue and expanding margins, with the launch business and the newer AI unit layered on top.

Launch serves as the strategic moat rather than the profit driver, with Falcon 9 dominating the global launch market and Starship aiming to lower costs further by carrying more satellites per flight. The segment contributes far less revenue than Starlink, and most launches deploy SpaceX's own satellites rather than generate third-party sales, leaving Starlink subscriber growth and margins as the key indicators investors are tracking as the company moves toward Nasdaq 100 inclusion.