AST, LUNR, PL Rise Overnight as Starship Could Cut Satellite Deployment Costs 95%

According to Rob Maurer, managing partner at First Principles Group, shares of AST SpaceMobile (ASTS), Intuitive Machines (LUNR), and Planet Labs (PL) rose in overnight trading after Elon Musk endorsed an analysis showing Starship could dramatically reduce satellite deployment costs. ASTS gained 1%, LUNR 2%, and PL 0.2%.

Maurer calculated that Starship could cut bandwidth deployment costs to $0.30 per Mbps from $6.55 per Mbps with Falcon 9, a 95% reduction. Combined with improved satellite efficiency, Maurer estimates a 20x improvement in deployment economics for Starlink, which currently operates with a 63% adjusted EBITDA margin.