Deutsche Bank has looked again at how it values AST SpaceMobile, and has trebled its share price target from $22 (€19.82) per share to a spectacular $63. AST says SpaceX will launch five of its BlueBird Block 1 satellites on September 12th subject to the usual weather and technical considerations.

The bank forecasts a revenue picture for AST – which has yet to launch anything other than a demo-satellite – and says that revenues will grow from $50 million in 2025 to $366 million on 2026 and growing thereafter by billion-dollar jumps to $1.4 billion in 2027, $3 billion in 2028, $4.1 billion in 2029 and $5.1 billion in 2030.

As recently as mid-May, AST’s shares were trading at around $2.30. September 4th saw them at $29.46.

The bank’s upgrade said it believed AST had made significant progress to its core technology, had deepened its relationships with its key partners and which included finalising commercial agreements with AT&T and Verizon and had obtained regulatory permissions to supply its service.

The bank expects AST to launch 20 of the Block 2 satellites next year, 30 in 2026 and 40 in 2027. AST needs 45-50 satellites in orbit to achieve a ‘dense’ coverage over the US. The bank expects AST to turn cashflow positive in 2027.

After this initial launch, the BlueBird satellites are planned to offer non-continuous cellular broadband service across the US and in select markets globally. This initial service, based on premium low band spectrum, is planned to support beta test users for AT&T and Verizon, and will target approximately 100 per cent nationwide coverage from space with over 5,600 coverage cells in the US,” stated AST in a business update issued on September 4th.

“This is a pivotal moment for AST SpaceMobile as we bring our vision to enhance cellular connectivity globally, with the support of our strategic partners and the unwavering commitment of our team,” said Abel Avellan, Founder, Chairman, and CEO of AST SpaceMobile. “As we shift our manufacturing focus to increase Block 2 production of the active payload systems and other components for the first 17 Block 2 satellites, we are excited to bring this revolutionary technology to the world. We believe space-based broadband cellular connectivity will revolutionize how people connect, empowering communities and driving economic growth on a global scale.”

AST SpaceMobile has more than 3,400 patents and patent-pending claims for its technology and operates state-of-the-art, vertically integrated manufacturing and testing facilities in Midland, Texas, which collectively span 185,000 square feet.

During 2024, AST SpaceMobile has secured additional strategic investments from AT&T, Verizon, Google and Vodafone, as well as new contract awards with the US Government through a prime contractor. The company has agreements with more than 45 mobile network operators globally, which have over 2.8 billion existing subscribers in total, including Vodafone Group, Rakuten Mobile, AT&T, Verizon, Bell Canada, Orange, Telefonica, TIM, Saudi Telecom Company, MTN, Zain KSA, Etisalat, Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison, Telkomsel, Smart Communications, Globe Telecom, Millicom, Smartfren, Telecom Argentina, Telstra, Africell, Liberty Latin America and others. Rakuten, American Tower and Bell Canada are also existing investors in AST SpaceMobile.

Other posts by Chris Forrester:

1. Rivada: No hard news on funding
2. United Airlines will dump geo-satellites
3. AST SpaceMobile launched and ready to connect
4. AT&T boss: “Satellite constellations are great”
5. Starlink Texas factory capable of 4.68m terminals annually
6. Bank: Starlink facing multiple challenges
7. India stalls again on satellite licensing
8. AST SpaceMobile reaches $10bn market cap
9. China uses Galactic Energy ship to launch satellites

Categories: Blogs, Business, Inside Satellite, Satellite

Tags: AST SpaceMobile, Deutsche Bank, satellite