Fortunes from Heaven and Earth
Let’s start with SpaceX, then shift to a brief overview of the markets, focusing especially on metals and mining sectors. Interestingly enough, these two broad topics are interconnected.
To begin, a quick note: next month, on Sunday, July 20th, Shark Week returns for its 37th season on the Discovery Channel. You might be wondering, “Huh?”
Stick with me… keep reading.
If You’re Not a SpaceX Insider, You’re on the Outside
I mentioned Shark Week only because this week might as well be dubbed “SpaceX Week.”
This Friday, June 12th, Space Exploration Tech Group, better known as SpaceX (SPCX), will hold its initial public offering (IPO). It’s a huge event attracting immense attention across financial markets.
However, the reality is SpaceX is only partially going public. Under 5% of shares will be offered, meaning more than 95% remain tightly held by Elon Musk, top executives, employees, and insiders.
This small share release is meant to facilitate what’s known as a “monetization” event, valuing the company around $1.8 trillion—roughly on par with the GDP of countries like Turkey or South Korea. This IPO stakes a claim as the largest ever.
There’s lots to unpack about SpaceX; if interested, I covered this earlier in today’s Rude Awakening.
SpaceX already functions as a massive industrial hub within space, aerospace, and related high-tech sectors. To borrow from astrophysics, it acts as a “gravity well” attracting capital and talent alike. Its IPO will surely ripple through many markets—not only space-related but also areas somewhat or even far removed from it.
For instance, many index funds have sold or plan to sell assets to amass substantial cash, preparing to buy SpaceX shares, driving prices up as they seek to own this new high-profile asset.
On the retail side, many individual investors want a stake regardless of price. SpaceX’s insiders aware of this have carved out a portion of the IPO specifically for retail investors—which breaks with the typical pattern of IPO share allocation, where institutions and favored clients dominate initial offerings.
The early days after the IPO may see a price surge fueled by excitement. But considering the hype, magnitude, and spectacle of the event, what unfolds likely won’t reflect true “price discovery.” Instead, expect speculative money chasing momentum like rocket exhaust trailing a launch. Simply put, SpaceX shares represent a risky gamble.
At Paradigm Press, multiple editors tracking SpaceX for years have analyzed the latest prospectus. They generally advise those outside the inner circle to avoid chasing this IPO.
Centered views come from our AI expert James Altucher, macro analyst Jim Rickards, and trading specialist Enrique Abeyta—all cautioning against jumping into SpaceX’s IPO as it blasts off.
That said, regardless of editorial warnings, many investors will seek to acquire SpaceX shares, if only to say they participated. Some may profit, but risks remain substantial.
Bottom line: institutional investors and insiders have privileged access and advantages here. If you’re not inside the tent, you’re watching from outside.
The New Space Economy
Still, there are alternative ways to engage with the booming new space economy beyond SpaceX itself. Costs to reach Earth’s orbit have plummeted, and an increasing mass of payloads—ranging from large satellites to tens of thousands of small ones—are being launched to perform numerous functions.
Profits await in the skies above. If you prefer not to invest directly in SpaceX shares, you can look at publicly listed companies supplying SpaceX or independently active in space exploration and satellite communications.
Two examples are AST SpaceMobile (ASTS) and Intuitive Machines (LUNR). Note that these names come from independent sources and do not necessarily represent official recommendations from our outlets. As always, research carefully, monitor market dips, employ limit orders, and avoid chasing momentum when buying shares.
There are also at least ten other public companies closely linked to SpaceX, whether as competitors, critical suppliers, or industry partners aligned with SpaceX’s main ventures.
Last Week’s Market Swoon
Amid the buzz around SpaceX and heavyweight investors, markets took a serious hit on Friday, June 5th. Nearly every major sector dropped.
Notably, big winners from earlier in the year—like memory chips and AI stocks—were among the hardest hit. These sectors had enjoyed huge rallies fueled by hype and speculative capital, both of which proved volatile.
The sell-off arose from several factors. A robust national jobs report revealed hiring stronger than anticipated. Some interpreted this as a signal the Federal Reserve might hike rates under the new Chair. But realistically… come on…
The Fed is unlikely to raise rates this summer, especially with mid-term elections looming. Plus, the government already disburses over a trillion dollars annually just for interest on the national debt—higher rates would exacerbate Treasury drain.
However, strong employment figures imply the Fed won’t be easing soon either, which disappointed markets that had priced in expected rate cuts. Thus, robust job data shifted the narrative away from easy-money expectations.
Reflecting a cautious stance, Bank of America advised investors to “exercise caution” with U.S. equities, citing increasing “bear market signposts.” Their analysts warn that markets are “approaching a top” and flashes “too many red flags.”
Bank of America suggests investors “take profits” since about “70% of bear-market signals” recently triggered correspond with previous market peaks.
Closer to my realm, mining stocks suffered a big sell-off on Friday. Major producers, mid-tier companies, and many strong junior miners all saw share price drops.
But between Friday morning and close, nothing fundamentally changed in mining. It’s the same teams, geology, engineering plans, exploration schedules, and production forecasts months or years ahead. Developing mines remains a long haul, and current price levels present buying opportunities—though caution and prudence remain essential.
Specifically, with gold at $4,300 and silver near $65—and solid pricing for many other elements—we are still hovering around levels seen earlier this year, including record prices in February. Many miner shares reached yearly peaks in recent months. Producers generally report solid or rising earnings.
Despite last week’s pullback and Friday’s red daily charts, the long-term outlook for miners and metals is positive. The reality: there is an ongoing shortage of copper, aluminum, silver, gold, zinc, lead, tin, bismuth, rare earths, and many other key metals and materials.
This brings us back to Elon Musk and SpaceX, and the broader constellation of companies in the evolving space economy. If the goal is to launch mass into orbit and monetize it, all the usual metals and alloys, plus some rare materials, will be essential. Fundamentally, everything starts as rock extracted from the Earth.
In fact, last week in Philadelphia at Paradigm’s “76/26 – America 250” event, my colleagues and I examined metals for both traditional industries and the emerging space economy. Collectively, five editors highlighted 53 robust companies across these fields, including numerous mining firms.
Looking ahead, profits will come not only from terrestrial rocks but also from rockets and satellites above. That said… did you catch the event last Thursday, June 4th? If you missed it, here is the replay.
There’s much more to explore, but that’s all for now. Thank you for reading and subscribing.
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