AMZN•AMZN•Retail traders executed a record 1.8 million SpaceX option contracts on its first trading day, driving the share price to a peak near $220 and briefly lifting SpaceX’s market cap above Amazon’s. Concurrently, Rocket Lab committed $8 billion (at $54 per share) to acquire Iridium as it competes with Amazon’s $11.6 billion Globalstar purchase and intensifying satellite rivalry.
On the first day of secondary trading, retail customers bought 1.8 million SpaceX option contracts—predominantly calls—sending the stock to about $220 and momentarily overtaking Amazon’s market capitalization, driven by pent-up IPO demand and hedging strategies locking in gains.
Rocket Lab agreed to purchase Iridium at $54 per share—$27 cash and the remainder in stock—for a total of $8 billion, backed by $3.6 billion in financing. This deal positions Rocket Lab to challenge both SpaceX and Amazon’s satellite communications efforts by adding Iridium’s 66 low-earth-orbit satellites and 2.55 million subscribers to its portfolio.
In April, Amazon announced plans to acquire Globalstar for approximately $11.6 billion to expand AWS’s direct-to-device mobile satellite service, mirroring SpaceX’s $17 billion spectrum purchase and intensifying competition in the emerging satellite phone market.
Comcast’s announcement to spin off NBCUniversal has sparked speculation that standalone media content could open partnership or acquisition discussions with tech firms like Amazon, leveraging its AWS infrastructure and Prime distribution for expanded streaming and interactive services.
