The reusability of SpaceX’s new super-heavy rocket is the linchpin of the technology conglomerate’s future success, according to Wedbush analyst Dan Ives. Ives began formal research coverage of Space Exploration Technologies on Wednesday with a buy rating and a 12-month price target of $190, touting its “vertically integrated” business segments – rocket launches, internet connectivity and computing infrastructure. Ives’ price target implies more than 11% potential upside in SpaceX, based on Tuesday’s close. The backbone of that integration is the reusability of the SpaceX Starship rocket, which was still in a test phase as of May but could connect the company’s segments and allow significant savings in overhead costs. “Starship [is] the essential layer in [the] SPCX success story,” Ives wrote in a Tuesday note to clients initiating coverage of SpaceX. “The new models for its Starship fleet not only reduce the cost per launch but can also carry a larger number of Starlink satellites on its wings, making it an incremental driver of its highly profitable broadband connectivity business.” Near monopoly SpaceX is widely recognized to have a near monopoly in the commercial space delivery business, with the company delivering five out of every six U.S. launches, according to a Georgetown University tally . The World Economic Forum puts SpaceX’s private launch market share at 82%. SpaceX incurred net losses of $5 billion in 2025 and has a market capitalization of almost $2.3 trillion. Many other analysts on Wall Street see the reusability of Starship as the sine qua non of the company’s long-term profitability. SPCX 1M mountain SpaceX since its June 12 IPO “Successful reusability of Starship is the single most important value unlock,” Myles Walton at Wolfe Research wrote in a note to clients last month, which also considered the possibility that “Starship doesn’t work.” SpaceX priced its initial public offering at $135 a share and debuted June 12 on Nasdaq at $150. In the days after, the stock soared as high as $225.64 and then fell as low as $147.11 on June 23. SpaceX on Wednesday is down about 5% at roughly $163.
