Amazon just agreed to acquire Globalstar for somewhere between $11 and $12 billion. The catch: Globalstar did $273 million in revenue last year and has never been consistently profitable. So what exactly is Amazon buying — and why now?
In this episode, Nick and Kasey work through the full strategic logic behind the deal, explain what Amazon Leo actually is, and then reveal the small-cap satellite manufacturer sitting directly in the supply chain that some investors haven't found yet.
The short answer on why Amazon wants Globalstar: spectrum rights, an existing customer base that includes Apple's emergency SOS service, and a head start on the infrastructure needed to compete with SpaceX's Starlink. Amazon has been building toward this under the name Project Kuiper for years. The rebrand to Leo, the timing of Andy Jassy's shareholder letter, and now the Globalstar acquisition all point to the same direction — Amazon is serious about becoming a broadband internet provider, and broadband internet feeds every other part of the Amazon flywheel.
The more interesting angle for investors is further down the supply chain. MDA Space, a Canadian satellite manufacturer, holds a $4 billion Canadian dollar backlog — and a significant portion of it is tied directly to building Globalstar's next-generation satellite constellation. The Amazon acquisition just confirmed that contract stays in force. For a company generating $1.6–1.7 billion in annual revenue, that backlog represents years of visibility, and the stock reacted accordingly when the deal was announced.
Nick and Kasey walk through MDA's revenue growth trajectory, customer concentration risks, and a reverse DCF analysis that pegged fair value around $33 per share at the time of recording.
What we cover:
— The Globalstar deal: what Amazon is actually buying and why the price makes sense
— Amazon Leo's performance specs and its early enterprise customers: Delta, AT&T, Vodafone, and others
— How satellite internet feeds the Amazon flywheel: more broadband, more Prime, more AWS
— SpaceX, EchoStar, and why Amazon moved when it did
— MDA Space: the satellite builder in the supply chain, their backlog, and valuation
— Blue Origin and the launch services picture as Amazon consolidates
— A reverse DCF on MDA Space using fiscal.ai data
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Disclosure: Nick and Kasey are Amazon shareholders. This content is for general information only and is not individual investment advice. All investing involves risk.
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