Space.
The final frontier is airless, cold, and full of harmful radiation. But, for some companies, it could also be full of profits.
We, as a species, are starting to explore space more than ever. Titans of industry, like Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk, are developing new space technology for the transportation of humans and cargo. Spaceflight is getting cheaper, which is leading to more and more opportunity above the earth.
By the year 2040, the space industry could reach $1.1 trillion, according to a recent note from Morgan Stanley. Growing need for internet access around the world could be a big driver for the nascent space economy. Some companies, like Google and Facebook, are working on sending drones and balloons into the sky to provide fast internet to remote areas, but Adam Jonas, an analyst at Morgan Stanley, says the future of the internet is a network of satellites.
"Working with our aerospace & defense, internet, satellite, and telecom analysts, we estimate a $400 billion+ incremental revenue opportunity from providing internet access to under- or unserved parts of the world," Jonas wrote.
The companies currently working on providing internet to underserved areas stand to heavily benefit from more internet consumers. Jonas expects an untapped $725 billion in revenue from social media, search, and e-commerce companies.
SpaceX is one of the most notable companies currently working on satellite internet. The company is currently testing satellite internet technology, but hopes to launch its first satellite access in 2019 and its internet service in 2022. Because of its plan, Jonas placed an estimated value of $46 billion on SpaceX.
Space is almost unfathomably large, though. There is lots of room for companies to carve their own niche above Earth's atmosphere and to take advantage of satellites beaming the internet into new places on earth. Jonas, with the help of his colleagues at Morgan Stanley, picked 20 publicly traded companies he thought would benefit the most from the growing space economy. He listed them in no particular order, but they are as follows.