Blue Origin is a space technology business founded by Amazon's former CEO, Jeff Bezos, in September 2020.
In October 2020, Blue Origin showcased a reusable rocket identical to SpaceX's Falcon 9, which piqued many investors' curiosity. The New Shepard rocket carried a crew capsule 66 miles into space and successfully landed.
Blue Origin's idea to carry paying travelers into space and back is tested on the 13th New Shepard trip. The mission of the New Shepard is to offer safe and dependable space trips.
Rear Admiral Alan B. Shepard Jr. was honored with the name New Shepard. In 1961, Shepard became the first American to journey to space, and Shepard stepped on the Moon a decade later, in 1971. Blue Origin intends to send the Shepard rockets into orbit from a launch facility in West Texas.
Unlike its rival SpaceX, Blue Origin has never sent humans into space. In May 2020, SpaceX's Crew Dragon spaceship sent passengers to the International Space Station (ISS). In August 2020, the Crew Dragon successfully splashed down with astronauts aboard. U.S. astronauts will be transported to the International Space Station by SpaceX.
The biggest difference between the Shepard and the Crew Dragon is that Blue Origin wishes to land the Shepard capsules on the ground. The Shepard is designed to look like the Russian Soyuz space capsules that land in the desert, and the Dragon capsules will splash down in the water the way American space capsules did before the space shuttle.
There are many fraudulent claims concerning a Blue Origin IPO and a Blue Origin (BOGN) stock on the internet. Bezos has not revealed any intentions for a Blue Origin IPO or stock, and therefore such reports are false. Because Bezos refuses to reveal Blue Origin's financing, its worth and prospective stock price remain uncertain.
On the other hand, Blue Origin could be able to profit from government contracts in the United States. In April 2020, NASA awarded Blue Origin a $579 million contract as part of the Human Landing System program. According to Spacenews, NASA might spend $18.4 billion on the Human Landing System by 2024.
The U.S. Congress has allocated the Human Landing System program $600 million, and President Trump has given the Human Landing System a budget of $3.3 billion. It's unclear if President-elect Biden favors the Human Landing System.
Selling the New Glenn, Shepard, and Blue Moon to other nations, like India's or the European Space Agency, might bring in some cash for Blue Origin. The People's Republic of China is another prospective buyer.
Because there are no plans for an IPO, any Blue Origin stock price is solely speculative. Bezos has little reason to share Blue Origin's finances without an IPO strategy. Boeing Company (NYSE: B.A.), Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT), and Northrop Grumman (NYSE: NRO) are some of the publicly listed firms that construct space capsules and rockets (NYSE: NOC).
Because such corporations have alternative sources of income, Boeing, Northrop Grumman, and Lockheed Martin are poor analogies for Blue Origin. Boeing makes airplanes, while Northrop Grumman and Lockheed Martin are prominent military contractors that produce a wide range of planes and weaponry. Boeing is a significant military contractor that also manufactures cargo planes.
Blue Origin's principal investor, Jeff Bezos, is the CEO of a Boeing client. The Air Transport Services Group leases Boeing cargo planes to Amazon's Prime Air.
Blue Origin's Initial Public Offering
Blue Origin has no intention of launching an initial public offering (IPO) (IPO). Bezos has made no public statements regarding an IPO. Because Bezos is the world's wealthiest man, with a fortune of $184.1 billion on November 11, 2020, a Blue Origin IPO seems unlikely in 2021 and 2022.
What is Blue Origin?
Blue Origin, situated in Kent, Washington, is a privately owned corporation. Blue Origin's mission is to make space travel and living possible for millions of people.
Jeff Bezos, the company's founder, thinks that mankind must migrate into space to live and save the planet. Blue Origin's strategy is to build the infrastructure needed to transport millions of people into space.
The first phase in this approach is developing reusable rockets and launching vehicles capable of transporting people and cargo into space. Blue Origin's Shepard is the company's first reusable launch vehicle.
The New Glenn, a bigger rocket named after astronaut and politician John Glenn, will be Blue Origin's next launch vehicle. John Glenn was the first American to orbit the planet and the third American to fly into space. Glenn was the most renowned American astronaut who never stepped on the Moon, subsequently serving as a U.S. Senator and running for President.
The New Glenn will launch satellites and other cargo from Cape Canaveral, Florida's Kennedy Space Center. The New Glenn, like the Falcon 9, will be partly reusable, and a ship will collect the New Glenn booster once it crashes into the water. Blue Origin will attempt, like SpaceX, to land the New Glenn's rockets on a barge. The New Glenn, according to Blue Origin, can be used for 25 trips.
The New Glenn is a massive spacecraft. The New Glenn, according to Blue Origin, can carry twice as much cargo as any previous commercial rocket. The New Glenn is bigger than the Falcon Heavy from SpaceX. Blue Origin will use the New Glenn to compete for NASA space launch contracts.
Blue Origin established a 180,000-square-meter rocket factory on Florida's Space Coast and another rocket factory in Huntsville, Alabama, to manufacture the New Glenn. NASA's launch pads at Cape Canaveral's Kennedy Space Center are nine miles away from Blue Origin's rocket manufacturing. Blue Origin's mission controls are likewise kept at the Florida Factory.
Blue Origin is developing the Blue Moon lunar lander. The Blue Moon was designed to transport people and freight to the Moon. The Blue Moon will be a versatile lander that can land with pinpoint accuracy. The Blue Moon will be used to transport huge payloads, and the Blue Moon will have a Cargo Lander variation.
Blue Moon is a member of NASA's Human Landing System National Team. Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE: LMT), Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC), and Draper are the other members of the National Team. Draper is a minor space technology firm focused on bringing humans back to the Moon.
NASA plans to deploy the Human Landing System, a next-generation lunar lander, to put people on the Moon. The Human Landing System is part of NASA's Artemis program, which intends to establish a permanent American presence on the Moon.
According to Jeff Bezos, Blue Moon may place people on the Moon by 2024. NASA has announced no human lunar missions. Blue Moon, according to Bezos, will be able to convey a ton of freight to the Moon by 2023.
NASA has received a full-scale engineering prototype or mockup of the Blue Moon lander from the National Team. The Blue Moon is now being tested at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas.
The Blue Moon was part of President Donald J. Trump's (R-Florida) Artemis plan to bring Americans back to the Moon's surface. Artemis's destiny is uncertain because President-elect Joe Biden (D-Delaware) has not stated his lunar exploration objectives.
Blue Origin will remain private because Bezos wants to preserve control of the company's goals. Blue Origin's board of directors or shareholders might derail Bezos' intentions if the company went public.
Bezos doesn't need to sell Blue Origin stock to earn money since he can make a lot of money by selling Amazon (AMZN) shares. One of the reasons CEOs take firms public is to profit from stock sales.
Because Blue Origin is a private firm, no one knows how much money Bezos puts into it. Analysts believe it is the major and probably the sole investor in Blue Origin.
3 Ways to Invest in Blue Origin and Other Space Companies
Northrop Grumman is an aerospace company based in the United States (NYSE: NOC)
Northrop Grumman is a multinational aerospace corporation and one of the world's leading weapons makers. Northrup Grumman has a lengthy history of working in space, and it was responsible for constructing the Lunar Module, which was utilized on the Apollo 13 lunar trip.
Northrup Grumman is now involved in various NASA space exploration missions. These projects are the James Webb Space Telescope, the Chandra Space Telescope, and the Dawn Asteroid Explorer.
The Cygnus spacecraft is being built by Northrop Grumman and will transport goods to the International Space Station. Northrop Grumman is one of two businesses contracted to transport supplies to the International Space Station; Elon Musk's SpaceX is the other.
The Habitation and Logistics Outpost, or HALO, a component of NASA's planned Lunar Gateway, might be designed and built by Northrup Grumman. NASA's concept for a future moon mission is called the Lunar Gateway.
SpaceLogistics LLC, a subsidiary, works on vehicles that can maintain and repair satellites in space.
Northrup Grumman is a multi billion-dollar corporation. On September 30, 2020, it announced a quarterly gross profit of $1.84 billion and an operating income of $985 million. On September 30, 2020, Northrup reported sales of $9.083 billion.
Northrup Grumman is a cash-rich firm with $1.359 billion in operating cash flow and $817 million in ending cash flow as of September 30, 2020. On September 30, 2020, Northrup had $4.955 billion in cash and short-term investments.
On September 30, 2020, Northrup Grumman possessed an immense value of $44.773 billion in total assets. On November 9, 2020, I believe Mr. Market overpriced Northrup Grumman at $302.68.
On August 28, 2020, Northrup Grumman (NOC) issued an exceptional quarterly dividend of $1.45.
Because of the dividend and cash flow, I believe Northrop Grumman to be a good income investment.
Blue Origin may be a solid investment eventually, according to Northrup Grumman. However, I believe that day will be many years away.
Lockheed Martin is one of Blue Origin's National Team partners working on NASA's Human Landing System (HLS) lunar module.
Lockheed Martin (LMT) is a part of several space projects, including the OSIRIS-Rex asteroid-tagging mission. The OSIRIS-Rex spacecraft landed on the asteroid Bennu's surface, took samples, and then flew away. The TAGSAM technology developed by Lockheed Martin is vital to the mission's success.
The United Launch Alliance (ULA) is a joint venture between Lockheed Martin and Boeing (B.A.) (ULA).
The Delta and Atlas rockets that deliver satellites into orbit are built and launched by the United Launch Alliance. A United Launch Alliance rocket will send Boeing's Starliner space capsule into orbit.
Lockheed Martin will develop its rocket manufacturing in Titusville, Florida's Space Coast, to serve NASA. According to Bizjournals, in the third quarter of 2020, Lockheed Martin's space division raised its revenue by 6% to $2.85 billion.
Lockheed Martin manufactures a wide range of aircraft, including fighter jets, helicopters, airships, drones, and freight planes. Because it manufactures cargo jets, Lockheed Martin might benefit from the rise of Amazon (AMZN) and e-commerce.
During a pandemic in 2020, Lockheed Martin saw a three-quarters increase in income. Lockheed's sales climbed 9.17 percent in the first quarter of 2020, 12.43 percent in the second quarter, and 8.73 percent in the third quarter of 2020, according to Stockrow. Quarterly revenues for Lockheed Martin increased from $15.651 billion on March 31, 2020, to $16.22 billion on June 30, 2020, and $16.495 million on September 30, 2020.
Lockheed Martin profits from this expansion. On September 30, 2020, it recorded a quarterly operating income of $2.147 billion and a quarterly gross profit of $2.136 billion. On September 30, 2020, Lockheed Martin reported a quarterly operating cash flow of $1.88 billion and a quarterly ending cash flow of $730 million.
On September 30, 2020, Lockheed Martin supplied value in the form of $50.773 billion in total assets and $3.585 billion in cash and short-term investments. Despite the value, I believe Mr. Market overpaid Lockheed Martin by $371.17 on November 10, 2020.
Lockheed Martin will pay a $2.60 quarterly dividend on December 24, 2020. Therefore investors should look into it. On August 31, 2020, the dividend was $2.40, up from $2.40 on August 31, 2020.
Lockheed Martin is a profitable and dividend-paying space technology corporation. Investors should be aware that a large portion of Lockheed Martin's revenue originates from weaponry.
Boeing (NYSE: B.A.)
Boeing (B.A.) (ISS) built the Starliner, a 21st Century Space Capsule that NASA expects to utilize on voyages to the International Space Station built by Boeing (B.A.) (ISS).
The Starliner will transport Boeing and NASA astronauts to the International Space Station. Unlike the SpaceX Dragon, the Starliner has never carried passengers into orbit, however NASA has scheduled a manned Starliner flight for 2021.
Due to coronavirus and other concerns, the Starliner test has been postponed many times. An unmanned Starliner strayed off course and burnt up in orbit during the maiden test flight in December 2019. Boeing is repairing the Starliner to avoid another disaster.
Boeing is dealing with several issues, including the collapse of air travel and airlines and the accidents of their 787 Dream Liner aircraft. According to The Guardian, the coronavirus pandemic might force Boeing to lose 30,000 employees by 2020.
Boeing's renowned 747-8 jumbo aircraft will be phased out of manufacturing in 2022 due to the airline industry's collapse. Instead, the company will focus on producing next-generation airplanes that are more fuel efficient.
Unlike Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman, Boeing loses money. On September 30, 2020, Boeing (B.A.) disclosed a quarterly operating loss of -$401 million. On September 30, 2020, Boeing announced a $1.044 billion quarterly gross profit.
Boeing spends a lot of money just to remain in business. On September 30, 2020, Boeing recorded a negative quarterly operating cash flow of -$4.819 billion. Boeing reported a $9.428 billion ending in cash flow on the same day.
Boeing is still quite valuable. On September 30, 2020, the Boeing Company had $27.116 billion in cash and short-term investments, with total assets of $161.261 billion.
Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman are more expensive than Boeing. On November 10, 2020, Mr. Market paid $189.98 for Boeing shares. Many investors may be wary of Boeing since its stock has lost more than a third of its value since 2000. On January 2, 2020, Boeing started the year with a share price of $333.32.
Because Boeing no longer pays a dividend, its stock is less valuable. On February 13, 2020, Boeing issued a $2.05 quarterly dividend.
Many individuals will believe Boeing has some of Warren Buffett's value investment characteristics. Boeing is an excellent firm with several successful companies experiencing some difficulties. Boeing's military and space industries are profitable even while its airplane industry fails.
Boeing is the only firm with a space capsule capable of competing with SpaceX's Crew Dragon. Although Boeing's Starliner has yet to be confirmed and tested, space capsules are a tried and true technology.
For almost 50 years, the Russians have been flying space capsules with no casualties. The Starliner images on Boeing's website are reminiscent of America's famous Mercury capsules, which sent John Glenn and Alan Shepard into space.
Boeing has a long history of designing and manufacturing sophisticated vehicles, such as airplanes, rockets, missiles, and satellites. Boeing was formed in 1916, and therefore it has a longer history than SpaceX.
Investors who believe the aviation sector will revive if scientists find a coronavirus vaccine may purchase Boeing. Because individuals may be scared to travel, such recovery might take many years or more.
In addition, I believe there may be political pressure in certain nations to maintain travel restrictions and quarantines after the epidemic. Hostility to internationalism was developing before the coronavirus, as seen by Brexit in the United Kingdom and Trump's victory in the United States. After the epidemic, I believe there will be a significantly more anti-travel sentiment.
Blue Origin and SpaceX, two space technology businesses, have had significant success.
On the other hand, those businesses have yet to demonstrate that they can produce money. SpaceX and Blue Origin have not gone public because their founders are more concerned with space exploration than with generating money.
From Amazon, Jeff Bezos earns as much money as he wants (AMZN). Blue Origin, I believe, is seen by Bezos as a charitable initiative that will help mankind rather than a profit-making corporation.
As a result, investors must contemplate the likelihood that Blue Origin may never profit and that Bezos will be unconcerned. Blue Origin has been around for more than two decades; Bezos founded it in 2000, and there are no plans for an IPO. I believe that the absence of an IPO demonstrates that Bezos' purpose at Blue Origin is not to make money.
Investors interested in space should look at publicly listed aerospace companies such as Boeing, Lockheed Martin, and Northrop-Grumman instead of Blue Origin. On the other hand, Blue Origin is not a good investment for investors.
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