STMicroelectronics (STM) — Hold, reframed as a PAT and power-management play. Every inter-satellite terminal needs a 1,000+ Hz PAT control loop. STM’s 28nm FD-SOI is the perfect fit — radiation tolerance without full rad-hard cost, automotive-grade pricing for million-unit constellations.
Lumentum (LITE) — Optionality. Supplies the EML at the heart of every intra-cluster terminal — structurally protected because silicon cannot emit light. But this is largely shifted volume. Benefits from space pricing premiums and inter-orbit demand; the space DC alone doesn’t justify a re-rating.
Starship is methane-fueled, adding incremental natural gas demand that reinforces our structural thesis on US gas producers (EXE, AR, CRK, EQT).
The binding constraint is ultimately semiconductor manufacturing and design — Musk will need to go deep into logic and memory foundry, 224G SerDes and beyond, or partner with Broadcom or Nvidia.