STMicroelectronics said Monday it expects its semiconductor operations tied to space applications to generate more than $3 billion in cumulative revenue from 2026 through 2028, attributing the target to expanding demand for chips that support low-Earth orbit satellite networks.
Shares of the Franco-Italian group climbed as much as 7% intraday before finishing 2.2% higher at 1536 GMT.
The company disclosed that its LEO-related revenue reached about $600 million in 2025, up from about $175 million in 2021, and said the business is now close to $1 billion in 2026. Management described the market as still nascent. "We are just in the early innings of this market," Remi El-Ouazzane told analysts on a conference call.
STMicro pointed to several operators that are scaling low-Earth orbit communications beyond niche applications toward broader broadband and direct-to-cell services. The company cited businesses including Starlink, AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) and Amazon Leo (NASDAQ:AMZN) as part of that industry shift.
Central to STMicro's plans is a decade-long supply partnership with Starlink covering satellites and user terminals. The company said this relationship gives it a first-mover position it intends to preserve as competitors enter the expanding market, and it highlighted a near 90% share in the relevant market segment it currently serves.
On geographic opportunities and constraints, STMicro described China as a significant market opportunity for user terminals but said export controls prevent it from participating in satellite technology production within China. "We are unapologetically European. So we end up being actually U.S. and China compatible," El-Ouazzane said. "The China compatibility, though, starts and finishes at user terminal. Because of export control, we cannot have any satellite technology happening in China," he added.
The company also noted orbital data centers as a potential future market, but it emphasized that expected revenue from such operations is not included in the 2026-2028 revenue target.
For market participants tracking semiconductor suppliers to the emerging space economy, STMicro's targets and existing partnerships provide data points on commercial traction in LEO applications, while export-control constraints and market concentration remain salient variables.