STMicroelectronics Eyes $3B+ Space Chip Revenue on LEO Satellite Demand
STMicroelectronics Targets Growth in LEO Satellite Semiconductor Market
By Nathan Vifflin
May 4 (Reuters) - STMicroelectronics is targeting well above $3 billion in cumulative revenue for its semiconductor space business from 2026 to 2028, it said on Monday, helped by surging demand for chips used in low-Earth orbit satellite networks.
Market Response and Revenue Growth
Shares in the Franco-Italian chipmaker rose by as much as 7%, before settling 2.2% higher at 1536 GMT.
STMicro said its LEO revenue rose to about $600 million in 2025 from about $175 million in 2021, and it is now close to $1 billion in 2026.
Early Market Positioning
"We are just in the early innings of this market," STMicro executive Remi El-Ouazzane told analysts in a conference call.
Industry Landscape and Competitive Advantage
Players such as Starlink, AST SpaceMobile, Amazon Leo are pushing low-Earth orbit satellite communications from a niche towards mass-marketed broadband and direct-to-cell services, and potentially orbital data centres.
Strategic Partnerships and Market Share
STMicro hopes its decade-long supply partnership with Starlink in satellites and user terminals will give it a first-mover advantage to keep as much of its near 90% market share as possible as this market rapidly expands, attracting competitors.
Opportunities and Export Controls
One of Europe's largest chipmakers said China represented a large opportunity in user terminals, but it will miss out on satellite technology because of export controls.
"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.
Future Markets: Orbital Data Centres
The company also identified orbital data centres as a possible future market, but said it has not included any related revenue in its current 2026-2028 target.
"My wild guess as to when we could start to see, a relevant amount of orbital data centres in the sky, I would say three years from now would be maybe an interesting guess," El-Ouazzane told reporters.
(Reporting by Nathan Vifflin in Gdansk; Editing by Alexander Smith)
