PL vs ASTS Stock Comparison: AI Score, Valuation, Performance and Upside
Planet Labs and AST SpaceMobile are both space technology companies but at very different stages of commercialization. Planet Labs has proven commercial revenue from earth observation with government and commercial customers; AST SpaceMobile is a pre-revenue-scale space cellular network with transformational potential but significant technology, execution, and capital risk.
Planet Labs is the more de-risked space investment with proven recurring revenue; AST SpaceMobile is the higher-risk, higher-reward bet on direct-to-device cellular from space — investors must assess their appetite for binary technology risk.
PL holds the edge across 4 of 5 key metrics in this comparison. PL leads on both 1-year return (+54.76%) and forward P/E quality (1999.00x vs -46.43x for ASTS), a relatively favorable combination of momentum and valuation. On fundamentals, ASTS is growing revenue faster (2626.60%), while PL maintains the higher operating margin (-30.46%) — a classic growth-versus-profitability split. Analyst consensus implies meaningfully more upside for PL (+93.73%) than for ASTS (+32.99%).
Human Wall Street analysts' price targets, typically implying a ~12-month view — a separate signal from this site's own AI Prediction Signal further down the page, which is a 5-/30-day machine-learning forecast based on price history alone.
- want proven commercial earth observation recurring revenue from government and enterprise customers
- value daily global satellite imagery as a unique data asset with growing analytics applications
- prefer a further-along commercialization stage with real ARR growth
- are comfortable with cash burn while waiting for the path to EBITDA profitability
- believe direct-to-device cellular from space is a transformational market displacing terrestrial gaps
- value major carrier partnerships as a distribution shortcut if the technology proves viable
- are comfortable with high technology, capital, and execution risk for potentially massive upside
- want exposure to a 'moonshot' space connectivity play at an early commercialization stage
| Metric | PL | ASTS |
|---|---|---|
| AI scorei | 39.9 | 70.6 |
| AI ranki | #1192 | #40 |
| Latest closei | $16.42 | $58.52 |
| 1M returni | -27.41% | -11.91% |
| 6M returni | -51.46% | -37.80% |
| 1Y returni | +54.76% | +41.22% |
How much would $10,000 be worth today if invested at the start of each period, with all dividends reinvested?
| Period | PL | ASTS |
|---|---|---|
| 1Y ago | $15.48K (+54.8%) started 2025-09-18 | $14.12K (+41.2%) started 2025-09-18 |
| 5Y ago | $16.47K (+64.7%) started 2021-09-20 | $50.67K (+406.7%) started 2021-09-20 |
| 10Y ago | $16.59K (+65.9%) started 2021-04-26 | $59.9K (+499.0%) started 2019-11-01 |
Hypothetical — past performance does not guarantee future results.
| Metric | PL | ASTS |
|---|---|---|
| Market capi | $7.12B | $23.3B |
| Trailing P/Ei | N/A | N/A |
| Forward P/Ei | 1999.00 | -46.43 |
| Price/Salesi | N/A | N/A |
| EV/Revenuei | 19.73 | 166.13 |
| Analyst targeti | $38.73 | $79.61 |
| Target upsidei | +93.73% | +32.99% |
| Metric | PL | ASTS |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue growthi | 42.10% | 2626.60% |
| Earnings growthi | N/A | N/A |
| EPS growthi | N/A | N/A |
| FCF margini | +25.28% | -1560.79% |
| Operating margini | -30.46% | -544.63% |
| Profit margini | -111.17% | 0.00% |
| ROIC proxyi | -83.98% | -45.62% |
| Return on equityi | -83.98% | -45.62% |
| Dividend yieldi | N/A | N/A |
| Payout ratioi | 0.00% | 0.00% |
| Dividend growth streaki | N/A | N/A |
| Betai | 2.12 | 2.73 |
| Debt/equityi | 109.99 | 124.86 |
| Current ratioi | 2.81 | 13.05 |
| Quick ratioi | 2.62 | 12.39 |
Over the past year, PL and ASTS have moved moderately in the same direction (correlation of 0.61), based on daily returns.
Lower drawdown and smaller single-period drops generally indicate a smoother ride, though they do not guarantee lower future risk.
| Period | Metric | PL | ASTS |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Y | Growthi | +54.76% | +41.22% |
| CAGRi | +54.81% | +41.25% | |
| Volatilityi | 93.09% | 111.27% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 0.88 | 0.82 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 1.42 | 1.26 | |
| Max drawdowni | 68.83% | 60.15% | |
| Current drawdowni | 68.05% | 56.03% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 22.40% | 29.48% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 31.24% | 34.02% | |
| Max daily dropi | 25.98% | 17.04% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 37.00% | 25.54% | |
| 5Y | Growthi | +64.69% | +406.67% |
| CAGRi | +10.51% | +38.39% | |
| Volatilityi | 82.49% | 109.59% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 0.47 | 0.77 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 0.74 | 1.33 | |
| Max drawdowni | 85.73% | 85.57% | |
| Current drawdowni | 68.05% | 56.03% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 54.12% | 41.95% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 59.88% | 47.64% | |
| Max daily dropi | 30.41% | 27.16% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 41.06% | 33.07% | |
| 10Y | Growthi | +65.86% | +498.98% |
| CAGRi | +9.83% | +29.72% | |
| Volatilityi | 79.34% | 100.54% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 0.45 | 0.68 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 0.70 | 1.19 | |
| Max drawdowni | 85.73% | 91.07% | |
| Current drawdowni | 68.05% | 56.03% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 50.14% | 43.57% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 57.59% | 52.45% | |
| Max daily dropi | 30.41% | 27.16% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 41.06% | 33.07% |
| Category | PL | ASTS |
|---|---|---|
| Company | Planet Labs PBC | AST SpaceMobile, Inc. |
| Sector | Industrials | Technology |
| Industry | Aerospace & Defense | Communication Equipment |
| Core business | Planet Labs operates the world's largest commercial earth observation satellite constellation — over 200 satellites providing daily imaging of the entire Earth's landmass. Customers include government agencies (NRO, USAF, NGA), commercial agriculture (crop monitoring), insurance, energy, and environmental sectors. Revenue is primarily recurring subscription-based, with customers paying for ongoing satellite data access rather than one-time purchases. | AST SpaceMobile is building a space-based cellular broadband network — large satellites in low Earth orbit that connect directly to standard smartphones without specialized equipment. Partnerships with AT&T, Verizon, Vodafone, and other carriers are central to its go-to-market strategy. Commercial operations have begun with initial BlueBird satellites, though full global service requires hundreds more satellite deployments. |
| Investor focus | Investors track annual recurring revenue (ARR), net revenue retention, the government contract pipeline (especially US defense and intelligence agencies), and the path to adjusted EBITDA profitability. | Investors track BlueBird satellite performance, commercial carrier contract progress and minimum revenue guarantees, the satellite manufacturing and launch timeline, and the balance sheet's ability to fund the constellation build-out. |
- Largest commercial earth observation constellation providing daily global imagery at no comparable scale
- Government contracts with defense and intelligence agencies provide high-quality recurring revenue
- Data analytics platform adds value-add AI insights on top of raw satellite imagery
- Direct-to-device cellular connectivity via space is a transformational technology if it works at scale
- Major carrier partnerships (AT&T, Verizon, Vodafone) provide distribution without AST needing retail infrastructure
- Massive addressable market — billions of mobile users in areas with poor terrestrial coverage
- Persistent cash burn requiring ongoing capital raises diluting existing shareholders
- Competition from Maxar (now Maxar Intelligence), BlackSky, and other earth observation companies
- Government budget cycles and security clearance requirements slow contract expansion
- Technology is unproven at scale — initial BlueBird satellite performance is early data
- Capital requirements to build the full constellation are enormous
- Competition from SpaceX Starlink direct-to-cellular and Amazon's Project Kuiper
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