On the “Mad Money” Lightning Round Tuesday, June 30, Jim Cramer flagged AST SpaceMobile as a stock he believes can generate real investor returns.
“I think it is a great speculative stock…I think you can make money in two years. I would go for it,” Cramer said during the segment.
ASTS closed July 2 at $85.13, down slightly on the session but up 17.21% year to date and 86.24% over the past twelve months, according to Yahoo Finance.
The stock’s three-year return of 1,711% underscores just how dramatically the company has rewarded early believers in its technology.
AST SpaceMobile (ASTS) is building what it describes as a “cell tower in space,” connecting standard, unmodified smartphones directly to its satellite network without any specialized hardware.
Rather than competing with major telecom carriers, AST has taken a partnership-first approach, signing agreements with nearly 60 mobile network operators globally, reaching over 3 billion potential subscribers.
AT&T, Verizon, and Vodafone are among the named partners disclosed by the company, giving AST significant commercial leverage if its satellite constellation scales as planned.
A partnership with Rakuten in Japan recently received approximately $923 million in government subsidies to accelerate the deployment of direct-to-mobile satellite services, according to BigGo Finance.
AST SpaceMobile reported revenue of $14.7 million for Q1 2026, while posting a net loss of $191 million, widening from $133.3 million in Q1 2025, driven by a satellite launch issue and infrastructure buildout costs.
EPS came in at -$0.66 against a consensus estimate of -$0.23, and Zacks data shows the company has not surpassed consensus EPS estimates across the last four quarters.
Despite the losses, AST holds $3.5 billion in cash and equivalents, providing a substantial runway to continue building out its satellite constellation.
The company reaffirmed full-year 2026 revenue guidance of $150 million to $200 million, driven primarily by mobile network partners and the U.S. government.
Message volume on Stocktwits reportedly surged 669% around recent ASTS news, reflecting intense retail interest that has historically amplified both upside and downside moves.
Heavy short interest combined with dedicated retail enthusiasm has produced sharp squeeze-driven price swings whenever the company hits operational milestones, a dynamic that cuts decisively in both directions.
The Q1 satellite launch issue that widened losses serves as a concrete reminder that space infrastructure remains genuinely difficult to execute at scale.
Cramer’s two-year framing positions ASTS not as a near-term earnings play but as a bet that the constellation scales, carrier agreements convert, and direct-to-device technology gains commercial traction.
If deployment challenges persist, the $3.5 billion cash runway provides time, but the stock price will continue to reflect the execution risk that comes with building infrastructure in orbit.
