SpaceX stock rose 6.1% after absorbing a massive insider lockup expiration of 911.5 million shares, rebounding from an earlier capex-driven decline. Lockheed Martin initiated negotiations to lock in domestic supplies of key minerals, including an agreement with NioCorp for annual scandium deliveries. Additionally, Thales agreed to acquire drone specialist Exail Technologies in a transaction valuing the target at €3.9 billion.
SpaceX stock falls on AI spending concerns and share unlock
SpaceX shares surged 6.1% on Thursday to close near $109, overcoming the release of 911.5 million unlocked insider shares that more than doubled its freely tradable public float. The reversed a 13.6% plunge on Wednesday after the company reported second-quarter expenditures shot up sixfold to $18.4 billion, driven by $15.8 billion spent on infrastructure. Wall Street feared that opening the floodgates to early investors and employees would drive the stock down further after three weeks below its $135 initial public offering price. Insiders refrained from panic selling because SpaceX ran semiannual internal for years before its June debut, giving staff opportunities to cash out long before the public lockup expired. flow turned bullish on Thursday as institutional investors sold $316 million in puts, betting the stock found a bottom near $110. The company faces eight more lockup expiration tranches through December 8, which will expand its public float to 40% of outstanding shares.
Why this matters
Capital-intensive hardware pivots into artificial intelligence can erode public market valuations when massive infrastructure costs outpace the margin profile of cloud service reselling.
Lockheed Martin Seeks US Mineral Supplies Following Supply-Chain Push
Lockheed Martin is negotiating direct off-take agreements with U.S. and Canadian miners for scandium and germanium, seeking to decouple its defense from Chinese exports following white house pressure. The world's largest defense contractor reached a preliminary deal with NioCorp Developments to purchase 15 metric tons of scandium annually from a planned Nebraska mine set to open by 2028. That single agreement represents a quarter of total global scandium demand, which the U.S. Geological Survey estimates at roughly 60 metric tons. Simultaneously, Lockheed is holding long-term supply negotiations with Teck Resources and Pentagon-backed 5N Plus for germanium, a critical input for infrared sensors and military hardware. The U.S. currently imports more than half of its germanium needs and has not mined domestic scandium since 1969. Western suppliers face higher regulatory standards and processing costs than Chinese incumbents, leaving pricing and contract duration as the main hurdles in final negotiations.
Annual Scandium Volumes (Metric Tons)
NioCorp Mine
100
Global Dem
60
LMT Deal
15
Rio Tinto
9
Why this matters
Direct off-take commitments from prime defense contractors redefine mining project economics by guaranteeing demand for nascent domestic critical-mineral supply chains despite higher Western processing costs.
Thales Signs Tender Offer to Acquire Exail Technologies
Thales signed a tender offer agreement to acquire drone maker Exail Technologies at an enterprise value of €3.9 billion. Under the terms, Europe's largest defence technology group will buy out the Gorgé family's controlling 35.51% stake at €134 per share, representing a 44% premium, before launching a mandatory tender offer for the remaining and outstanding ODIRNANE convertible . The transaction cements Thales' expansion into underwater and autonomous drone warfare, a segment driven by accelerating naval defense spending. Closing the Gorgé family share purchase requires regulatory and clearances expected by the third quarter of 2027, with the subsequent public offer set to finalize by early 2028 at the latest. The target market for anti-submarine warfare is projected to expand from €85 billion in 2025 to over €700 billion by 2030.
Why this matters
Consolidating autonomous marine hardware and subsea navigation under a primary defense prime signals that sovereign navies increasingly require fully integrated drone systems rather than standalone unmanned vehicles.
What it adds up to
Defense sector giants are taking direct action to secure vital raw materials and expand their drone capabilities through major M&A. These moves reflect a strategic push across the industry to protect supply chains and absorb technical expertise internally. How effectively these supply agreements and corporate integration efforts will shield contractors from broader manufacturing bottlenecks is unresolved.
