SpaceX's First Earnings: AI Business Is Almost Free
@OptionsBB:
I. Fundamentals: Long-Term Value vs. Near-Term Supply Shock 1. Long-term bull case unchanged, but short-term price under four layers of pressure ① tactical concerns over the upcoming lock-up expiry; ② AI business uncertainty; ③ potential Tesla merger complexity; ④ lower-than-expected passive index buying. As the lock-up expiry passes, the stock is expected to stabilize at some level. 2. Valuation: SOTP stress test suggests AI business is nearly free At the current price of approximately $108/share (~$1.4 trillion valuation), a sum-of-the-parts (SOTP) stress test suggests that just the Space + Connectivity segments alone already support the bulk of the value: Space, benchmarked against Blue Origin, is valued at roughly $390–650 billion; Connectivity is conservatively valued at over $748 billion; The midpoint of the two combined is about $1.35 trillion — roughly in line with the current market cap. This means the market has assigned almost zero valuation to the AI business (which is expected to approach 2 GW of AI compute capacity by year-end). At this price, the risk-reward profile is attractive. II. Volatility Estimates and Key Levels Based on the current price of ~108 and IV of approximately 120%, this week's (expiring 8/7) implied move is approximately ±16.8%, corresponding to a range of roughly 90–127. Combined with options data: Downside support: 105/110 → 100 (massive Put wall, defining floor), with a break below 100 targeting 95. Upside resistance: 120 (max pain) → 125 → 130 (large Call wall). On 8/6, $116 billion in locked-up shares will become eligible for sale — just two days after earnings and falling within this week's expiration window. This represents a massive new supply overhang that could cap any rebound, or even trigger selling, tilting the risk-reward balance decisively to the downside. III. Unusual Block Trade Analysis Range rent collection combo: Sold the 8/21-expiry 120 Call$SPCX 20260821 120.0 CALL$ + sold the 105 Put $SPCX 20260821 105.0 PUT$ + bought the 90 Put $SPCX 20260821 90.0 PUT$ (9,874 contracts each). This is a short Call + Bull Put Spread (sell 105 / buy 90), betting on the stock oscillating in the ~105–120 range through August, with downside risk capped at 90 — a neutral range-bound premium-collection structure. 330 Call massive volume (suspect): Buy-side opening of 280,000 contracts of the 8/7-expiry 330 Call $SPCX 20260807 330.0 CALL$ (+188% OTM). However, 330 Call openings of over 100,000 contracts appear every week — it's highly likely these are sells that have been misclassified as buys by the system, and should not be taken lightly as a bullish signal. Longer-term bearish: Bought the 11/20-expiry 110 Put$SPCX 20261120 110.0 PUT$ , 3,000 contracts, notional $5.847 million — a medium-term downside bet/hedge. Summary: Overall block trades point toward range-bound oscillation with downside protection, consistent with the view of lock-up pressure capping upside. IV. Three Scenarios and Corresponding Strategies (Illustrative, Not Recommendations) Scenario 1: Range-bound oscillation (90–120) Earnings in line, no major surprises. IV collapses sharply from 120% (IV crush). This would normally be a golden scenario for sellers — but the 8/6 lock-up expiry tilts downside risk significantly higher: Consider an Iron Condor / Bull Put Spread: Sell Puts below 100$SPCX 20260807 95.0 PUT$ and sell Calls above 125–130$SPCX 20260807 170.0 CALL$, and be sure to cap both ends with long legs (the 120 Call / 105 Put / 90 Put combo above is a template). ⚠️ With IV at 120% + lock-up expiry + negative Gamma, absolutely do not sell naked; keep positions small, and long-leg protection is a must. Scenario 2: Breaks below 90 (lackluster earnings / lock-up selling pressure dominates) Breaks below the 100 massive Put wall, with negative Gamma accelerating the move: For trend followers: Consider a Bear Put Spread, e.g., buy 100$SPCX 20260807 100.0 PUT$ / sell 90$SPCX 20260807 90.0 PUT$ , to control costs while shorting the downside. Don't catch the falling knife: lock-up supply shocks are difficult to predict. Wait for the lock-up to be digested, for the stock to stabilize, and for IV to subside — then sell Puts in staggered lots at strong support levels (such as 90 or lower) to position for long-term value. ⚠️ This is a non-trivial downside scenario for this week. Scenario 3: Breaks above 120 (strong earnings beat + lock-up digested + government AI deal catalyst) Would require strong positive catalysts + sustained sentiment (Musk's bullish comments) to follow through: Consider a Bull Call Spread, e.g., buy 120 / sell 130 (130 is a major Call wall — selling there collects premium). More conservatively: wait for a confirmed breakout above 120 that holds (especially after weathering the 8/6 lock-up expiry) before following the trend, to avoid false breakouts. 130 is a hard ceiling; the 330 Call is noise — don't treat it as a target. ⚠️ Disclaimer: The above is an observational analysis of public options data and a strategy illustration, provided for educational and discussion purposes only. It does not constitute investment advice. SPCX's first earnings report + massive 8/6 lock-up expiry + negative Gamma + IV of 120% — multiple layers of uncertainty are stacked. Any price level is probabilistic. Investing involves risk; options are derivative products. In this environment, naked buying and selling carry exceptionally high risk.
Disclaimer: Investing carries risk. This is not financial advice. The above content should not be regarded as an offer, recommendation, or solicitation on acquiring or disposing of any financial products, any associated discussions, comments, or posts by author or other users should not be considered as such either. It is solely for general information purpose only, which does not consider your own investment objectives, financial situations or needs. TTM assumes no responsibility or warranty for the accuracy and completeness of the information, investors should do their own research and may seek professional advice before investing.
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