The space euphoria in the stock market has given way to harsh reality. Riding the wave of excitement surrounding SpaceX’s IPO, shares of its major competitors soared, but fresh financial reports quickly brought investors back down to Earth. The conflict is simple: dreams versus real profits.

Rocket Lab (RKLB) is rapidly building its own space empire: launching rockets, preparing for the debut of its heavy Neutron rocket, and expanding its business in satellite infrastructure. AST SpaceMobile (ASTS) is pursuing an even more ambitious idea — providing direct satellite connectivity to ordinary smartphones and effectively creating a global mobile network from space. It sounds like the kind of technology that could change the world. But Wall Street has switched on gravity. The market is no longer willing to pay indefinitely for attractive prospects, ambitious plans, and growing order books. Investors want tangible financial results — and preferably profits right now. As soon as a company reports losses that exceed expectations, its shares can be sent into a sell-off almost instantly, even if revenue is growing at record rates.

That is exactly what we are witnessing now: the hype surrounding the “new space era” is gradually giving way to a tough test of business models. Cutting-edge technology, ambitious projects, and enormous potential markets are no longer enough to guarantee a rising valuation. The market wants to know one thing above all: when will all these space dreams finally start turning into real money?

Perhaps the current decline is simply turbulence following an excessively rapid ascent. Or perhaps investors have finally remembered an old rule: even the most promising rocket eventually has to reach a stable orbit rather than simply make an impressive launch.

What do you think — is this a temporary correction and a chance to buy the stocks of tomorrow at a discount, or is the space sector still too risky for investors?