Hey guys, wanted to drop a quick write-up on MDA Space ($MDA / $MDA.TO) because the valuation gap in the space sector right now makes zero sense. While everyone on Reddit is chasing pre-revenue or heavy cash-burn plays like $ASTS and $RKLB, MDA is quietly executing in the background and actually printing money.
If you missed it, they just announced a massive catalyst on Friday (June 19): they’re buying Blue Canyon Technologies from RTX (Raytheon) for $620M in cash.
Here’s why this is an absolute steal at its current valuation:
1. The RTX / Blue Canyon Deal is a Game Changer
By picking up Blue Canyon, MDA isn't just buying cash flow—they’re buying a direct sandbox in the US defense and Space Force market. Because they're a Canadian company, getting deep into US military contracts has always had red tape. This deal hands them two massive manufacturing facilities in Denver and over 400 specialized employees. It instantly injects about $3.5B USD into their long-term opportunity pipeline.
2. The Backlog & Pipeline are Nuts
People on Twitter keep confusing backlog and pipeline, so let’s clear up the actual numbers.
- Firm Backlog: They have a rock-solid, signed C$3.7 billion backlog (stuff like Canadarm3 and Telesat Lightspeed). That's guaranteed revenue visibility for years.
- The $43B+ Pipeline: Their total opportunity pipeline was already sitting at $40B at the end of last year. Add the $3.5B from the new Blue Canyon acquisition, and their total active pipeline is north of $43.5 billion.
3. The Pure Valuation Disconnect (MDA vs ASTS vs RKLB)
MDA has a market cap of around $5.5B CAD (roughly $4 billion USD). Look at how that trades compared to the Reddit favorites:
- MDA Space ($MDA): Market cap \~$4B USD. Already highly profitable. They cleared C$190M in adjusted net income for FY25 and pulled in C$51M just in Q1 2026. They are literally a cash-generating industrial machine.
- Rocket Lab ($RKLB): Trading at a massive premium, but still losing close to $200M a year as they dump capital into building out the Neutron rocket.
- AST SpaceMobile ($ASTS): Massive retail hype and multi-billion dollar valuation, but essentially pre-revenue and burning cash like crazy to get their constellation into orbit.
Bottom Line
Right now, the space sector is getting flooded with hype, especially with the massive SpaceX IPO that just went down last week. But while retail investors dump money into high-multiple, speculative cash-burners, MDA is sitting at a $4B USD market cap with an absolute mountain of revenue lined up and actual earnings on the books.