Chris Hughes, Columnist

Richard Branson's Galactic Feat of Finance

Valuing Virgin Galactic requires a degree in rocket science.

July 9, 2019 at 1:17 PM UTC

Chris Hughes is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering deals. Previously, he worked for Reuters Breakingviews, the Financial Times and the Independent newspaper.

Branson poses for a photo opportunity.
Photographer: Chris Ratcliffe.

Provide news feedback or report an error

Site feedback:

Take our Survey

This article is for subscribers only.

Valuing companies isn’t rocket science – except when it is. Billionaire Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic has attracted a major investor that will see the 15-year-old space-tourism venture beamed onto the New York Stock Exchange. Time to get the calculator out.

The space race is an exciting financial theme. Sure, investors can already get some exposure by buying shares of Boeing Co. and Lockheed Martin Corp. in the U.S. or Airbus SE and Thales SA in Europe. But they’re not the same thing as the visionary ventures spearheaded by Branson and Tesla Inc. CEO Elon Musk or Amazon.com Inc. founder Jeff Bezos.