Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) saw its stock fall 7.01% after Q1 results on Wednesday (29 April). But revenue growth was exceptionally strong.

Sales increased 33% and earnings per share were up 63%. So what did the stock market not like – and what should investors do?

Earnings overview

There are a few things investors need to note about Meta’s Q1 earnings. Let’s start at the bottom and work our way up.

The 63% increase in earnings per share was driven partly by a tax benefit, which I don’t expect to repeat. But there’s plenty to like further up. 

There’s nothing one-off about the 33% increases in sales. This was driven by the firm’s social media platforms, which continue to do well.

The number of users keeps climbing. And Meta is also finding ways to get more advertising revenues from its existing user base.

All of this is positive. But there are two major reasons the stock fell meaningfully in extended trading – and both are familiar.

One is an increase in expected capital expenditures. And the other is the potential implications of its recent legal difficulties.

Why is the stock down?

Meta increased its capital expenditure forecast for 2026 to $145bn from $125bn. That’s a bold move in a market wary about the long-term demand for data centres.

My view, however, is that investors don’t have a huge amount to worry about here. The key is that the advertising revenues are continuing to grow strongly. 

This is what allowed the firm to keep moving forward while burning cash on metaverse projects. And I think it will offer a form of protection again.

The bigger concern, in my view, is the ongoing legal issues. Meta lost a couple of cases earlier this year and there are more scheduled. 

The company warned that these might result in a material loss. And that’s something that does make me wary as an investor. 

It’s not just the potential costs that concern me. It’s a threat to Meta’s social media business – which I see as fundamental to the data centre spending.

Risk assessment

Meta shares trade at a lower price-to-earnings (P/E) multiple than the other big US tech stocks. But I’m very wary of the current risks.

I think investors often underestimate legal threats when it comes to companies like Meta. And they have some justification. 

Alphabet was found guilty of maintaining an illegal monopoly. But in the end, the company escaped any major sanctions. 

I’m not convinced Meta is the same. Young people’s online safety is a subject that a lot of individuals — rightly — feel strongly about.

As a result, I’m taking a cautious view of the stock right now. I doubt it’s going to be fatal to the firm, but I think it’s very hard to assess it accurately.

This means me buying the stock right now looks more like gambling to me than investing. And that’s not what I’m in the stock market for. 

What to do?

Not buying Meta shares at today’s prices might turn out to be my mistake. But it’s one I can live with in my own investing. 

The stock might be down, but that doesn’t automatically make it a buy. For my money, some of the other big US tech stocks are more compelling right now.

Rolls-Royce (LSE:RR) shares have gone up exactly 1,000% in five years, according to my data provider. There’s a beautiful symmetry to that return!

However, the FTSE 100 stock has come off the boil recently, falling 18% since early March. This is due to a combination of factors, including rising jet fuel costs, cancelled flight routes, and cautious forward guidance from rival widebody engine maker GE Aerospace.

AGM incoming

Arguably then, what the stock needs is a positive catalyst. Rolls’ annual general meeting (AGM) will be held tomorrow (30 April), so we might get a trading update confirming that full-year guidance is still on track (or not).

After that, the next major catalyst will probably be the firm’s half-year report, which is due late July. The stock tends to see a lot of action one way or the other after the interim results (usually up in recent years).

As a reminder, Rolls has guided for full-year underlying operating profit of £4bn–£4.2bn, and free cash flow of £3.6bn–£3.8bn.

The company has been masterful at setting ambitious targets then demolishing them. But that might be getting harder due to the difficult backdrop of restricted airspace and cancelled flights.

SMRs are huge business

Clearly, the near term is looking tricky and this adds risk. However, as a shareholder who’s more interested in the next decade, I remain very bullish, especially on small modular reactors (SMRs). Or mini nuclear reactors.

If Rolls manages to become a global leader in this space, as it expects to, the opportunity could be enormous. How big? Well, the International Energy Agency (IEA) sees SMR total capacity potentially reaching 120 GW in 2050, with more than 1,000 SMRs deployed.

Cumulative investment could top $670bn by 2050!

Now, this is the IEA’s bullish scenario, but the base case is SMR capacity reaching 40 GW. CEO Tufan Erginbilgic estimates as many as 400 SMRs by 2050.

Whichever way you cut it, this is a high-growth market. Each unit will reportedly cost approximately £2bn–£3bn, assuming the technology is capable of operating at scale (this isn’t proven yet).

Beating the drum

Therefore, it was encouraging to read last week that UK government figures have been in Europe trying to drum up business for Rolls-made SMRs. According to The Telegraph, Business Secretary Peter Kyle has been talking to Sweden and other European allies.

Rolls-Royce SMR has already signed contracts with the UK and Czech Republic to build mini nukes. In doing so, it’s the only company with multiple contractual commitments to deliver SMR units in Europe.

“I’m in advanced talks with Sweden. I’m also beating the drum with other European countries and further afield,” Kyle told The Telegraph.

To be fair, Rolls is already in the final in Sweden along with GE Vernova to supply its SMR tech to state energy giant Vattenfall. But there’s now talk that Germany is considering SMRs to increase its energy independence due to the 2026 disruptions.

If Rolls-Royce SMR can attract orders from other major European countries, especially Germany, the stock should get a decent boost.

Dip-buying opportunity?

Even after falling 18%, the stock isn’t cheap. We’re looking at a forward earnings multiple of 29.

But for investors willing to look beyond the near-term uncertainty, I reckon Rolls is worth a closer look.

The old stock market adage goes, ‘sell in May and go away’.

In short, the thinking was that summer months were a quiet time in both the worlds of business and finance, so it made sense to sell down some shares in May, enjoy a long and relaxing summer, then come back to the market recharged in the autumn.

So, should I ignore my portfolio from the end of this week for a few months?

Yes, no, maybe…

There is actually some research into whether this strategy tends to outperform or underperform the market. As with many such areas, the results are mixed.

If one strategy is proven to deliver consistently strong results, it often attracts investors to use it, which in turn typically reduces its effectiveness.

Nonetheless, some studies have found the ‘sell in May’ approach can work. Others have reached a different conclusion.

Rather than get into the debate about specific months of the year, I want to zoom in on one element of the approach that I think can be helpful.

Constant activity adds costs

The idea of a long summer where months go by without even looking at the value of your ISA or SIPP may seem like something from an Enid Blyton book. But is it such a bad idea?

Research this year by AJ Bell suggests that women investors tend to trade less often than men, but with better results.

As a long-term investor, that makes sense to me. Jumping in and out of shares frequently is closer to trading than investing.

It can push up transaction costs, eating into returns. It also means that an investment case does not have the chance to prove itself over the long term.

As Warren Buffett’s partner Charlie Munger said, “the big money is not in the buying and the selling but in the waiting“.

Indeed, Buffett himself said that if someone was not willing to own a share for 10 years, they should not even consider owning it for 10 minutes.

My approach this summer

Looked at another way, that suggests one ideally ought to be able to own a share confidently without wasting the summer constantly checking its price.

Still, that does not mean I will go away from the market next month.

This summer, I will continue to hunt for what Buffett called great companies at attractive prices that I could imagine holding for a long time (Buffett’s favourite holding period is ”forever”).

For example, one share that I think is worth considering now for its long-term potential is FTSE 100 consumer goods maker Reckitt Benckiser (LSE: RKT).

The company’s portfolio of well-known household brands like Dettol gives it pricing power. Its global footprint helps the company benefit from economies of scale.

But the share price looked costly to me for years.

Down 30% over the past five years, though, the share price is now just 10 times earnings. Add a 4.6% yield into the mix and I think that looks attractive.

A disastrous past acquisition of an infant formula business continues to pose litigation risks. The Middle Eastern conflict threatens ingredient cost inflation, potentially eating into profit margins.

Looked at on the timeline of a decade not just a summer, though, Reckitt’s future looks promising to me.

The Lloyds Banking Group (LSE: LLOY) share price is in negative territory in 2026, and it’s mostly down to a fall on Q1 results day Wednesday (29 April). At the time of writing, Lloyds shares are down 1.8% on the day — and 1.4% year to date.

The actual results show a solid performance to start the 2026 year. But one broker, at least, isn’t impressed. Shore Capital has Lloyds as a Sell, on the basis that the latest results were already baked into the share price — implying there’s little room for safety.

So what did the quarter actually look like? Highlights include…

• Statutory profit before tax up 33% year on year
• Underlying net interest income up 8%
• Operating costs reduced by 3%

But one thing Shore points out is that the Lloyds share price is around 1.7 times tangible net asset value, which it sees as too high. So should I dump my Lloyds shares? I don’t feel any urgent need to hit the Sell button, but we do need to dig a bit deeper.

Short-term targets

I’m sympathetic to a potential asset-related overvaluation. And with Lloyds so heavily into the UK’s mortgage market, I think that might weigh on sentiment. Especially as the latest expected round of inflation and economic squeeze could put more pressure on asset values.

But even Shore’s bearish Lloyds share price target helps to reassure me a little. It’s at 91p, and only 6% below the price at the time of writing. If I sold shares every time I thought they might be 6% overvalued, and bought when they looked 6% undervalued… I’d quickly spend all my money on trading fees.

I want to think beyond the latest numbers themselves — which are just a short-term snapshot, at a confusing time for economic and company outlooks. And I’m struck by something CEO Charlie Nunn said…

Our differentiated business model remains resilient in the context of the current economic uncertainties. We remain focused on supporting UK households and businesses as they look to strengthen their financial positions and achieve their goals.

Trust in the UK?

Buying Lloyds shares is very much an investment in the UK itself. And it does come without the direct global worries that afflict other banks — though in addition to not enjoying their international opportunities. So an obvious question for potential investors arises in my mind: do you have confidence in the long-term future of British businesses?

My personal answer is yes. Otherwise, how could the UK stock market have so soundly beaten other forms of investment for well over a century?

Inflation and interest rates are indeed threats for Lloyds. And valuation concerns in the light of current uncertainties are real ones. Valuation fears — after a 113% rise over five years — could alone mean a further weak spell for the Lloyds share price.

But I’m holding. And I don’t think investors should write off considering Lloyds shares — though waiting another few months for more clarity might help.

BP (LSE: BP) and Shell (LSE: SHEL) shares are in demand right now. As the oil price soars due to events in Iran, they look like obvious beneficiaries. But investing is never quite that simple. Is there a hidden risk we’re missing?

As a rule, a rising oil price is good for energy stocks. At the start of the crisis, Brent crude traded at just over $60. Today, it’s at $114. If the war drags on, analysts say it could top $120. So how have BP and Shell shares responded?

Since the war began on 28 February, the BP share price is up around 20%. Shell is more sluggish, up a modest 7%. Given that we’re supposedly facing the biggest energy supply shock in history, I expected better. Here’s what I think is going on.

Why aren’t these FTSE 100 stocks doing even better?

First, the higher oil price hasn’t shown up in profits yet. BP reported yesterday, but its Q1 results ran to 31 March, so they only caught the early stage of the spike. Second, investors have broadly accepted Donald Trump’s assurances that the war is under control. Nobody wants to go big on BP and Shell, only for the Strait of Hormuz to reopen next day. Their shares will plunge as a result.

There’s a longer-term worry. The oil shock might ultimately rebound on Big Oil. It could trigger more windfall taxes, and persuade import-dependent countries to accelerate their switch to renewables. Nobody is taking anything for granted. Yet one thing is clear. BP and Shell have been terrific investments lately.

Over the last 12 months, their shares are up 60% and 34%, respectively. If an investor had split a £20,000 Stocks and Shares ISA equally between them one year ago, their BP stake would be worth £16,000 and Shell £13,400. But that’s not all they’d have.

BP has a trailing yield of 4.25%, with Shell’s at 3.25%. That lifts their total returns to roughly £16,425 and £13,725, respectively. In total, the two energy giants have turned a £20,000 ISA investment into £30,150, in just one year. That shows the supreme wealth-building power of shares. But can it continue?

They’re risky, but are they rewarding?

Given today’s high oil price, there’s a good chance of more rewards. Yesterday (28 April), BP said underlying replacement cost profit more than doubled from $1.5bn to $3.2bn in Q1, boosted by its busy trading division. Yet there are still challenges. Net debt rose by $3.1bn to $25.3bn, the board said, “primarily driven by lower operating cash flow”. Shell’s debt is higher still, climbing $6.9bn in 2025 to $45.7bn. However, it’s the bigger company, with a market cap of £184bn versus £83bn.

BP has been the messier story, lurching into renewables then back out again, with boardroom issues along the way. Its shares trailed Shell for years but are now playing catch-up, which helps explain recent superior gains.

As ever, there are risks. The Iran conflict is unguessable. A global recession could hit oil demand. The UAE is pulling out of OPEC, which could boost supply and squeeze prices in the longer term. And there’s climate change. BP and Shell remain high-risk, high-reward stock opportunities. I think both are well worth a closer look, for investors who have a taste for excitement – and dividend income.

We are almost a third of the way into 2026. Despite a climate of elevated geopolitical and economic risk, the FTSE 100 index of leading British shares is now 3% higher than at the start of the year. It even hit an all-time high along the way, although has since fallen back from that.

Despite the index’s strong performance, though, not all of its 100 constituent members are doing so well.

Here are three blue-chip UK shares I think potentially look cheap from a long-term perspective — and worth considering.

Associated British Foods

For years, Associated British Foods (LSE: ABF) has faced a couple of ongoing challenges.

One is how to convince customers that foodstuffs and ingredients deserve a price premium. Using brands like Twinings can help, but ABF’s portfolio contains unbranded as well as branded products.

A second challenge has been getting investors to value the Primark discount clothing chain attractively. Its loyal customer base and strong brand can sometimes feel overlooked by investors.

Those challenges persist as April ends.

Inflation driven by the Middle Eastern war threaten the food business’s profit margins, though for now the company has said the cost consequences for this year ought to be “manageable“.

This month also saw plans to demerge Primark as a standalone listed company. Over time, that could help unlock value if investors perceive it differently out of the ABF structure. Meanwhile, ABF’s foods business is unexciting but well-run and profitable.

Taken together, the company’s price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 14 and 3.6% yield look attractive to me following a 14% share price fall so far this year.

Reckitt Benckiser

A FTSE 100 company that has had an even worse start to 2026 is Vanish-owner Reckitt Benckiser (LSE: RKT).

Its share price has plummeted by a quarter so far this year. The P/E ratio of 10 is even cheaper than ABF. Reckitt’s 4.6% yield is well above the 3.0% average of the FTSE 100 overall.

Reckitt clearly has challenges that have hurt its share price. Take your pick: ongoing legal risks in its infant formula business, ingredient cost inflation, weakening consumer sentiment in key markets, like-for-like sales declines in both North America and Europe in the first quarter – and more.

But I think Reckitt also has the tools to deal with such challenges over time. Its premium brands give it pricing power and it operates in product categories that will endure, like detergents and cleaning agents.

It may take years, but I expect Reckitt will ultimately be worth considerably more than today.

WPP

Still, I could have the balance of risks and potential rewards wrong with Reckitt. Nobody knows the future. An even trickier share in that respect is ad group WPP (LSE: WPP).

The WPP share price has crashed by 21% so far this year. That is on top of a dreadful performance last year, meaning it has more than halved in 12 months.

The clear culprit? AI.

Investors are fretting that AI could eat ad firms’ business.

So far, WPP has not convincingly reassured them. Like-for-like revenue fell 4% year on year in the first quarter.

Still, with its 5.6% dividend yield, deep expertise, superb client roster, and its own plans to use AI to help the business, WPP looks potentially cheap to me, although risky.

I plan to hang onto my shares.

GSK (LSE: GSK) beat first-quarter earnings expectations Wednesday (29 April), but the shares responded with a 5% drop. Highlights from the update included:

• Oncology sales up 28%, Shingrix vaccine sales up 20%.
• Full-year guidance reaffirmed.
• Over £40bn sales targeted by 2031.

Some of the figures were a bit mixed, but I can’t help thinking investors might have missed the big picture. Let’s take a closer look.

Sales up, but…

Total sales in the quarter reached £7.6bn. But that did mean only a modest 2% rise — or 5% at constant exchange rates (CER). And though Shingrix led GSK’s vaccine sales, Arexvy vaccine sales fell 18%. And General Medicines dipped 6% at CER.

I don’t, however, really think that takes much of the edge off what looks like an impressive quarter. And I’m buoyed by what CEO Luke Miels had to say about upcoming prospects.

Alongside operational delivery, we are focused on execution and accelerating R&D. This is visible in filings we have achieved for bepirovirsen, our potential functional cure for hepatitis B; updated phase III plans for our oncology ADCs; and completed acquisitions for new pipeline assets: ozureprubart for food allergies, and HS235 for pulmonary hypertension.

These mostly target ailments on the rise in wealthy, developed, nations. Addressing those has to be a good thing, for so many reasons.

What should we expect?

A plan to exceed £40bn in sales by 2031 could make GSK shares a very nice long-term investment. And it could happily fuel a progressive dividend prospect. The company has 70p per share pencilled in for the full year, which would mean a 3.6% dividend yield on the price at the time of writing.

But what does management see happening in 2026? Full-year guidance (at CER) hinges on three key expectations:

• Turnover to increase between 3% and 5%.
• Core operating profit to increase between 7% and 9%.
• Core earnings per share to increase between 7% and 9%.

The shares look cheap

Investors had been piling into the stock after February’s FY25 results. I don’t see anything so far to take the shine off what was an impressive year, and GSK shares are still up 7% year to date. But enthusiasm appears to have cooled, with the price falling back.

Whatever’s turned investors off the stock, even if only briefly, I can’t really see it being valuation. Forecasts put the forward price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio at under 13. And that’s even with analysts predicting a 28% rise in earnings between 2025 and 2028.

There’s one major hurdle in the road ahead, though. GSK faces the expiry of a handful of blockbuster drug patents before the end of the decade.

Don’t panic!

Against that, it has a good number of very promising drugs reaching late trial stages. There’s nothing guaranteed, of course. And it’s good to be aware of the cost and risk of failure of any prospect.

But right now, I see this as a good time for long-term investors to consider GSK shares while the valuation looks a bit weak.

It has been a simply horrendous few years for Aston Martin (LSE: AML) shareholders. The luxury carmaker’s shares have plummeted 94% in the past five years. But they are up around 4% in early trading today (29 April) as the market digests the latest set of numbers from the firm.

Could this potentially mark the start of a turnaround in the beleaguered company’s fortunes?

Some signs of progress

Let’s start with the positives in the latest quarterly statement.

Aston Martin maintained its full-year outlook “whilst remaining mindful of the broader macroeconomic and geopolitical backdrop”.

That might not sound very positive, but given the company’s history of disappointing shareholders and the current global economic uncertainty, I do see it as positive. That said, the caveat gives the company wiggle room should business go downhill later in the year.

Another piece of good news was that what the company calls its core retail volumes in the quarter were significantly ahead of wholesale volumes.

Reducing the amount of capital tied up in cars sitting in dealerships can help the company’s financial breathing space, which is especially welcome given its £1.5bn net debt.

Gross profit margins were also well ahead of the same quarter last year, at 34.7% this time round, compared to 27.9% back then.

This was partly due to ramping up deliveries of the Valhalla supercar. With more Valhalla sales anticipated, the mix of products sold could bode well for the company’s profitability.

A long road ahead

Still, profit remains elusive. The operating loss was reduced considerably, but still registered as a loss not a profit.

I see making money at the operating level as a crucial first step to fixing Aston Martin’s financial health, as the company has a lot of non-operating costs on top of that. The latest quarter demonstrates that. The operating loss was £8.9m, but the company’s loss before tax was far greater, at £65.5m.

But again, that is better than the same number in the prior year’s quarter, it is still substantial.

Servicing the company’s debt – much of it at high interest rates – is expensive. It net interest costs of £150m this year.

Meanwhile, that macroeconomic and geopolitical backdrop is a significant ongoing risk for the firm. It could hurt demand, add costs such as tariffs or lead to delays in the company’s supply chain. None of those would be good for profits.

I have no desire to invest right now

With its strong brand, well-heeled customer base and proven technical prowess, the business has a lot of strengths as a business.

But it has been consistently unable to turn them into profits at the operating level. Even if it can do that at some point, managing its non-operating costs remains a substantial challenge.

The company has repeatedly tried to improve its balance sheet by issuing new shares, diluting existing shareholders. That remains a risk.

The risks overall are far too great for me. If Aston Martin can keep improving its financial performance and not disappoint the City yet again, its share price could potentially move up strongly from here.

For now, though, with it still not having proved it can be consistently profitable, I have no plans to invest.

Although it’s true that many FTSE 100 stocks are mature companies, it doesn’t mean there isn’t still potential for large growth. This is particularly evident when it comes to firms that have experienced a share price fall.

Any bounce back could offer large potential rewards for a shrewd investor. So what’s the opportunity I might have spotted?

Looking through the weeds

I’m talking about Mondi (LSE:MNDI). The business produces paper and packaging products used in everyday life. Given that the stock’s down 34% over the past year, let’s address that to start with.

In classic cyclical fashion, Mondi’s been hit by a perfect storm. Profits fell sharply in 2025, with earnings dropping nearly 30% as selling prices weakened and demand softened. At the same time, costs have surged. Energy and raw material expenses have all jumped, something that has worsened recently due to geopolitical tensions and higher oil prices.

This has squeezed profit margins, with the share price falling amid disappointing earnings. To make matters worse, management cut the dividend in February and announced plant closures and job cuts, which are hardly confidence-boosting signals for investors.

A comeback king?

When I look at analyst forecasts, there’s a strong indication that the stock might have fallen too far. Of the 15 contributors putting out a rating, the average 12-month target price is 978p. From the current price of 735p, that’s a 33% difference. So if those forecasts prove to be correct, buying now could deliver a healthy return.

Of course, these are subjective views. Even though these analysts are experts, there’s no guarantee the share price will hit that price. However, when I look at the fundamental picture, I think there are several reasons to be optimistic.

For a start, Mondi’s actively pushing through price increases to offset the higher costs I mentioned earlier, although there’s a lag before this feeds into profits.

In a trading update from earlier this month, sales volumes for Q1 increased, which suggests to me that underlying demand hasn’t disappeared. The company said volume gains were “supported by recent capacity expansions, as well as our exposure to diversified geographies, end markets and products”.

There’s also a bigger structural story. Packaging demand is closely tied to e-commerce and sustainability trends. As companies shift away from plastic and towards recyclable materials, Mondi’s paper-based solutions could be well-positioned over the long term. Granted, this maybe isn’t as relevant to the share price over the next 12 months, but it does provide sound reasoning for those with a Foolish long-term investment timeframe.

Weighing things up

The views from analysts, along with some encouraging signs from the latest trading update, mean that I get why this could be seen as a cheap purchase. However, risks around elevated costs weighing on profits is an ongoing concern.

On that basis, I’m thinking about allocating a small amount to the stock, and will look to pound-cost-average over time. Investors with a similar view to me could consider this too.

Many look at the shifting billions in government defence budgets as the primary reason for the rise in BAE Systems (LSE: BA.) shares. And I can hardly argue. The rise of the share price – up 303% in five years – has a lot to do with massive changes in military spending.

But the reason this company has been able to really take advantage is simple – because they make some of the best stuff going. Be it fighters jets, submarines, or cybersecurity, BAE Systems is on the cutting edge of the latest technology. And that’s why the recent announcement of the Ascent spacecraft line intrigued me. Could a foray into the nascent field of space defence send the stock soaring even higher?

What is Ascent?

So what exactly is this new piece of kit? Essentially, it’s a vehicle for delivering payload to space. This could be putting small satellites into orbit where they can be used for military purposes. It can also be used for shifting satellites between orbits. The long-term goal is to be able to take stuff to and bring stuff back from the moon.

Perhaps the best way to explain the importance of this kind of application is through the conflict in Ukraine. Starlink technology has been vital to operations in the war. Coordinating satellite information with high-tech drones is valuable to both sides. The recent blocking of all Starlink devices on the Russian side has severely hampered activities on that end. The last few years have shown how important the dynamic use of these kinds of technology is in modern warfare.

It’s worth pointing out at this stage that investors may not feel comfortable here. This is a company that makes a profit from producing and selling weapons. I think it’s understandable for anyone to have any qualms about this as an investment decision.

Is the stock a buy?

How much impact could this have on the company? Well, it’s still in the early stages. No numbers are being thrown around just yet. The firm expects to release the ‘test version’ of the Ascent spacecraft in 2027, however, so it’s not too long to wait. It’s also worth bearing in mind that a growth story can affect a company’s share price long before the money starts rolling in. Just look at the change in Rolls-Royce shares along with the developments in its SMRs (small nuclear power plants) for evidence of that.

And I think all BAE Systems shareholders will like the move towards the growing space industry. Later this year, the IPO of SpaceX will take place with a valuation of $2trn. I think that shows just how big this sector could become. It’s perhaps also encouraging that as well as the Military Space division, BAE Systems has a Civil Space division for non-defence applications.

To sum up? The announcement of these new Ascent spacecraft could end up as one of those small announcements that is a sign of a big impact over the long run. I think the stock is worth considering.