Key Points

MP Materials owns and operates the only large-scale rare-earth mine in the U.S.
Permanent magnets are used to orient satellites toward Earth once they are in orbit.
MP could become a domestic supplier of permanent magnets to the U.S. aerospace industry.
10 stocks we like better than MP Materials

MP Materials (NYSE: MP) is a company you might not have heard of, yet its core product is likely embedded in devices you use every day.

Operationally, MP currently controls the only large-scale rare-earth mine in the U.S. - the Mountain Pass mine in California. Rare-earth elements like neodymium and praseodymium pass from this mine into its processing facilities, where they are processed into materials used to make high-performance magnets. These magnets, in turn, are used in electric vehicles, smartphones, laptops, clean energy technology, missiles, and satellites, among other applications.

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Over the last year, MP has emerged as the U.S.'s rare-earth champion. In July 2025, it was the beneficiary of a $400 million package from the Department of Defense, which, in the same deal, also guaranteed a competitive price floor of $110 per kilogram for neodymium and praseodymium.

Image source: MP Materials.

Lately, however, MP has fallen into the background, its 19% gain in 2026 far short of the 223% run it had in 2025. Yet with the SpaceX IPO scheduled for June 12, MP Materials could get a major long-term boost. Here is why.

High-performance magnets are critical to aerospace technology

SpaceX builds spacecraft, including rockets and satellites. It has over 10,000 Starlink satellites in orbit, which make up about two-thirds of all the satellites orbiting the Earth. That is an unfathomable number of celestial objects, but the company does not think so. In January 2026, it applied to launch a million satellites to help power artificial intelligence (AI).

Many satellites use rare-earth minerals, such as neodymium, dysprosium, and samarium. Indeed, rare-earth magnets are often used for deployment and to help stabilize and maintain the correct orientation once out in orbit.

Rare-earth metals make up only a small part of a satellite's overall metallic composition, yet they are also among the scarcest. As the name suggests, rare-earth elements are infrequently found in viable concentrations in Earth's crust; where they can be extracted economically, they are likely under China's control. The U.S. is aware of this vulnerability, which is why MP Materials has become strategically vital for its supply chain.

To be sure, MP has not inked a deal with SpaceX. But it has entered a $500 million partnership with Apple and an agreement with General Motors to supply permanent magnets to both.

Over the long term, MP aims to establish a thriving mine-to-magnet domestic supply chain in the U.S. If SpaceX wants a domestic supplier of rare-earth magnets, then MP could emerge as an attractive option.

MP has its risks - it still needs to finish its second magnet factory - but demand for permanent magnets is not likely to go away. For investors who consider supply chain vulnerability a long-term opportunity, MP is the metal stock to play it.

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Steven Porrello has positions in MP Materials. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Apple and MP Materials. The Motley Fool recommends General Motors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.