SpaceX IPO Overview
SpaceX announced its initial public offering on Thursday, pricing shares at $135 each. The company sold 555.56 million shares, raising $75 billion, which constitutes the largest IPO ever recorded in the United States. With 13.08 billion shares outstanding post‑offering, the implied market capitalization is $1.77 trillion, placing SpaceX seventh among U.S.-listed companies when trading commences on Nasdaq on Friday. Underwriters retain an option to sell additional shares within 30 days, which could raise the valuation further.
Market Reaction
In pre‑market trading, other space‑related equities rose: EchoStar gained more than 4 %, Viasat 2.3 %, AST SpaceMobile 5.8 % and Rocket Lab up to 8 %. Nasdaq has adjusted its listing rules to facilitate SPCX’s inclusion in the Nasdaq‑100, although S&P Global declined to grant an early S&P 500 entry.
Allocation and Demand
Thirty percent of the offering was earmarked for retail investors. Bloomberg reported retail demand exceeding $100 billion, while BlackRock placed a $5 billion institutional order, according to the Wall Street Journal. The pricing was set before a traditional roadshow.
Business Highlights
Founded in 2002, SpaceX’s mission is “to build the systems and technologies necessary to make life multiplanetary…”. Its space operations accounted for more than four‑fifths of mass launched into orbit over the past three years. The Starlink broadband service operates in 164 countries and territories, supplies the majority of SpaceX’s revenue, and in 2025 is projected to generate $18.67 billion, with Starlink contributing roughly 60 % of that amount and serving about 10.3 million users via a constellation of 9,600 satellites. The company completed a merger with the AI venture xAI in early 2026.
Analyst Perspectives
Oppenheimer initiated coverage with an “outperform” rating and a $190 price target, implying about 41 % upside from the IPO price. Analyst Timothy Horan described SpaceX as “the only vertically integrated AI company” with the requisite capital, data, large‑language models, hardware, manufacturing and engineering talent. New Street Research set a 12‑month target of $165. Goldman Sachs projects AI‑related revenue could reach $322 billion by 2030, a 100‑fold increase from current levels.
Conversely, Morningstar values the shares at $63, a 53 % discount to the offer price, and its most optimistic “moonshot” scenario assigns a 7 % probability to a $154 price. Professor Aswath Damodaran estimates enterprise value at $1.22 trillion, well below the IPO implied valuation. Short‑seller Jim Chanos argued the company is not worth $1.75 trillion, noting a price‑to‑sales multiple of roughly 90× versus Tesla’s 14×, and highlighted a net loss of $4.94 billion in 2025 after the loss‑making xAI merger, reversing a $791 million profit in 2024. Revenue grew 33 % year‑over‑year, but profitability deteriorated.
Governance and Risks
Elon Musk retains an estimated 80‑85 % of voting rights, limiting public shareholders’ influence over strategic decisions. Aberdeen Investments’ Ben Ritchie warned that the IPO tests investors’ willingness to accept a high valuation, limited governance, and a founder‑driven vision. Investing.com cautioned that retail investors may provide “exit liquidity” for pre‑IPO holders, echoing patterns seen in prior mega‑IPOs.
Historical Comparison
The previous record‑size IPO was Saudi Aramco’s December 2019 offering, which raised $25.6 billion at a $1.71 trillion valuation; adjusted for inflation, the raise equals $33.2 billion at a $2.21 trillion valuation.
Contributors
Report contributed by Vahid Karaahmetovic.