SpaceX Makes History With the Largest IPO Ever — Stock Rockets 50% Above Offer Price
A+ Crowd Editorial ·
Key stats
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| IPO price (SPCX) | $135 |
| Current price | ~$202 |
| Capital raised | $86B |
| Market cap | $2.8T |
| 2025 revenue | $18.7B |
| Net loss (2025) | -$4.9B |
On June 12, 2026, Elon Musk’s Space Exploration Technologies Corp. made its long-awaited public debut on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol SPCX — and the market responded with euphoria. Priced at $135 per share, the stock opened at $150, closed its first day at $161, and has since surged to around $202, placing SpaceX’s market capitalisation above $2.8 trillion and briefly leapfrogging both Amazon and Meta to rank among the world’s five most valuable companies.
The offering raised $86 billion — the largest initial public offering in history, surpassing Saudi Aramco’s 2019 record. Musk retains roughly 42% of shares but controls 82% of voting power through a dual-class share structure, ensuring he remains firmly at the helm regardless of market sentiment. Up to 30% of IPO shares were reportedly allocated to retail investors — three times the typical 5–10% in most large offerings.
Market context
The SpaceX debut landed during a volatile patch for equities. The S&P 500 sits near 7,473 as of June 22, having pulled back from its early-June record above 7,600, while the Nasdaq Composite is off over 4% from its recent highs, pressured by a global semiconductor selloff and a hawkish Federal Reserve meeting on June 17 that signalled a potential rate hike by September. Against this turbulent backdrop, SPCX’s near-50% gain stands out sharply — a sign that investor appetite for transformational growth stories remains intense even as rate-sensitive tech trades heavily.
The business
SpaceX’s S-1 prospectus revealed $18.7 billion in 2025 revenue — a 33% year-on-year jump — though the company posted a net loss of $4.9 billion, driven by the $125 billion all-stock acquisition of xAI, Musk’s AI venture, completed in February 2026. Starlink, the satellite internet division, remains the only profitable segment, generating roughly $10 billion in revenue and counting approximately 10 million subscribers. The company is also betting on orbital data centres for AI computing, with Q1 2026 capex alone reaching $10.1 billion.
What’s next
Analysts remain split: Morningstar values the stock at just $63, while NewStreet Research has a $165 target, arguing SpaceX holds “at least a 10-year lead” over rivals in launch capacity. The first earnings report is expected within six to eight weeks, which will be the real test of whether the extraordinary valuation can be sustained. Anthropic and OpenAI are already lining up for their own IPOs — the window is open, and 2026 is shaping up as the most consequential year for AI and space investment in history.