On June 12, 2026, something happened that investors had waited more than two decades for: SpaceX went public. At an offer price of $135, under the ticker SPCX, with a valuation of around $1.77 trillion. That makes it the largest IPO in history, more than three times the size of Alibaba.
I follow SpaceX not as a space fan but because, since its merger with xAI, the company is also one of the biggest AI bets in the world. Grok, the Colossus supercomputer with 555,000 GPUs and the training infrastructure behind Musk's AI ambitions are all part of the package.
In this article you get everything about the SpaceX IPO: valuation, share price since the first trading day, business model, how to buy the stock and which risks you should know about.
- SpaceX went public on the Nasdaq on June 12, 2026 at $135 under the ticker SPCX. After peaking at $225.64, the stock has fallen sharply and now trades around $145
- At roughly $1.77 trillion, it is the largest IPO of all time, more than three times the size of Alibaba
- The key revenue driver is Starlink: $11.4 billion of the $18.7 billion total 2025 revenue comes from satellite internet
- Elon Musk holds only around 42% of the equity but controls 82% of the voting rights through a second share class
1. The SpaceX IPO at a glance
The key facts of the offering:
The IPO was historic. No company has ever gone public at a higher valuation. And unlike many tech IPOs of recent years, this is a business with real revenue, its own infrastructure and a near-monopoly in the rocket business.
2. The road to the IPO
From its founding in 2002 to the IPO in 2026, SpaceX came a long way. As early as 2008, the Falcon 1 became the first privately funded liquid-fuel rocket to reach orbit. For a long time afterward Musk was seen as an IPO skeptic who wanted to keep control. The merger with xAI in early 2026 and the AI arm's appetite for capital then accelerated the public listing:
The xAI merger in February 2026 was the turning point in particular. It turned the rocket builder into a conglomerate spanning spaceflight, satellite internet and AI, with a capital need to match.
3. Valuation: $1.77 trillion and how it got there
SpaceX's valuation has grown more than tenfold in five years, from $100 billion in October 2021 to around $1.77 trillion at the IPO. The chart below shows the rise across the last private rounds up to the IPO:
For context: at $1.77 trillion, SpaceX is worth more than most companies in the world. Measured against 2025 revenue of $18.7 billion, that is a price-to-sales ratio of about 95. It is a valuation that prices in a lot of future growth, mainly from Starlink and the AI arm.
4. SpaceX stock price since the IPO
The first trading day was a spectacle. SpaceX opened at $135 and closed at $161, up 19%. In the days that followed, the stock kept climbing to a peak of $225.64, before a broader tech sell-off and mounting worries about the AI arm's losses sent it sharply lower. On July 10, 2026, SPCX traded at around $145, still above the offer price but far below its peak:
The analyst picture is telling: the average twelve-month price target sits at $164, above the current price. The range is huge, from $63 (a bear who sees a massive overvaluation) to $227. In other words, the market does not agree at all on what the stock is worth. The volatility says it all. On the reference day alone the price swung between $195 and $226, and in late June the stock dropped 16.4% in a single session, its worst day since the IPO.
5. Business model: where does the revenue come from?
SpaceX has long stopped making money from rocket launches alone. By far the biggest chunk is Starlink, its satellite internet. Of the $18.7 billion total revenue in 2025, $11.4 billion came from Starlink, around 61%. Launch services add $4.1 billion, roughly 22%, and the new AI arm (xAI) contributes $3.2 billion, around 17%:
Starlink is also the biggest growth driver. The number of subscribers has exploded, from around 1 million in 2022 to more than 10 million in early 2026:
It is exactly this subscription business that makes SpaceX so interesting for investors. Recurring revenue is more predictable than the project-driven rocket business, and as a global network Starlink has barely any serious competition. For more numbers on the company, see my article on SpaceX statistics.
6. Financials: revenue, loss and investment
Behind the growth story sits a balance sheet with two faces. Revenue has clearly grown, from $10.4 billion (2023) through $14.0 billion (2024) to $18.7 billion (2025). The bottom line tells a different story. SpaceX turned its first net profit in 2024, $0.8 billion, but tipped back into a $4.9 billion loss in 2025 (after a $4.6 billion loss in 2023). The relapse was driven mainly by the AI arm, which has been on the books since the xAI merger. The figures below are consolidated and include xAI; the S-1 recasts them retroactively:
The loss masks the operating picture. Starlink already makes money, around $4.4 billion in operating profit in 2025, while the AI arm burns about $6.4 billion. That appetite shows up in capital spending. Capex stood at $4.4 billion in 2023, rose to $11.2 billion in 2024 and climbed to $20.7 billion in 2025, almost a fivefold jump in just two years, almost entirely for AI data centers:
7. Who owns SpaceX? The control question
One point every investor should understand: SpaceX has a dual-class share structure. Elon Musk holds only around 42% of the company economically but controls 82% of the votes through high-voting shares:
For you as a shareholder, that means you buy a share of the economic success but practically no say. Musk makes the strategic decisions alone. That can be an advantage (clear vision, fast decisions) but it is also a risk (see section 10).
8. How to buy SpaceX stock
Since the IPO, SPCX is an ordinary Nasdaq stock. All you need is an account with a broker that offers US equities, which practically every common provider does:
In practice, you search your account for the ticker SPCX, check the listed ISIN and can then buy the stock, often as a savings plan too. Mind the trading venue: on European exchanges the price can differ slightly from the Nasdaq quote. Whether a particular broker already lists SPCX is worth checking case by case, since the listing is still young.
9. SpaceX, Anthropic and OpenAI: the three big IPOs compared
SpaceX is not the only mega-IPO this year. With Anthropic and OpenAI, two of the most valuable AI companies are also heading for the public markets. Here is how SpaceX ranks by valuation:
SpaceX is by far the largest of the three and the only one already listed. For details on the other two, see my articles on the Anthropic IPO and the OpenAI IPO.
10. Risks for investors
As spectacular as the IPO was, SpaceX stock is anything but a sure thing. These points are worth knowing:
- Extreme valuation: A price-to-sales ratio of around 95 leaves little room for disappointment. A lot of future growth is already priced in.
- Musk's control: With 82% of the votes, a single person decides the strategy. For such a polarizing founder, that is a concentration risk.
- Starship is still in testing: The last test flight (IFT-12 in May 2026) was only a partial success, followed by an FAA investigation. The next growth chapter rides on this rocket.
- High volatility: On the reference day alone, the price swung by more than $30 within a single day, and by early July the stock had already fallen more than 35% from its peak. Once lock-up periods expire, additional shares can hit the market.
- Concentration on Starlink: 61% of revenue depends on one business unit. Regulatory or technical headwinds there would hit the company hard.
My take: the SpaceX IPO is a historic event and the company is in a league of its own technologically. But the valuation assumes that Starlink, Starship and the AI arm all deliver. Anyone getting in should be aware of the swings and only invest money they can afford to lose. This is not investment advice, just context.
