SpaceX plans record $75 billion IPO with unusually large retail allocation
SpaceX will price its shares at $135 each and aim to raise $75 billion, allocating up to 30% of the offering to individual investors through major broker-dealers.
SpaceX is preparing to become a publicly traded company, with shares expected to be priced at $135 each and begin trading on the Nasdaq under the ticker SPCX. The company aims to raise about $75 billion, a valuation that would place it above several long-standing U.S. corporations, including Tesla and Meta Platforms.
Regulatory filings show that the firm will make roughly 555.6 million class A common shares available for public trading, representing about 4.25% of its total stock. Reuters reported that as much as 30% of the overall offering could be set aside for retail investors, a proportion three times larger than the norm for IPOs.
Retail participants will need a brokerage account or a participating digital investing app. SpaceX lists Charles Schwab, E*TRADE by Morgan Stanley, Fidelity Investments, Robinhood and SoFi as the platforms through which individual investors can submit requests for shares. > "Your brokerage account or investing app will confirm whether you're eligible when you submit your request to participate," the company said on its website.
Senior market strategist Matthew Kennedy of Renaissance Capital noted that most retail investors will use the five listed platforms, while high-net-worth individuals may access the IPO through their own banks. > "There might be some accredited investors that can access it through, say, JPMorgan," he said.
Requests for shares do not guarantee allocation; the final number of shares received depends on overall demand. > "If you ask for 100 shares, maybe you'll get 100. More likely... you'll probably only get a fraction of the shares that you asked for," IPO expert Jay Ritter said.
Secondary-market platforms that previously facilitated private trades of SpaceX stock, such as Forge Global and Rainmaker Securities, have stopped offering such transactions. Rainmaker CEO Glen Anderson said market participants are shifting focus to the public market, limiting new private secondary deals.
Analysts caution that while first-day returns for IPOs average around 19%, longer-term performance can be negative. Kennedy suggested investors may want to observe early trading patterns before committing, as shares can be volatile in the initial days.
