SpaceX's debut on Nasdaq raises $75 billion, shares jump 31% above offer price
SpaceX's initial public offering raised $75 billion, with shares opening at $150 and climbing to $176.52, marking the largest IPO in history.
SpaceX began trading on the Nasdaq under the ticker SPCX on Friday, opening at $150 per share, 11% above the $135 offering price. By midday the stock had risen to $176.52, roughly 31% higher than the IPO price, and was trading at $170.90 later in the session.
Jay Ritter, a professor of finance at the University of Florida and an IPO specialist, said the opening price was "disappointing relative to what betting markets had been predicting," but noted that the price jump was typical for large offerings and that, if sustained, the early returns could exceed those of any previous IPO.
The offering, which priced shares at $135, generated $75 billion in proceeds intended to fund SpaceX's plans for a human settlement on Mars and the deployment of space-based solar-powered data centers. The deal surpasses the previous record set by Saudi Aramco's 2019 IPO, which raised about $26 billion.
SpaceX, founded by Elon Musk in 2002, provides launch services for satellite operators, NASA, the Department of Defense and other clients, and operates the Starlink broadband network and an artificial-intelligence division focused on data-center development. The company also recently acquired xAI, the firm behind the social platform X and the Grok chatbot.
Bloomberg reported that retail demand for the offering exceeded $100 billion. The IPO lifted SpaceX's market valuation to roughly $2.2 trillion, placing it ahead of companies such as Meta Platforms, Samsung and Tesla, though still below Nvidia's approximately $5 trillion market cap.
Despite the high valuation, SpaceX posted $18.7 billion in revenue last year, far less than the $400 billion recorded by Alphabet in 2025. Analysts highlighted the gap in profitability, noting that Alphabet, Apple and Nvidia each generate annual after-tax profits exceeding $100 billion.
Market strategists expressed mixed views on the valuation. Matthew Kennedy of Renaissance Capital said the company "should deserve a lower valuation," while acknowledging that some stocks remain expensive for extended periods. Others warned that early-stage volatility is common for large IPOs and that long-term price stability will be the key metric.
Elon Musk, who holds about 42% of SpaceX's equity and 82.4% of its voting power, will retain significant control over the company's direction. The shares are expected to be added to several indexes, including the Nasdaq-100 and Russell series, potentially expanding access for institutional investors and retirement-plan participants.
SpaceX has projected a market opportunity exceeding $28 trillion across its operating sectors, with a majority of that potential attributed to its AI initiatives, according to an analysis by Exness analyst Van Ha Trinh.
