SpaceX IPO News: Elon Musk’s SpaceX Prices Record $75B Offering at $135 a Share

TLDR

SpaceX officially priced its initial public offering at $135 per share, raising $75 billion and setting up the company to begin trading on Nasdaq under the ticker SPCX in what is now the largest IPO on record.

The company, formally known as Space Exploration Technologies Corp., sold 555.6 million shares to underwriters at the fixed price. Based on 13.08 billion shares outstanding, the offering values SpaceX at about $1.77 trillion, placing Elon Musk’s space, satellite internet, and artificial intelligence company among the world’s most valuable publicly traded firms.

The IPO exceeds Saudi Aramco’s 2019 debut, which raised $25.6 billion and previously held the record for the largest public offering. At SpaceX’s pricing level, the company’s market value is above major public companies, including JPMorgan Chase, Berkshire Hathaway, Eli Lilly, Meta Platforms, and Tesla.

SpaceX Sets Fixed IPO Price Before Nasdaq Debut

SpaceX, which Senator Warren has asked to delay, took an unusual route by setting its IPO price at $135 before the traditional pricing process was fully completed. In most public offerings, banks collect investor orders during the roadshow and adjust pricing based on demand, but SpaceX used a fixed-price structure.

The company confirmed the pricing through an update on its website and a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The pricing was communicated shortly after 3 p.m. EDT, before U.S. markets closed, which also differed from the usual practice of announcing IPO prices after regular trading ends.

Investor demand reportedly reached several times the available shares. SpaceX’s offering was said to attract about four times the available supply, while underwriters also have an option to sell an additional 83.3 million shares. If exercised at the $135 IPO price, that option could raise about $11 billion more.

Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, BofA Securities, Citigroup and JPMorgan are joint book-running managers for the offering.

Musk Keeps Voting Control as Major Holders Gain

The IPO is expected to deliver large gains to major SpaceX shareholders, led by Musk. He owns just under 850 million Class A shares, each carrying one vote, and is also entitled to 5.6 billion Class B shares carrying 10 votes each.

After the IPO, Musk is expected to hold about 82% of SpaceX’s voting power. The company’s governance structure preserves strong founder control even as public investors gain access to the stock.

Antonio Gracias, founder and chief executive officer of Valor Management, is set to hold 503.4 million shares, giving his position a value near $68 billion at the IPO price. SpaceX board member and investor Luke Nosek owns about 33 million shares, while Chief Operating Officer Gwynne Shotwell holds nearly 12.6 million shares.

The offering also creates potential gains for hundreds of venture capital backers and smaller investors who gained exposure through special purpose vehicles during SpaceX’s private-company years. The company raised about $40 billion in private capital before its public listing.

Starlink Revenue and Valuation Face Market Test

SpaceX’s public market debut will test investor demand for a company whose valuation depends on space launches, Starlink satellite internet, artificial intelligence infrastructure and future projects. The company said its market opportunity spans $28.5 trillion, while Starlink currently accounts for most of its revenue.

SpaceX said its launch business was responsible for more than four-fifths of the mass sent into orbit over the past three years. Starlink serves millions of consumer, enterprise and government customers across 164 countries, territories and other markets.

The company has also entered a multiyear cloud services agreement with Alphabet’s Google to secure computing capacity. Its broader strategy includes xAI, AI computing infrastructure, launch services, satellite broadband and long-term space development.

Analysts have raised questions about whether SpaceX can justify its $1.77 trillion valuation, particularly because the company lost money last year and remains reliant on large government contracts. At the same time, investor demand has remained strong because of SpaceX’s position in reusable rockets, satellite broadband and space infrastructure.

Hyperliquid’s synthetic SpaceX-linked SPCX contract recently priced the shares near $167, suggesting traders expect a possible first-day premium above the $135 IPO price. SpaceX shares are expected to begin trading Friday, with the first session likely to show how public investors value the largest IPO in market history.

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