SpaceX, the Largest IPO in History, Begins Trading
The global technology and capital markets have made history today. SpaceX, the space transportation company owned by Elon Musk, officially began its debut on the Nasdaq stock exchange on Friday morning local time. This move marks the largest IPO ever in the public market, a moment long awaited by both institutional and retail investors.
Based on collected data, SpaceX shares will be traded under the ticker symbol SPCX. Initial price indications were scheduled to appear at 0.95:50, although the opening process involving the synchronisation of thousands of orders from various investment banks typically takes several hours before a stable market price is formed.
On Thursday night, SpaceX, alongside underwriters, set the IPO price at US$135 per share. This figure provides a market capitalisation of US$1.77 trillion for the company before the first shares changed hands on the exchange floor. This valuation places SpaceX among the elite group of global technology companies.
John Waldron, President of Goldman Sachs, stated that the SpaceX IPO is a strong signal of the market’s significant interest in funding future infrastructure. “This demonstrates the willingness of global capital markets to finance the development of AI infrastructure and expansion into space,” he said in an interview with Bloomberg Television.
Goldman Sachs acted as the lead underwriter, accompanied by other financial giants including Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, and Citigroup.
Despite the enthusiastic reception, not all parties agree with the US$1.77 trillion figure. Analysts from Morningstar provided a critical note, suggesting the company is overvalued. Based on last year’s financial reports, SpaceX recorded revenue of approximately US$19 billion but has not yet consistently generated net profit. Morningstar estimates the fair value of SpaceX to be around US$780 billion.
Responding to this scepticism, SpaceX COO Gwynne Shotwell emphasised that the company is focused on a long-term vision. “Look at our track record. We do very difficult things. SpaceX investors need to understand that what we are building is the future, not just quarterly earnings reports,” Shotwell told CNBC.
One interesting aspect of this IPO is SpaceX’s commitment to providing access to individual investors. Approximately 30% of the IPO allocation is offered to retail investors through brokerage platforms such as Fidelity, E-Trade (Morgan Stanley), Charles Schwab, and SoFi. This move is considered an effort to democratise investment in frontier technology companies.
The success of this IPO is also viewed as a referendum on Elon Musk’s leadership. Amid various social and political controversies involving the X platform (formerly Twitter), the performance of SPCX stock will serve as an indicator of the extent of market confidence in Musk’s technological vision that transcends Earth’s boundaries.