SpaceX Sets Ambitious IPO Valuation at $1.75 Trillion Ahead of Historic Market Debut

Elon Musk's SpaceX has indicated that it believes the company is worth significantly more than previously estimated as it prepares for a public stock market debut scheduled for next week.

In documents submitted to the US Securities and Exchange Commission as part of its initial public offering (IPO) process, SpaceX stated that it expects its shares to be offered at approximately $135 (£100) each. Based on that proposed price, the company would carry a valuation of around $1.75 trillion, marking a substantial increase from the $1.25 trillion valuation assigned to the business earlier this year.

The early disclosure of a proposed share price is highly unusual. While the filing outlines the company's expectations, the final trading price will ultimately depend on investor demand once shares become available on the open market, meaning the stock could begin trading either above or below the suggested level.

SpaceX, which develops rockets and space infrastructure while also owning Starlink and xAI, has revealed its anticipated share price more than a week before its expected market debut. Most companies wait until the day before trading begins to provide such guidance.

The company is expected to begin trading on the Nasdaq exchange on 12 June. As a result, the announcement may represent one of the earliest IPO pricing disclosures ever made. SpaceX is seeking to raise $75 billion through the offering, which would make it the largest IPO in history.

If investors ultimately purchase shares at or above the proposed $135 price, SpaceX would immediately rank among the world's most valuable corporations. Such an outcome could also push Musk, who controls more than 80% of the company's stock, into the ranks of trillionaires.

However, there is no guarantee that the valuation will hold once public trading begins.

Research from Dealogic, a firm specializing in capital markets data, shows that nearly half of all companies that have gone public during the past three decades have experienced declines in value relative to their listing prices.

"There is no doubt the valuation is incredibly rich," Samuel Kerr, head of equity capital markets research at Mergermarket, said.

Kerr pointed out that the valuation places SpaceX at a sales multiple exceeding those of the companies commonly known by investors as the "Mag 7" — Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta, Nvidia, Microsoft and Tesla, another company associated with Musk.

"But SpaceX is being valued on future earnings and revenue rather than the here and now, so some investors might be willing to overlook that," Kerr added.

Financial figures released by the company show that Space Exploration Technologies, the firm's official corporate name, generated $18.6 billion (£13.8 billion) in revenue last year while recording a net loss of $4.9 billion.

During the first quarter of this year, SpaceX reported sales of $4.7 billion but still posted a net loss of $4.3 billion. Company accounts indicate total assets worth $102 billion, including rockets and related infrastructure, while carrying debt obligations totaling $60.5 billion.

Beyond its core space business, SpaceX has been investing aggressively in several emerging sectors, including artificial intelligence, social media, satellite internet services and data centre infrastructure.

Earlier this year, the company completed the acquisition of xAI, another Musk-controlled venture best known for developing the Grok chatbot.

xAI originally emerged from X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, and benefited from access to the platform's continuous stream of user-generated content as training material for its AI systems.

Musk has repeatedly argued that expanding infrastructure into space represents the most effective long-term strategy for securing the resources necessary to power advanced AI systems, citing the limitations of available land on Earth.

He has also discussed plans involving AI-focused satellites and the eventual construction of data centres operating in orbit.

According to Ruth Foxe-Blader, managing partner at the US venture capital firm Citrine Venture Partners, the scale and diversity of SpaceX's ambitions are among its greatest attractions for investors.

"SpaceX is just an absolutely sprawling, enormous project with so many different selling points, and so many points that really point to the future," Foxe-Blader said.

By fLEXI tEAM