Elon Musk’s rocket company SpaceX has surged past Amazon to become the world’s fifth most valuable company, days after its record-breaking stock market debut. Shares soared more than 50% since the listing on New York’s Nasdaq exchange, lifting the company’s market capitalisation to about $2.78tn (£2.1tn) – edging out Jeff Bezos’s retail and media empire, currently worth $2.66tn.
The milestone came as SpaceX announced it would buy the AI coding startup Cursor for $60bn – a deal that will fold the San Francisco-based Anysphere, maker of the popular coding assistant, into Musk’s AI business, xAI. SpaceX had secured an option to acquire Cursor back in April, giving it the choice of a $60bn purchase or a $10bn partnership.
“SpaceX overtakes Amazon as world's fifth most valuable company after IPO and $60bn AI acquisition.”
SpaceX listed at $135 a share on Friday and has since climbed to $209. At one point on Tuesday, its valuation briefly touched $2.97tn, leapfrogging Amazon before easing back to close about 5% higher. The float made Musk the world’s first trillionaire, with Forbes estimating his net worth at $1.3tn.
Yet the company’s revenues and profits tell a different story. SpaceX lost $4.3bn in the first quarter of 2026 on sales of $18.67bn for the whole of 2025, according to BBC Business. By contrast, Amazon made $30.3bn in profit in just the first three months of 2026, and recorded $716.9bn in sales last year.
“Many traders seem to be buying into a well-marketed opportunity to invest in Musk and his vision instead of doing so based on SpaceX’s financial fundamentals,” venture capitalist Eileen Burbidge told the BBC. Adding to the caution, only about 4% of SpaceX shares are currently available to trade freely, raising concerns that smaller shareholders could be left exposed. Dan Sheehan of Telos Wealth Advisors warned they may “end up paying a premium for stock now that gets diluted later” if institutional investors eventually sell.
SpaceX’s acquisition of Cursor – whose AI automates code writing – comes as Musk’s company tries to strengthen its position in the artificial intelligence race. The rocket firm also manufactures Starlink internet satellites, the only profitable part of the business, and is pushing ahead with plans to send AI data centres to space and help humans colonise Mars. But analysts question whether the soaring share price can be sustained given the uncertainty over future earnings.