Elon Musk’s SpaceX has set a suggested share price of $135 (£100) ahead of its stock market debut, a move that would value the company at roughly $1.75tn and make it the largest initial public offering in history.
The price estimate, revealed in a filing more than a week before the expected listing on the Nasdaq on 12 June, is unusually early. Companies typically disclose their desired price only the day before trading begins. The early announcement ratchets up SpaceX’s valuation from $1.25tn earlier this year.
“SpaceX sets $135 share price, valuing it at $1.75tn in what would be the largest IPO ever.”
The company is aiming to raise $75bn, dwarfing the current record of $25.6bn set by oil giant Saudi Aramco in 2019. Should shares sell at or above the proposed price, SpaceX will immediately become one of the most valuable companies in the world.
Musk, who controls more than 80% of SpaceX through his personal stock holdings, could become a trillionaire if the IPO succeeds.
But the valuation has raised eyebrows. “There is no doubt the valuation is incredibly rich,” said Samuel Kerr, head of equity capital markets research at Mergermarket. Kerr noted that SpaceX is pricing itself relative to sales at a ratio higher than any member of the so-called “Mag 7” – Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta, Nvidia, Microsoft and Tesla, another Musk company. “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,” he added.
SpaceX, which builds rockets and infrastructure and owns xAI and Starlink, reported $18.6bn in revenue last year but a net loss of $4.9bn. In the first three months of this year, it achieved $4.7bn in sales while posting a net loss of $4.3bn. Its balance sheet shows $102bn in assets, including rockets and equipment, against $60.5bn of debt.
The final share price will be determined by buyers and could go up or down. According to Dealogic, nearly half of companies that have gone public in the last 30 years have seen their value decline after listing.