Elon Musk's rocket company SpaceX is set to make its highly anticipated stock market debut on the Nasdaq in the United States on Friday, in what is expected to be the largest flotation in global history. The company, officially named Space Exploration Technologies Corp, is offering 555.6 million shares at $135 each, with an unusually high proportion of 30% being made available to retail investors alongside major institutional players.
Record-Breaking Fundraising
The blockbuster initial public offering (IPO) is projected to raise $75 billion for SpaceX, which will be used to help launch 100,000 next-generation Starlink satellites into orbit as part of plans to deploy artificial intelligence data centres in space. This could also make Tesla and X owner Elon Musk, already a billionaire, the world's first trillionaire, cementing his position as the richest person on the planet.
Retail Investor Focus
Media firm Forbes currently values Musk's net worth at $826 billion, with his stake in SpaceX estimated at $542 billion. Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB, said Musk's decision to offer such a large chunk to retail investors shows a desire to tap into his "cult-like status with some retail investors" but also highlights their growing influence. She noted that the retail trading community now contributes 20% to 30% of daily volume in major developed markets like the UK and US, and that retail trading demand hit a record in early 2026, with total monthly volume across global brokers expected to reach $37 trillion by year-end. "Retail traders are no longer a niche, meme stock-obsessed corner of global financial markets. They are a powerful force that are structurally important, for example, they have helped to stabilise markets during periods of intense volatility in recent years," she said.
Valuation Concerns
However, Brooks expressed concerns over SpaceX's sky-high valuation. "It is priced at 56 times future revenues, which is a huge multiple. 2025 revenue came in at $18.67 billion, up a third on 2024, but the company still posted a loss last year of $4.94 billion. This year, total revenue is expected to come in at $25 billion, a decent jump on 2025, but it is revenue forecasts further in the future that are problematic," she added.
Business and AI Focus
Much of SpaceX's space business revolves around its massive Starship rocket and its ability to be fully reusable and robust enough for a quick turnaround between flights. Meanwhile, the IPO prospectus filed last week stated that the firm's biggest potential market is the sale of business-oriented AI products, though there is uncertainty over the path to profitability for its xAI business, which merged with SpaceX earlier this year.
Market Anticipation
The price of the IPO will be confirmed overnight after the US market close before launching on Friday. Susannah Streeter, chief investment strategist at Wealth Club, said: "Demand from investors is reported to be four times greater than the number of shares available in the offering. But it could trigger yet another wave of erratic buying and selling across the tech sector. We are already seeing some repositioning of portfolios as eager investors free up money to gain exposure." She added: "A stronger, more durable debut may boost confidence in high-growth technology companies and encourage investors to increase exposure to related sectors across artificial intelligence and aerospace. But a disappointing start could spark off another spurt of profit-taking across the sector."
