KEY POINTS
- SpaceX begins trading on Nasdaq today at $135 per share, raising $75 billion in the largest IPO in stock market history and valuing the company at $1.78 trillion.
- Overwhelming institutional demand — the offering was multiple times oversubscribed — and an MSCI fast-track inclusion announcement for June 13 are accelerating index-fund buying pressure.
- Traders should watch the opening cross price relative to $135, volume through the first hour, and whether index-fund demand on Monday creates a secondary pop or a sell-the-news fade.
SpaceX begins trading on the Nasdaq Global Select Market today under the ticker SPCX at $135 per share, raising approximately $75 billion and claiming the title of the largest initial public offering in stock market history. The deal is more than triple the size of Alibaba's 2014 debut, which held the record for a decade, and it values Elon Musk's rocket and satellite company at roughly $1.78 trillion — making it the seventh-largest company in the United States by market capitalization, ahead of Tesla's approximately $1.6 trillion valuation.
The 555.6 million shares on offer attracted demand that Bloomberg reported was multiple times oversubscribed during the roadshow that began June 3, when CNBC first confirmed the fixed $135 price. That kind of oversubscription typically means the opening trade will print well above the IPO price, but retail investors who chase the first tick should remember that the allocation process already locked in gains for the institutional buyers who got in at $135.
Why This IPO Dwarfs Everything Before It
The sheer scale of the capital raise reflects a business that straddles two enormous addressable markets. SpaceX's Starlink satellite internet division, now serving more than 4 million subscribers in over 100 countries, generates recurring revenue that gives the company a SaaS-like growth profile layered on top of its government and commercial launch contracts. The launch business itself is printing money: 97 Falcon 9 missions flew in 2025, and the Starship heavy-lift vehicle is moving toward full operational status, which opens the door to contracts for lunar cargo, Mars missions, and Department of Defense payloads.
Wall Street's valuation framework for SpaceX borrows from both aerospace-defense multiples and high-growth tech multiples, which is why the $1.78 trillion figure sits comfortably above companies like Broadcom and below only the megacap cohort of Apple, Microsoft, Nvidia, Amazon, Alphabet, and Saudi Aramco. The implied forward revenue multiple is steep, but the company's backlog of launch contracts and Starlink's subscriber growth curve give analysts enough visibility to justify a premium.
The Index Inclusion Wild Card
One detail that deserves close attention: MSCI announced it will fast-track SPCX for index eligibility starting June 13, just one day after the listing. That means passive funds tracking MSCI indices will begin purchasing shares as early as next week. The mechanical buying pressure from index inclusion has historically driven multi-day rallies in newly listed megacaps, and with SPCX landing near the top of the large-cap universe by market value, the dollar amount of forced buying could be substantial.
For context, when other large-cap names have been added to major indices, the announcement-to-inclusion window has produced average excess returns of 3% to 7%, though much of that gets priced in during the announcement day itself. The compressed timeline here — one trading day between listing and index eligibility — creates an unusual setup where IPO-day buyers and index-fund buyers could collide in the order book simultaneously.
What the Broader Market Thinks
The SpaceX debut lands on a Friday after a strong Thursday session in which the Dow surged 1.86%, the S&P 500 gained 1.75%, and the Nasdaq rallied 2.54%. The broader market mood is constructive: U.S.-Iran tensions eased after President Trump indicated a peace deal could come as early as this weekend, and the chip sector continued its recovery from last week's selloff. That risk-on backdrop is favorable for a debut of this magnitude, though it also means any macro shock could amplify volatility in a name that will have no established trading range.
Traders should watch the opening cross carefully. If SPCX prints above $150, the implied first-day pop would already be north of 11%, and the risk-reward for chasing shifts. Volume in the first 60 minutes will signal whether institutional holders are flipping allocations or sitting tight. The real test comes Monday and Tuesday, when index-fund demand meets whatever profit-taking emerges from IPO allocators who marked a quick gain. If SPCX holds above $135 through next week's close, the path to $160 opens quickly. A break below $135 in the first week would be a red flag that the deal was priced too aggressively.
