SpaceX eyes $1.77 trillion IPO

SpaceX has begun asking public-market investors to accept one of the richest valuations ever attached to a newly listed company. The Elon Musk-led rocket and satellite company plans to market its initial public offering at a fixed price of $135 a share, aiming to raise about $75 billion and reach a market value of roughly $1.77 trillion, according to CNBC and Bloomberg reports published June 3. That would make the deal the largest IPO on record if it is completed at those terms. Published reports said the proposed valuation would put SpaceX among the biggest U.S. companies immediately after listing and above Tesla’s current market capitalization. ### How big is the offering in plain numbers? Bloomberg reported that SpaceX plans to market about 555.6 million shares at $135 each. (cnbc.com) At that price, the company would raise about $75 billion and reach a valuation of almost $1.77 trillion based on the outstanding shares in its filing. For context, Forbes reported June 3 that the deal would surpass Saudi Aramco’s 2019 listing as the biggest IPO ever if the terms hold. (cnbc.com) CNBC said the valuation would make SpaceX the seventh-largest company in the United States, ahead of Tesla. ### Why are investors arguing over the valuation? (bloomberg.com) Morningstar on June 3 put a fair value estimate on SpaceX at $780 billion, less than half the IPO target. CNBC reported that Morningstar’s analysts used a discounted cash flow model and said uncertainty around xAI and an “indeterminate” economic moat weighed on the estimate. Reuters, in a report carried by MSN, said Morningstar’s $780 billion estimate was also below SpaceX’s roughly $1.5 trillion private-market valuation. (forbes.com) CNBC added that Morningstar did not view the IPO as the best entry point for retail investors and said buyers may later get a “greater margin of safety.” (cnbc.com) ### What is the market really being asked to buy? SpaceX is not coming public as a conventional industrial company. Bloomberg said the company wants the new capital to fund launch operations and artificial-intelligence efforts, while public reporting around the filing has tied the valuation case to Starlink, launch services and longer-dated bets including Starship. (msn.com) Private-market enthusiasm has already pushed the company close to these levels. Reuters reported that SpaceX had recently been valued around $1.5 trillion in private trading, which means the IPO asks public investors to pay a premium above an already elevated private benchmark. ### Why does the fixed $135 price matter? (bloomberg.com) CNBC reported that SpaceX chose to market the deal at a fixed $135 price rather than a traditional range. That approach narrows the message to investors: the company is signaling where it wants demand to clear instead of inviting a wider price-discovery process at the outset. That reading is an inference from the reported structure. (msn.com) The same report said the valuation would put SpaceX above Tesla in market value. Forbes added that the company could still adjust the IPO price before trading begins. ### What happens next? Published reports said the roadshow begins June 4 and trading is expected next week on Nasdaq. Forbes reported that SpaceX could begin trading on June 12, after pricing the shares beforehand. (cnbc.com) The next concrete milestones are the investor roadshow, the final pricing decision and the first day of trading. (cnbc.com) At $135 a share, those steps would determine whether SpaceX can turn the largest proposed IPO in history into a completed one. (forbes.com)