Biggest IPO Ever: What SpaceX's USD 1.75 Trillion Price Tag Is Actually Betting On

SpaceX listed on the Nasdaq under SPCX at USD 135 a share, raising about USD 75 billion at a valuation near USD 1.75 trillion. It closed its first day up 19% at roughly USD 161, after peaking near USD 177 intraday. That makes it the largest IPO in history, and on day one it is already bigger than most companies retail here have held for years.

The demand was real, the supply was not

Total orders topped USD 250 billion, retail alone came in above USD 100 billion, and the book was oversubscribed around 3.5 times. With only about a 4% float, that imbalance is exactly the setup for a violent first print. Thin supply plus enormous demand produces a sharp pop, and the same thinness can snap back just as hard once the initial allocation clears.

What you are actually paying for

The S-1 shows two engines. Starlink did roughly USD 11.4 billion in revenue with about USD 4.4 billion of operating profit, the cash engine. The launch business poured nearly USD 3 billion into Starship, and the folded-in xAI unit ran an operating loss above USD 6 billion. The company did USD 18.67 billion in revenue in 2025, up about 33%, but still posted a USD 4.94 billion net loss. At 1.75 trillion you are paying for three narratives stacked on top of each other, none proven at the scale the price implies. Worth noting Morningstar pegged fair value at less than half the IPO target.

How I would play the open

I do not chase a thin-float debut. I would rather watch where real two-way trading sets a range after the opening cross, and decide from there. Owning a slice of Starlink and rockets is genuinely new. Paying any price for that excitement on day one is how exciting stories turn into expensive lessons.