SpaceX Raises $75 Billion in the Biggest IPO Ever and Opens the Mega-Listing Window

SpaceX went public in June, selling shares at $135 and raising $75 billion on Nasdaq, according to a Reuters factbox. It is the largest initial public offering ever, with proceeds more than double those of Saudi Aramco's 2019 listing. By the end of its first session the stock had closed at $160.95, putting the company's value at roughly $2.1 trillion.

The record, in numbers

One roundup put SpaceX's valuation at the offer price at around $1.75 trillion. That was already above the $1.25 trillion combined value reported when the company absorbed xAI in February, and above the "$1.5 trillion or more" that people familiar with the plans had floated at that time. The first-day pop added roughly another $350 billion of market value in a few hours.

The post-IPO path has been steadier than the debut. As of October 23, shares were $147.49, 9.3% above the offer price but well below the day-one close. Early buyers are still ahead, but the stock has given back part of its opening gain, which is a common pattern for hyped listings once the initial demand is satisfied and lockup dates approach.

Why a $75 billion raise changes the market

Size matters for plumbing. A deal this large pulls cash out of other stocks as index funds and institutions make room, and it tests whether public markets can absorb multiple trillion-dollar listings in the same year. The SpaceX deal answered one question: there is enough demand for a mega-IPO. It left another open: whether there is enough for the next ones.

The company's story gave buyers three things to underwrite. Launch dominance and the Starlink satellite network produce cash flow. The xAI merger adds an AI narrative that public investors have rewarded elsewhere. And the founder's profile guarantees attention. Skeptics point out that the combined business now has to fund both a launch cadence and a frontier-model buildout, and that a valuation above $2 trillion leaves little margin for error.

The queue behind it

SpaceX was positioned as the first of a wave. Anthropic filed confidentially on June 1 and OpenAI followed with its own confidential paperwork in June, and prediction markets by August were already handicapping which would raise more. Those deals would be priced into a market that has just absorbed $75 billion of new SpaceX stock and still holds an elevated multiple for AI-linked names.

That sequencing creates a feedback loop. A strong SpaceX aftermarket makes it easier for later issuers to demand higher valuations, while a weak one would push them to cut prices or delay. The October trading range, solidly above the offer but well off the peak, gives them a mixed signal: investors will pay up for scale, but not without limit.

How the debut compares

Saudi Aramco's 2019 offering held the record for years and became the benchmark for what a mega-IPO looks like. SpaceX's more than doubled it, and did so on a US exchange, with a founder-led company that is also a federal contractor. The listing helps Nasdaq's competition with other venues for the biggest names, and it is a notable shift for a market where many of the best-known tech companies had been staying private for a decade, funded by venture and secondary sales instead.

The day-one return of about 19% over the offer price is useful for another reason. Bankers prefer a pop that is meaningful but not extreme, since a very large jump suggests the offering was underpriced and money was left on the table. SpaceX's number sits in the zone that issuers can defend: enough to reward the institutions that anchored the book, not so much that it looks like a mispricing.

The October level, about 9% above the offer, tells a quieter story. It shows a market still willing to pay for the company but one that re-priced the first-day enthusiasm. That is the range other mega-issuers are likely to study before setting their own terms.

What to watch

• Lockup expirations, when insiders and early investors can sell, which often pressure newly listed stocks.
• The first full-year disclosures from the merged company, including AI capital spending.
• Index inclusion decisions, which can force large passive buying or selling.
• Pricing of the Anthropic and OpenAI offerings, the real test of appetite for mega-caps.

Sources

1. Factbox: Elon Musk's SpaceX kicks off mega IPO wave with $75 billion haul — Reuters (via The Star)
2. SpaceX, OpenAI, Anthropic drive mega IPO revival on Wall Street — KuCoin News
3. The big IPO race: SpaceX, Anthropic and OpenAI public listing update — Fast Company