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SpaceX Shares Close Up 19% After Largest IPO Of All Time

Illustration of founder looking at HUGE pile of money. [Dom Guzman]

Shares of closed up 19% on Friday as 鈥檚 space exploration company made its market debut on the in the largest IPO in history. The stock closed at $161.11 after opening at $150, giving the company a market cap of $2.1 trillion at the end of its first day of trading.

The IPO聽caps a remarkable journey for a company that raised nearly $12 billion in private investment since its founding in 2002 to become the world鈥檚 most valuable venture-backed startup with a most recent private-market valuation of $1.25 trillion. Along the way, SpaceX helped redefine both the space industry and the late-stage venture market.

Its long-awaited offering raised some $75 billion and served as聽an enormous liquidity event for Musk, who became the as a result, as well as his close friend and confidant of , who now owns a stake valued at more than $68 billion in SpaceX. It’s also a massive and successful exit for early venture and corporate investors including , , , and .

SpaceX’s offering was unconventional along several fronts. Along with the IPO鈥檚 record-breaking nature 鈥� more than 10x larger than 鈥檚 $104 billion offering in 2012 鈥� the company also by setting a fixed price of $135 per share, rather than the traditional approach whereby investors and bookbuilders determine a range based on demand.

Hawthorne, California-based SpaceX is also wildly unprofitable. The company posted a net loss of $4.28 billion in the first quarter of 2026, up more than 700% from a year ago. Revenue totaled $4.69 billion in Q1, up 15% from a year ago. Its megacap valuation means it鈥檚 slated to trade at an aggressive premium of 94x revenue.

The SpaceX offering is the first in a lineup of at least three historic IPOs this year, with generative AI giants and openly racing to make it to the public markets in coming months. Altogether, the three IPOs transfer some $3 trillion in value from the private to public markets.

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