SpaceX prices record IPO at $135 a share
The company's pricing statement says SpaceX sold 555,555,555 shares at $135 each on 11 June, raising about $75 billion and valuing Elon Musk's space, satellite-internet and AI group at roughly $1.77 trillion before trading starts on Nasdaq under SPCX. The deal surpasses Saudi Aramco's 2019 listing as the largest IPO by proceeds, but it also brings a private strategic infrastructure company into public-market volatility. SpaceX's filing disclosed a 2025 net loss on substantial revenue, while its pitch leans on Starlink scale, reusable launch dominance and much more speculative AI and orbital-computing ambitions. For Belgian readers, the immediate relevance is less about buying the shares than about market exposure through global funds, Europe's reliance on non-European satellite capacity, and the EU's push to build IRIS² as a sovereign alternative for secure connectivity.
Belgian households and pension savers may meet SpaceX indirectly through global equity funds, Nasdaq-linked ETFs and bank portfolios rather than through direct US trading. Belgian SMEs, telecom users and public authorities should also watch the strategic layer: Starlink has made satellite connectivity a commercial reality, while the European Commission says IRIS² is meant to give EU governments, firms and citizens secure connectivity outside foreign-controlled systems. The IPO turns that dependency question into a public-market test.
SpaceX (Space Exploration Technologies Corp., US aerospace company founded in 2002) builds reusable rockets, operates Starlink and now presents itself as a space-internet-AI platform. Elon Musk (South African-born US entrepreneur, SpaceX chief executive) remains the controlling figure. Starlink (SpaceX satellite-broadband network launched commercially in the 2020s) connects homes, firms and governments through low-Earth-orbit satellites. xAI (Musk artificial-intelligence company founded in 2023) is central to the IPO's more speculative computing story. Nasdaq (US technology-heavy stock exchange) will host the SPCX listing. Saudi Aramco (Saudi state oil company) set the previous IPO proceeds benchmark in 2019. IRIS² (EU secure satellite-connectivity programme established by Regulation (EU) 2023/588) is Europe's planned sovereign communications constellation. SpaceRISE (European consortium selected for IRIS² deployment) groups operators including SES, Eutelsat and Hispasat.
Background
The company's pricing statement makes SpaceX's $75 billion raise larger than Saudi Aramco's 2019 IPO proceeds, the previous benchmark for a newly listed company. University of Florida IPO research compiled by Jay Ritter shows why the market reaction needs caution: IPOs can post strong first-day gains while later returns vary sharply by valuation, access to the offer price and company fundamentals. SpaceX itself became strategically important after NASA selected it for cargo and crew services in the 2000s and 2010s, then Starlink turned launch scale into a communications business.
The wider picture
SpaceX sits at the intersection of US industrial policy, commercial space, defence communications and AI infrastructure. A $1.77 trillion public valuation would deepen the role of a single US-controlled company in launch access and satellite connectivity. For the EU and NATO-host Belgium, the question is how to benefit from Starlink's capacity while avoiding strategic dependence on one corporate actor.
Why now
The story is timely because the company's pricing statement says SpaceX priced the IPO on 11 June 2026, with market reports pointing to Nasdaq trading on 12 June. The lead question shifted from hypothetical valuation to the first public-market test.
What to watch
Watch the 12 June opening trade, the closing price versus $135, any greenshoe exercise, first analyst coverage and later index decisions. For the strategic layer, follow Commission and SpaceRISE updates on IRIS² deployment, because Europe's alternative to Starlink remains a longer-term project.
Opposing perspectives
- SpaceX and growth investors
SpaceX's filing frames the group as more than a launch provider: reusable rockets, Starlink distribution and AI infrastructure are presented as mutually reinforcing platforms. This view treats the high valuation as a bet on market creation, not just current earnings, and sees public capital as a way to fund unusually capital-intensive technology.
- Valuation-focused market analysts
Morningstar's pre-debut valuation work and University of Florida IPO research point in the other direction: a very high sales multiple gives new investors little room for disappointment. This frame accepts SpaceX's operating achievements but argues that retail buyers after the first trade may carry more downside than early allocated investors.
- EU space-sovereignty policymakers
The European Commission's IRIS² material frames secure connectivity as a public-interest infrastructure question. From this view, SpaceX's market power underlines why Europe wants sovereign satellite capacity for governments, critical infrastructure, businesses and citizens, even if Starlink remains commercially useful.
Sources & evidence
- View sourceDe Standaard - Veroorzaakt de beursgang van SpaceX een oerknal?Primary· standaard.beRetrieved 12 June 2026
- View sourceAxios - SpaceX raises $75 billion in its IPO· axios.com· 11 June 2026Retrieved 12 June 2026· 34 days ago· Dated
- View sourceWall Street Journal - SpaceX Officially Raises $75 Billion in Record-Breaking IPO· wsj.com· 11 June 2026Retrieved 12 June 2026· 34 days ago· Dated
- View sourceMarketWatch - SpaceX has officially priced its IPO, setting it up to trade Friday· marketwatch.com· 11 June 2026Retrieved 12 June 2026· 34 days ago· Dated
