SpaceX makes its stock-market debut, raising $75 billion in the largest initial public offering in history.

SpaceX, led by Elon Musk, has made its stock-market debut, raising $75 billion by selling nearly 555.6 million shares at $135 apiece. This makes it the largest initial public offering in history, breaking the previous record set by Saudi Aramco in 2019.

IPO Details

The listing instantly turns SpaceX into the seventh-biggest publicly traded US company, valuing it at $1.8 trillion. SpaceX wants to use the proceeds from the IPO to fund its ambitious projects, such as installing AI data centers in space and missions to Mars.

Company Background

Founded in 2002, SpaceX has made significant advances in space technologies, such as reusable rockets, emerging as the world's dominant launch services provider. The company's ultimate goal is to colonize Mars and establish a civilization there. SpaceX operates Starlink, a massive network of around 8,000 satellites, which offers broadband internet services to consumers, governments, and enterprise customers.

Financials and Valuation

Last year, SpaceX made $18.7 billion in revenue, but posted a $4.9 billion net loss. The company has said that it does not expect to be profitable any time soon and has considerable debt, around $29 billion as of the end of March. Given its financials, SpaceX would be valued at around 94 times its annual revenue, a massive premium over stocks of highly profitable Big Tech firms.

Investor Interest and Risks

Investor interest, both retail and institutional, appears enormous, with recent reports suggesting the IPO is already oversubscribed. However, experts warn that SpaceX stock could be more volatile once it starts trading, as the company is only making about 4% of its equity available for the IPO. Morningstar has valued the company at $780 billion, a sharp discount from the IPO's valuation at $1.8 trillion, citing 'very uncertain' outlook and 'key-person risk' due to Musk's dominance.