SpaceX May Launch IPO Market To The Moon

Elon Musk once promised that SpaceX wouldn’t go public until it delivered humans to Mars (lest pesky shareholders prioritize short-term profits over the long-term project of Martian colonization). The Red Planet must be within shouting distance, judging by the financial buzz. No, turns out it’s a lot easier to land on the S&P 500 these days than on Mars, so why wait?

On Wednesday, Bloomberg reported that Musk’s aerospace company is moving ahead with plans to raise $30 billion for an initial public offering at an out-of-this-world valuation of $1.5 trillion, with a countdown clock set for mid- to late 2026. And while it may not be on course for Mars, the SpaceX rocket ship might yet deliver next year’s IPO market to a whole new stratosphere.

Reach For The Stars

SpaceX’s potential monster IPO would come after what has been a remarkable rebound year for public listings. Per another Bloomberg analysis published Wednesday, US IPO volume (not including SPACs and closed-end funds) is set to surpass $40 billion this year once medical supply company MedLine prices its IPO next week, easily besting last year’s total. Dealmakers on Wall Street are already preparing for an even bigger 2026. “The velocity of IPO pitch activity is overwhelming, in a good way, across every industry,” Jim Cooney, Bank of America’s head of Americas equity capital markets, told Bloomberg.

Already likely on deck for next year are names such as defense contractor York Space Systems and insurance firm Ethos Technologies, as well as crypto exchange Kraken and construction rental company EquipmentShare. But those names would be easily eclipsed by SpaceX, officially the world’s most valuable private company once again after a recent secondary share sale that valued the company at $800 million. And it may be one of a handful of shooting stars to go public next year:

• Joining SpaceX, of course, might be the world’s second-most-valuable private company, OpenAI, which is similarly eying a $1 trillion valuation. (The difference between SpaceX and OpenAI? SpaceX claims to have been cash flow positive for several years now.)
• Other “centicorns,” or private companies valued at $100 billion or more, possibly making public market debuts next year include Anthropic, ByteDance, DataBricks and Stripe; for reference, the median market cap of an S&P 500 company is about $40 billion. Per Bloomberg calculations, Wall Street could soon usher some $2.9 trillion worth of private companies into public markets.

Two Tickets to Paradise: While Musk may not have a ticket to Mars yet, a SpaceX IPO would be a second ticket to becoming the world’s first trillionaire. The first, of course, is Musk’s recently secured and first-of-its-kind 12-figure pay package at Tesla, which requires the company to reach some moonshot sales goals. Take it as a valuable lesson: Shoot for the moon, twice if you can, for even if you miss, you’ll land atop the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.