On Apr. 1, Elon Musk's SpaceX confidentially filed its IPO paperwork with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, putting in motion potentially the biggest public offering in Wall Street history. The company is aiming to raise as much as $75 billion, more than three times Alibaba's (BABA) $21.8 billion U.S. listing in 2014, which still stands as the largest IPO in U.S. history. At a target valuation of $1.75 trillion, SpaceX would also become the most valuable company ever to go public on a U.S. exchange.
The company's February 2026 merger with xAI, Musk's artificial intelligence startup behind the Grok large language model, added another layer to the investment story going into the offering. The deal brought together SpaceX's launch business and Starlink's cash flow with xAI's push into computing, and the combined company was valued at $1.25 trillion at the time of the merger. Since then, Musk has moved up the IPO timeline well ahead of the original expectation for a second-half 2026 filing, catching even seasoned Wall Street players by surprise.
With the roadshow set to begin the week of June 8, SpaceX is also taking an unusual step for a deal of this size by planning a large event built specifically for retail investors. On June 11, the company plans to host 1,500 individual investors, with participation open not only to Americans, but also to retail investors in the U.K., the EU, Australia, Canada, Japan, and South Korea.
That brings the story to the key question. In an IPO market where retail investors usually get just 5% to 10% of share allocations, what does it mean, for the deal and for individual investors, if SpaceX is really setting aside as much as 30%? Let’s find out.
The Numbers Behind the Hype
The financial case for SpaceX is not based on ambition alone. The clearest example is Starlink, which has become the world's largest satellite broadband constellation and is now operating more than 10,000 active satellites in low-Earth orbit. As of early 2026, Starlink's subscriber base had already surpassed 10 million, and the growth still looks strong.
By the end of 2026, forecasts call for 16.8 million subscribers, which would mark more than 33% year-over-year (YOY) growth, along with $11.3 billion in consumer revenue, about 85% of it recurring.
Looking at the broader business, the numbers are just as striking. SpaceX is projected to generate $20 billion in total revenue, $14 billion in EBITDA, and $8.1 billion in pro forma free cash flow, showing that this is not just a fast-growing company but one with real earnings power. Beyond Starlink, SpaceX has also brought in more than $24.4 billion in federal government contracts since 2008, with about $15.4 billion of that still outstanding through 2030.
Then there is the valuation. SpaceX's confidential IPO filing pegged the company at $1.75 trillion, and if it lists at that level, Elon Musk, who owns 42% of the company, would become the first CEO to lead two separate publicly traded trillion-dollar companies.
What Could Power SpaceX’s Next Phase of Growth
The IPO is not just about giving early investors a way to cash out. It is also meant to fund very specific next steps. SpaceX CFO Bret Johnsen told employees that money from the public offering would go directly toward what he called an "insane flight rate" for the Starship rocket program. That says a lot about why the company wants to go public now. SpaceX does not need the money to stay alive. It wants the money to grow faster than private funding alone can support.
Starship is at the center of that plan. Musk has said that full reusability for Starship could slash the cost of access to space by a factor of 100, which would make launches as affordable as air freight. If SpaceX gets there, it would support much more of what the company wants to do next, including Starship cargo flights to the lunar surface starting in 2028, which would be the first vehicle to reach the moon in more than 50 years.
SpaceX has also filed with the FCC for permission to launch up to one million satellites to build data centers in space. Musk has presented that as an answer to rising energy and computing demands. Solar energy in orbit is roughly five times more efficient than on Earth, which gives the idea some real economic backing.
Wall Street’s Early Read on the Opportunity
Wall Street’s early reaction to SpaceX’s public debut has been overwhelmingly positive. Year-end 2026 forecasts call for roughly 133 Starlink launches, up more than 11% from a year earlier, with about 3,500 satellites set to be deployed, which would mark growth of more than 23%.
Those numbers help explain why many analysts see SpaceX as a company that can keep building both revenue and its orbital network at the same time. Against that backdrop, major banks are treating the IPO as a flagship deal for 2026, with several top underwriters competing for a role in what is already being described as one of the biggest market events of the year.
The valuation is where things get more demanding. Early research notes said SpaceX could list at more than 90 times projected 2025 earnings, even with a deal size that could raise tens of billions of dollars. That is a very rich multiple, but bullish investors argue it reflects Starlink’s strong subscription economics and the added upside tied to Starship, lunar cargo, and orbital computing.
Hedge fund manager Bill Ackman has added another wrinkle by proposing a SPARC structure that would let Tesla shareholders take part in the IPO directly. The idea turns the offering into a wider Musk-related investment story and shows how far some big investors are willing to go to get exposure.
Conclusion
June 11 matters because it could mark the moment SpaceX stops being a story private investors talk about and becomes a stock the public can actually own. If the deal launches on the terms being reported, the shares will probably trade higher at first because scarcity, retail demand, and Musk’s following are a powerful mix. The harder question is what happens after the opening pop, since a valuation this rich leaves little room for disappointment. My read is that early momentum likely favors the bulls, but the stock could get volatile fast once investors shift from excitement to execution.
On the date of publication, Ebube Jones did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. For more information please view the Barchart Disclosure Policy here.