SpaceX Has Listed, and You Likely Already Own It

SpaceX joins the stock market – and you may already own it

SpaceX listed on the Nasdaq Stock Market on 12 June at a valuation of around $1.77 trillion, making it the largest Initial Public Offering (IPO) of all time. Before this, shares in the well-known company were available only to a select group of investors.

As often happens, the share price rose in the days following the listing before settling somewhat lower.

Many investors now own SpaceX without even realising it or making a conscious decision to buy it. If you hold a globally diversified portfolio, it is very likely that SpaceX shares will be added to your investments within weeks of the listing.

The headlines have focused on the sheer size of the IPO, but we think it is more important to understand why it happened.

SpaceX did not grow into the public markets over decades in the way Apple or Microsoft did. Companies are staying private for much longer than they once did, meaning that, for years, much of SpaceX's growth took place where ordinary public investors could not access it.

It entered the stock market as one of the world's largest companies from day one. Nor is it simply a rocket company. It operates Starlink, the satellite internet network, and, following a merger earlier this year, also owns Elon Musk's AI company. That scale is one reason why major index providers changed their rules to allow it to be included so quickly.

How an IPO works – and why you likely already own it

An IPO is the first time a private company sells its shares to the public. The people selling are typically early investors and employees, turning years of paper wealth into cash. That is worth remembering whenever a listing is described as a rare opportunity to buy in. Someone else is choosing that same moment to sell.

New listings often experience sharp price movements during their first few months, and it is difficult to predict which direction they will take. An early rise reflects demand and media attention, rather than providing a reliable indication of the company's long-term prospects. SpaceX rose in its first few days of trading before drifting lower as initial demand eased, but neither movement tells us much about where the business will be in ten years' time.

Long-term investors do not need to decide whether SpaceX is brilliant or overpriced. If you are globally diversified, you will own it according to its weighting in the market. By the time you read this, SpaceX will have been added to many of the major global indices, with others still to follow. To include it so quickly, some index providers relaxed long-standing rules. The S&P 500 is an exception because it requires a company to be profitable before inclusion, meaning some investors may not own it for some time.

More of these are coming

Based on current reports, there may be several more mega-IPOs on the horizon. AI giants Anthropic and OpenAI are both reported to be preparing for future listings, with each already among the world's most valuable companies.

The lessons from these IPOs will be much the same. Very large private companies are entering the public markets, and diversified investors do not need to decide whether to buy them. They simply become owners as the companies are added to the indices their funds track.

For most globally diversified investors, a listing like this requires no particular action. There is a good chance you already own the company, and the same is likely to be true of the next high-profile name everyone is talking about.

If you would like to discuss how any of this applies to your own circumstances, we would be delighted to hear from you.

Compliance disclaimers

"The value of investments and any income from them can fall as well as rise. You may not get back the full amount invested. Past performance should be used as a guide only and is not a guarantee of future performance."

"Different investors will view these trade-offs differently depending on their objectives, time horizon and attitude to risk. If you would like to discuss how this relates to your own circumstances, please speak to us."