SpaceX IPO draws $100 billion in retail investor demand

MUMBAI: Looks like investors aren’t just reaching for the stars, they’re queuing up to buy a piece of the rocket. SpaceX’s much-anticipated stock market debut is already generating gravity-defying interest, with retail investors reportedly placing more than $100 billion worth of orders ahead of the company’s blockbuster initial public offering (IPO).

According to a Bloomberg report, demand from individual investors has surged from over $70 billion earlier in the marketing process, underscoring the extraordinary appetite for what is expected to become the largest IPO in history.

The Elon Musk-led company is expected to reserve at least 20 per cent of the offering for retail investors. However, with the IPO targeting a $75 billion raise, the sheer scale of demand suggests that many aspiring shareholders may be left watching from the launchpad.

SpaceX is expected to price the offering at $135 per share, with approximately 555.6 million shares on offer. At that valuation, the company would be worth around $1.8 trillion, placing it among the world’s most valuable listed businesses from day one.

Institutional investors have been equally eager to climb aboard. The offering has reportedly attracted orders from around 1,000 institutional investors, with several sovereign wealth funds seeking allocations exceeding $1 billion each. Among those backing the deal are Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, Kuwait Investment Authority and the Qatar Investment Authority, highlighting the global appeal of the offering.

International investors are expected to account for less than 10 per cent of shares sold. Demand from Japan has been particularly strong, with the country’s allocation reportedly increased from $2 billion to $2.5 billion.

The overwhelming response could set the stage for a highly active trading debut, particularly given Musk’s long-standing support for retail participation. Back in 2020, the entrepreneur publicly stated that individual investors would receive priority treatment in any future SpaceX-related public offering.

The IPO is poised to eclipse the record-breaking Saudi Aramco listing of 2019 and is being led by an elite syndicate of banks including Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Bank of America, Citigroup and JPMorgan Chase, alongside 18 additional financial institutions.

SpaceX is expected to begin trading on Nasdaq and Nasdaq Texas under the ticker symbol SPCX.

While best known for reusable rockets and ambitious Mars missions, SpaceX has evolved into a far broader technology enterprise. Its Starlink satellite internet network now serves more than 10 million users worldwide through thousands of satellites in orbit, creating a substantial revenue engine beyond launch services.

The company has also been expanding its ambitions in artificial intelligence and space-based computing infrastructure, positioning itself at the intersection of two of the world’s fastest-growing technology sectors.

For investors, the attraction is clear, this is not merely a bet on rockets. It is a wager on a company attempting to redefine connectivity, computing and humanity’s future beyond Earth, all in a single launch.