SpaceX enjoyed a strong debut as a public company, with its shares opening at $150 on the Nasdaq after being priced at $135 in Thursday’s IPO. The opening price represented a gain of roughly 11% over the offering price.
The stock continued to climb during the trading session, reaching an intraday high of $176 and briefly pushing the company’s market value close to $2.3 trillion. By the closing bell, SpaceX shares finished at $160.95, up 19% from the IPO price.
The strong performance was widely expected. According to Bloomberg, the offering was oversubscribed four times, meaning many institutional investors were unable to secure the allocations they requested. It was forced to purchase shares on the open market.
The company’s limited public float has also amplified demand. Only about 4% of SpaceX shares were made available for public trading, while employees and early investors continue to hold the vast majority of the stock. In addition, SpaceX successfully pushed for changes to index inclusion rules, allowing the company to join major benchmarks such as the Nasdaq 100 much sooner than usual, potentially driving additional institutional demand.
Robinhood reported “record-breaking” traffic on its platform following the company’s stock market debut as investors rushed to trade shares.
The IPO has also generated one of the largest venture capital windfalls in history. Bloomberg estimates that Founders Fund’s 3% stake, acquired through investments totalling about $600 million, is now worth more than $50 billion at the IPO price. Andreessen Horowitz’s stake is valued at over $10 billion, while Sequoia’s holdings exceed $20 billion.
The debut also made founder Elon Musk the world’s first trillionaire. According to The New York Times, approximately 4,400 current and former SpaceX employees are expected to become millionaires. In comparison, roughly 400 employees will reach centimillionaire status as a result of the company’s public listing.
