SpaceX soars in debut on the US stock market and becomes worth US$ 1.9 trillion
SpaceX rose 21.7% in its debut on the Nasdaq this Friday (12), taking its valuation to around US$1.96 trillion, as investors pounced on the world's biggest initial public offering (IPO) and joined Elon Musk's vast empire, which spans rockets, satellite communications and artificial intelligence.
Shares opened trading at $150, compared to the IPO price of $135 per share.
The deal was being closely watched because of what was at stake for the IPO market, which some bankers said could face difficulties if SpaceX shares closed below Thursday's price level.
As SpaceX is widely seen as a dress rehearsal for a new generation of major IPOs, market participants will also be watching for signs about investor appetite ahead of upcoming initial public offerings (IPOs) from AI giants Anthropic and OpenAI.
The stock's performance will also be a test of the so-called "Musk premium," which has been the force behind Tesla's $1 trillion-plus valuation, despite coming under pressure during Musk's active role in President Donald Trump's administration.
The historic listing cemented Musk's status as the first trillionaire in history and propelled SpaceX into the ranks of the world's most valuable companies - even though the company posted a loss of nearly $5 billion last year and generated just a fraction of the revenue enjoyed by similarly valued tech giants.
"I gave SpaceX a 10% chance of succeeding," Musk said in Texas shortly before the start of trading.
World's largest IPO
The record-breaking IPO is the culmination of Musk's long-standing ambitions in the space and technology sector, and has distinguished itself by redefining the rules of the IPO game on Wall Street and attracting a legion of retail investors to the market.
At US$75 billion, the funds raised from the operation were more than double those raised in Saudi Aramco's record initial public offering in 2019.
While SpaceX may have to wait to join the S&P 500, its expected accelerated inclusion in the Nasdaq 100 will soon make it a key holding for passive funds and ETFs that track the index, creating a new source of demand for its shares.
It will take about a month for it to be added to this index under Nasdaq's new rapid entry rules, in contrast to the typical wait of up to a year.
Some analysts expect SpaceX's debut to trigger a reorganization of investor portfolios, creating selling pressure on other technology heavyweights as funds redirect their resources into the company's shares.
*with information from Reuters.
Source: CNN