SpaceX just filed for what could be the biggest IPO ever

# SpaceX just filed for what could be the biggest IPO ever Source: [https://www.theverge.com/business/902219/spacex-ipo-details](https://www.theverge.com/business/902219/spacex-ipo-details) Elon Musk’s final frontier is officially open for business now that SpaceX has[formally filed its S\-1 prospectus](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1181412/000162828026036936/spaceexplorationtechnologi.htm)with the SEC\. That kicks off what could be[the largest initial public offering ever](https://www.theverge.com/tech/887899/spacex-ipo-risks-ai)when it lists on the Nasdaq stock exchange with the ticker SPCX\. SpaceX generated $18\.67 billion in revenue in 2025, driven largely by its Starlink satellite internet service, which brought in more than $11 billion, as[reported by*The Wall Street Journal*](https://www.wsj.com/finance/spacex-files-ipo-spcx-stock-2c52451d)\. The company lost over $4\.9 billion last year, with capital expenditures soaring to $20\.7 billion last year, a leap from $11\.2 billion in 2024,[as reported by*The New York Times*](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/20/technology/elon-musk-spacex-ipo.html?partner=slack&smid=sl-share)\. xAI,[which recently merged](https://www.theverge.com/tech/872619/elon-musk-merges-spacex-with-xai-and-x)with SpaceX, lost billions last year, while growing revenue by 22 percent,[according to*TechCrunch*](https://techcrunch.com/2026/05/20/the-spacex-ipo-filing-has-arrived/)*\.* For months, rumors have swirled that SpaceX was preparing a historic market debut, with whispers of a[$1\.75 trillion valuation](https://www.cnbc.com/2026/03/25/space-stocks-.html)and a record\-shattering $75 billion raise\. Now that the paperwork is public, we finally have our first real look at the financials behind the company that normalized reusable rockets, built a space internet monopoly, and absorbed Musk’s xAI and the dredges of Twitter into its orbit\. The S\-1 filing contains[a long list of risk factors,](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1181412/000162828026036936/spaceexplorationtechnologi.htm#:~:text=Table%20of%20Contents-,RISK%20FACTORS,-Investing%20in%20our)as is standard for these documents, including this one: > Several of our anticipated market opportunities, including certain AI, orbital, lunar, and interplanetary transportation and industrial activities, are still emerging and evolving or do not currently exist, and such markets may not develop as we expect, or at all\. It also says its “substantial level of indebtedness could materially adversely affect our financial condition\.” According to the*WSJ*, Musk’s supervoting shares will give him 85 percent control over the company\. In addition to Musk, SpaceX president Gwynne Shotwell, and CFO Bret Johnson, the SEC filing lists several other members of SpaceX’s board of directors, including Google executive Donald Harrison, Tesla board member Ira Ehrenpreis, as well as investors Randy Glein, Antonio Gracias, Steve Jurvetson, and Luke Nosek\. SpaceX describes its mission to investors as: > Our mission is to build the systems and technologies necessary to make life multiplanetary, to understand the true nature of the universe, and to extend the light of consciousness to the stars\. To do this, we have formed the most ambitious, vertically integrated innovation engine on \(and off\) Earth with unmatched capabilities to rapidly manufacture and launch space\-based communications that connect the world, to harness the Sun to power a truth\-seeking artificial intelligence that advances scientific discovery, and ultimately to build a base on the Moon and cities on other planets\. SpaceX currently leads the industry in commercial space launches, with its massive Starship V3 rocket[scheduled for flight on Thursday](https://www.space.com/news/live/spacex-starship-flight-12-launch-updates-may-20-2026)following a delay\. The document repeatedly brings up establishing “orbital AI compute” by putting servers in space as a massive opportunity for revenue and one that it is uniquely positioned to deliver\. In January, SpaceX asked the Federal Communications Commission for permission to launch one million[data center satellites into space](https://www.theverge.com/tech/871641/spacex-fcc-1-million-solar-powered-data-centers-satellites-orbit)to support a growing AI buildout\. [](https://platform.theverge.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/a02_businesstamchart.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=13.053028747433,8.8869140191069,72.093942505133,85.425461008665) It’s telling investors that SpaceX believes it has “identified the largest actionable total addressable market \(TAM\) in human history,” potentially worth $28\.5 trillion, with $370 billion from space, $1\.6 trillion in connectivity with Starlink Broadband and Starlink Mobile, and $26\.5 trillion in AI, which includes AI infrastructure, subscriptions, advertising, and $22\.7 trillion in enterprise applications\. **Follow topics and authors**from this story to see more like this in your personalized homepage feed and to receive email updates\. - Thomas Ricker - Emma Roth