SpaceX's stock extended gains in premarket trading following a dramatic Nasdaq debut that pushed the company's market value to roughly $2.1 trillion. The rocket and satellite operator completed what market participants called the largest initial public offering in history, raising $75 billion in the process.
Trading under the ticker SPCX, the stock opened at $150 on its first day of trading, reached an intraday peak of $176.52, and finished the session at about $161 after an initial 19% surge. By 04:08 ET (08:08 GMT) on Monday, SPCX had advanced another 5.8% in premarket action, a move that added roughly $120 billion to the company's market capitalisation.
Volume was heavy on the first trading day, with more than 500 million shares changing hands. That level of turnover approached the activity seen during Facebook's market debut in 2012, which registered about 580 million shares traded.
In remarks delivered on a JPMorgan Chase livestream before the listing, the chief executive of SpaceX said the company had been cash-flow positive since around 2015 and described the IPO as the opening of "a significant growth phase." The CEO outlined several growth initiatives, including plans to deploy more than 100,000 satellites for communications and to construct artificial intelligence data centres in space.
Analysts at Jefferies reiterated their investment case for the broader space economy in a note republished to coincide with the offering. The firm argued that "space is now a strategic industrial sector," and that public policy and geopolitics in the United States and China will be central drivers of returns in the industry.
Jefferies estimated that the global space economy is currently about $600 billion and could expand to $1.8 trillion by 2035. Within that total, the brokerage identified defence as the fastest-growing category.
The note also detailed government spending patterns. Jefferies estimated the U.S. government accounts for roughly 60% of global government spending on space, at around $80 billion, a figure it said exceeds the combined spending of the rest of the world. In nominal terms, China was estimated to spend about $20 billion on space.
Fiscal 2026 shows notable shifts in U.S. defence space funding: the Space Force budget rose 40% year-on-year, driven in part by the Golden Dome missile defence programme, taking Space Force outlays to $40 billion, which the analysts noted is considerably larger than NASA's $24 billion budget.
Jefferies also highlighted SpaceX's position among federal contractors, noting the company was NASA's second-largest commercial contractor by dollars received, behind only Caltech. For full-year 2025, SpaceX was reported to have received $2.1 billion in contracts spanning launch services, communications and IT infrastructure.
"The U.S. government has effectively outsourced significant space activity to SpaceX, creating an inextricable linkage between federal spending priorities and the company's business," the analysts wrote, underscoring the degree to which public procurement decisions may affect the company's future revenue streams.
Summary
SpaceX's shares continued to climb in premarket trading after a record-setting IPO that valued the company at about $2.1 trillion and raised $75 billion. Heavy early trading, executive comments about long-term cash flow and expansion plans, and analyst notes framing space as a strategic industrial sector drew investor attention.
Key points
- SpaceX raised $75 billion in the IPO and reached a market capitalisation near $2.1 trillion after its Nasdaq debut.
- Trading volumes topped 500 million shares on day one, approaching the levels seen during Facebook's IPO in 2012.
- Jefferies projects the global space economy could grow from about $600 billion to $1.8 trillion by 2035 and flagged defence as the fastest-growing segment; U.S. federal spending is a dominant component of that market.
Risks and uncertainties
- Reliance on government spending: Analysts point to a close linkage between federal procurement priorities and SpaceX's business, implying that shifts in public budgets or priorities could materially affect revenue across launch, communications and infrastructure contracts.
- Policy and geopolitical drivers: Jefferies emphasised that U.S. and Chinese public policy and geopolitics will be key determinants of returns in the space sector, introducing outcome uncertainty tied to international relations and policy decisions.
- Growth projections: Estimates that the space economy could triple by 2035 are subject to execution and demand risks; achieving such expansion depends on multiple factors discussed by analysts, including defence spending trends.