SpaceX Stock: Buy, Sell, or Hold?

The Space Exploration Technologies (NASDAQ: SPCX) IPO was one of the most anticipated public offerings in years. A few days after it began trading, the stock reached an all-time high of $225, a 50% increase from its initial IPO opening price of $150.

But since then, SpaceX has retreated, and it's now trading around $143, as of this writing.

This begs the question: What should investors do with SpaceX? Here's why not buying SpaceX stock is the best strategy for now, and why holding it -- if you already own it -- is more advisable than selling.

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SpaceX stock is not a buy right now

Let me say up front that SpaceX is very good at what it does. There's a clear business opportunity in sending payloads into orbit, and the company has genuinely broken new ground in rocket launch and landing technologies. And it continues to make progress with its Starship rocket, which recently completed its 13th flight test.

But SpaceX also has some serious flaws, and chief among them is its spending. SpaceX's capital expenditures (capex) in the first six months of 2026 were $28.5 billion -- a massive 308% increase from the first half of 2025.

The spending is mainly for the company's artificial intelligence (AI) data center projects, accounting for 86% of capex spending in the second quarter. SpaceX owns the Grok AI model through its acquisition of X and is building data center capacity for its own needs and for renting to customers.

This hyperscaler business could become a growth area for SpaceX, but it isn't right now. And it's unclear when the company will make a profit from its AI data centers, if at all.

The problem is that SpaceX isn't generating enough revenue to keep pace with its spending. The company's sales were just $7.8 billion in Q2 2026, and yet it spent more than twice that much on capex in the quarter.

If all that weren't enough to give you pause before buying SpaceX, there's the stock's premium. SpaceX stock has a price-to-sales ratio of 65 right now, far above the tech sector P/S average of just about 7.

When you add up all of this, SpaceX stock isn't worth putting in your portfolio right now.

If you already own SpaceX, it's probably fine to continue holding it

As long as you don't have too much of your portfolio tied to SpaceX, it's probably fine to continue holding on to your shares for now. That's especially true if you didn't buy the stock near its high.

It's generally not a good idea to sell your shares quickly after you've bought them. A good long-term investment strategy is to hold on to the stocks you buy for at least five years. So, if you have a small position in SpaceX and you don't need the money for any other pressing financial commitments at the moment, holding the stock is probably best.

Just be ready for some of the inevitable share price swings that will come from owning SpaceX, as the company continues to spend heavily on AI without the benefit of rising profits.

Chris Neiger has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.