SpaceX Is Going Public at $1.8 Trillion. Here's What Investors Need to Know Before the Biggest IPO in History.

It's finally happening. After years of speculation, Elon Musk's SpaceX could begin trading on the Nasdaq stock exchange on June 12. SpaceX plans to sell 555.6 million shares at a firm $135 per share, valuing the company at approximately $1.8 trillion. Additionally, SpaceX is allocating 30% of the shares to individual investors (via select retail brokerages), making the stock far more accessible than many IPOs.

It is shaping up to be a huge event, marking the largest IPO in history. SpaceX is the most prominent space stock, but in typical Elon Musk fashion, the company has its sights set on a multitrillion-dollar market opportunity that's literally out of this world. Here's what else you need to know.

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SpaceX is a unique dual investment in space and AI

Most people know that SpaceX launches rockets into space, or maybe they have heard of Starlink. But SpaceX has been a private company throughout its existence, so the actual breakdown of the business and its financials haven't been as clear until recent regulatory filings. SpaceX has three operating segments: space, connectivity, and artificial intelligence (AI).

The space segment includes launch services using its Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy reusable rockets. SpaceX currently accounts for approximately 80% of the world's mass (cargo and crew) launched to orbit. Its connectivity segment houses Starlink, which provides satellite broadband across 164 countries. Lastly, its AI segment includes its Colossus data centers and xAI (Grok AI and X, formerly Twitter), which was acquired earlier this year.

For investors, this collection of businesses and assets makes SpaceX the undisputed leader in space infrastructure. The company also plans to put AI data centers in space, and recently landed a major compute deal with Anthropic for its Colossus 1 data center in Tennessee. The company earned $18.6 billion in revenue last year, and believes its total addressable market across space and AI is as high as $28.5 trillion.

The valuation is controversial, and something to consider before buying the stock

It's fair to pump the brakes a bit here. As Tesla investors have seen, Musk sets his sights high, and execution often takes far longer than he initially claims (and sometimes doesn't happen as he promotes). Autonomous driving is still an ongoing endeavor. But even more controversial than SpaceX's goal of putting AI data centers in space is the company's staggering valuation. At a $1.8 trillion valuation, SpaceX will immediately become one of the world's largest companies by market value.

Investors will want to chew on this before buying the stock. At $1.8 trillion, SpaceX would trade at more than 96 times last year's revenue. That will make it one of the market's most expensive stocks, especially for a company of this size. SpaceX also isn't profitable. It posted an operating loss of $1.9 billion in the first quarter of 2026, led by the AI segment's $2.4 billion loss.

Buying the stock also means completely trusting Elon Musk, who will have overwhelming control over the company because of how SpaceX structured its voting shares. So, while SpaceX is hitting the public market, it's still Musk's rocket ship. The one certainty is that SpaceX will be a fascinating story to watch unfold over the coming months and years.

Justin Pope has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Tesla. The Motley Fool recommends Nasdaq. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.