Meet the Trillion-Dollar Company Retail Investors Have Spent More Money Buying Than Any Other Stock in July
Key Points
Retail investors are becoming a force on Wall Street, with one analysis finding that everyday investors accounted for a quarter of total equities trading volume in 2021.
Individual investors have piled $320 million into Wall Street's buzziest trillion-dollar stock since the start of the month.
Although this company is tackling two trillion-dollar addressable opportunities, its laundry list of red flags is a mile long.
- 10 stocks we like better than Space Exploration Technologies ›
Investing isn't just for Wall Street's biggest financial institutions anymore. According to an analysis by the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law, retail investors accounted for 25% of total equities trading volume in 2021, which was nearly double the reported percentage from the previous decade.
As retail investors make their presence felt, it pays to know which stocks they're buying. Based on data aggregated by Vanda Research, as of July 17, one stock was the runaway winner in terms of net flows by individual investors in July -- and neither Nvidia nor Apple even made the list of top buys. The trillion-dollar stock that retail investors are piling into is none other than Elon Musk's Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) (NASDAQ: SPCX).
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Image source: Getty Images.
The buzziest IPO in history combines Wall Street's two hottest trends
Data from Vanda shows that retail investors spent $320 million through the first 2.5 weeks of July purchasing shares of SpaceX. To put this figure into perspective, retail investors poured four times as much into SpaceX as they did into Alphabet, Amazon, and Tesla, combined!
Some of this buzz certainly ties into SpaceX's record-breaking initial public offering (IPO). SpaceX raised $85.7 billion from its debut, including the underwriters' overallotment option.
Retail investors have poured $320 million into SpaceX $SPCX this month--by far the most of any individual stock 🚀 pic.twitter.com/DiTCixpPal
-- Barchart (@Barchart) July 20, 2026
It's also tackling two of the hottest trillion-dollar addressable opportunities on the planet: artificial intelligence (AI) and space. SpaceX's prospectus laid out a $28.5 trillion addressable market, $26.5 trillion of which is tied to AI start-up xAI.
Furthermore, Musk has generated otherworldly returns as Tesla's CEO, and retail investors are hoping for an encore performance as CEO of SpaceX.
But while the catalysts are evident, so is the laundry list of risk factors.
Image source: Getty Images.
SpaceX may represent the biggest fleecing of retail investors in Wall Street's storied history
Retail investors who purchased SpaceX stock in July have little to be thankful for, with shares down 28% since the month began (through the closing bell on July 21). Despite the early buzz that lifted SpaceX to a nearly $3 trillion valuation, reality is setting in.
While SpaceX is tackling two trillion-dollar addressable opportunities, the company isn't profitable and hasn't yet established that its capital-intensive operations are even sustainable over the long term. The extensive funding needs for xAI and the company's space infrastructure are likely to result in dilutive equity and/or debt offerings.
Retail investors are also on the verge of being fleeced by insiders.
Great look at the SpaceX shares unlock schedule as well as the potential passive buying schedule from @JSeyff @FrancisSharoon Depending on the early post-IPO returns, this could really play with and disperse the returns of "passive" funds (which is why there's arguably no such... pic.twitter.com/KOuEkJlngF
-- Eric Balchunas (@EricBalchunas) May 28, 2026
Whereas most newly public companies prohibit insiders from selling their shares for 180 days after debut, SpaceX is using an accelerated and staggered unlock schedule for select insiders. Beginning as early as two days after the company's first quarterly report on Aug. 4, insiders can start cashing out at retail investors' expense. This wealth transfer from retail investors to insiders should continue through mid-December.
Additionally, Elon Musk doesn't have the best track record of delivering on his outlandish guarantees. Although these promises are baked into Tesla's share price, the overwhelming majority of innovative promises made by Tesla's and SpaceX's boss have failed to come to fruition.
Retail investors piling into SpaceX in July are likely to regret their decision.
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Sean Williams has positions in Alphabet and Amazon. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Nvidia, and Tesla. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
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