The SpaceX IPO Could Be Bigger Than Amazon's. Here's How to Get Exposure Now.

SpaceX's public listing could be one of the biggest IPOs ever, and a comparison with Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) shows just how unusually large that may be. Amazon was worth about $438 million when it went public in May 1997. SpaceX, by contrast, is reportedly targeting a valuation of roughly $1.75 trillion to $2 trillion -- around 4,000 to 4,600 times larger than Amazon was at its IPO.

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Reuters has also reported that SpaceX may allocate as much as 30% of the shares it's selling in its IPO to retail investors. That's at least three times the typical retail allocation. However, the company's already lofty valuation could limit the upside for those who buy in.

Instead, investors may prefer to look at Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOG) (NASDAQ: GOOGL), a credible, liquid, and lower-risk route to indirect exposure in SpaceX.

Indirect exposure to SpaceX

In 2015, Alphabet (then Google) and Fidelity invested $1 billion in SpaceX, with the two investors collectively receiving close to a 10% stake in the company. Alphabet had reportedly invested around $900 million and secured a nearly 7% stake in SpaceX.

However, the stake was reportedly down to around 6.11% as of the end of 2025, according to a filing submitted in the state of Alaska. Bloomberg's calculations further suggest that Alphabet's SpaceX stake may have been diluted to roughly 5% due to SpaceX's merger with xAI. At a $2 trillion valuation, that stake would be worth about $100 billion.

SpaceX is not just a hyped rocket-and-satellite company. While the overall business is not yet profitable, its connectivity segment, which includes the Starlink satellite network, earned almost $11.4 billionin revenue in 2025. SpaceX's next-generation reusable rocket system, Starship, could support larger Starlink deployments and open new markets such as lunar missions and the deployment of next-generation space infrastructure. Subsequently, the value of Alphabet's stake could increase over time, although Starship remains technically a risky opportunity.

Alphabet stock is not a proxy for SpaceX. However, while its search, YouTube, cloud, and artificial intelligence (AI) businesses are the core drivers of its earnings and revenues, its SpaceX investment gives it a potentially valuable upside catalyst.

Manali Pradhan, CFA has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet and Amazon. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.