Is Now the Right Time to Add SpaceX to Your Portfolio -- or Is Patience the Better Move?

When Space Exploration Technologies (NASDAQ: SPCX) -- known as SpaceX -- debuted on June 12, everyone wondered what the demand would look like. Would investors show up, or would the initial public offering (IPO) be an instance of the hype not living up to expectations?

At least on the first day, the answer was that investors showed up. According to Bloomberg, retail investors submitted more than $100 billion in orders for the IPO. And by the end of the first trading day, it was one of the most valuable publicly traded companies in the world. That said, some investors are still waiting to see how early trading in SpaceX stock plays out before jumping in.

It has performed well initially, but for those still mulling a decision, it may still be best to wait before buying.

Image source: Getty Images.

There's a ton of upside potential

SpaceX listed an ambitious total addressable market (TAM) of $28.5 trillion in its IPO prospectus. Of that total, it believes $26.5 trillion consists of opportunities related to artificial intelligence (AI). That number is more of a theoretical maximum rather than anything else, but it highlights long-term upside potential.

For SpaceX, one of its biggest opportunities is in building out AI infrastructure, both on Earth and in space. Before its IPO, it showed how lucrative building that infrastructure can be, as it signed a deal with Alphabet-owned Google, renting out computing capacity for $920 million per month for 32 months. Before that, it signed a deal with the AI start-up Anthropic for $1.2 billion per month in computing capacity, with the deal potentially lasting up to 2029.

Elon Musk's company also plans to launch orbital data centers that harness solar power. That can help alleviate some environmental concerns about ground-based data centers and bypass bottlenecks for scaling up AI. In its S-1 filing for its IPO with the Securities and Exchange Commission, management said, "We expect the combination of competitive cost per token, our ability to deploy and operate data centers in orbit, and our strength in connectivity to result in more scalable intelligence that is accessible globally at high speeds."

There's also plenty of risk

SpaceX's ambitions aren't cheap, and the company is experiencing losses as it builds out its AI infrastructure. According to research from The Motley Fool:

SpaceX aggressively expanded its technological footprint in 2025, investing roughly $19 billion in AI as overall spending continued to accelerate. In total, the company reported a 2025 operating loss of $6.4 billion from AI, with $12.7 billion in AI capital expenditures (capex) and $5.1 billion in AI research and development. Additionally, the company recorded $9.1 billion in "other financings," representing AI infrastructure assets categorized as failed sale-leaseback transactions.

In 2025, SpaceX reported a net loss of $4.9 billion. The losses may continue for some time, as the company expects to incur significant capital expenditures before its AI products and services become profitable, if at all.

Why patience is still the key

For investors who sat out the SpaceX IPO, some hesitation kept them on the sidelines on its first day of trading. One day of price gains or even a few days of gains, however, most likely will not negate the likely reasons most people sat out.

The company's long-term ambitions are exactly that: long-term. It's a situation reminiscent of Tesla, which didn't instantly reward investors. It took years for the company to find its footing, and it will likely be a similar experience for SpaceX shareholders.

That means it's perfectly fine to remain patient, start with a small position and build over time, or keep tabs on how the company has performed after a few quarterly earnings reports before making a move. Timing this stock is less important than the amount of time you plan to hold shares.

Jack Delaney has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet and Tesla. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.