Circle Your Calendars: Sept. 9 May Be a Huge Day for SpaceX and Its Shareholders

Less than three months ago, on June 12, Elon Musk's Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) (NASDAQ: SPCX) rewrote Wall Street's record books. Not only did SpaceX become the largest-ever initial public offering (IPO), but the $85.7 billion raised from its debut, including the underwriters' overallotment, nearly tripled the previous record holder, Saudi Aramco ($29.4 billion).

But SpaceX isn't done making history. Due to its unique share unlock structure, Sept. 9 marks the next major milestone for the company and its shareholders.

Image source: Getty Images.

Insiders can cash out (again!) in a little over one week

When private companies go public, they usually prevent insiders -- high-ranking executives, board members, and beneficial owners of at least 10% of a company's outstanding shares -- from selling their shares until 180 calendar days after the IPO. This lockup period is put in place to ensure that insiders don't take advantage of early retail investor buzz.

However, Musk's SpaceX has shunned tradition. The company's mile-long registration statement (S-1) outlined an accelerated and staggered share-unlock schedule that allows certain insiders (Musk not included) to cash out far earlier than the 180-calendar-day mark.

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

Two trading days after SpaceX reported its second-quarter operating results on Aug. 4, approximately 911.5 million early release insider shares became eligible for sale. On the 70th calendar day after SpaceX's debut (Aug. 20), another 319 million early release-eligible insider shares were added to the proverbial pot.

The next share-unlock milestone occurs on the 90th trading day post-IPO, which is Sept. 9. Once again, 319 million additional shares will be eligible for sale by select insiders. The next time-based milestones will occur on Sept. 24, Oct. 9, and, by virtue of the weekend, Oct. 26.

Image source: Getty Images.

Space Exploration Technologies' insider sales may swamp retail investors

But it's not just the sheer volume of early release-eligible insider shares that can be dumped on retail investors that's potentially concerning. It's that SpaceX's float was artificially low to begin with.

Usually, private companies will sell between 10% and 25% of their outstanding shares when going public. Musk's company announced it was selling 555.6 million shares at $135 each just days before its June 12 IPO. While this might sound like a large number, it represented less than 5% of the company's outstanding shares.

Keeping the company's float (tradable shares) low was beneficial to shareholders in the weeks following SpaceX's IPO. Several major indexes altered their entry rules and granted SpaceX fast entry. This meant that some of the company's low float was gobbled up by passive funds, which artificially inflated its share price.

To be clear, this means only the S&P 500 will exclude SpaceX shortly after its IPO.

FTSE Russell adds eligible megacap IPOs after the close of the 5th trading day.

Nasdaq adds them about 15 trading days after listing.

The S&P 500 kept its rules, so SpaceX waits the full...

-- Hedgeye (@Hedgeye) June 4, 2026

But with each new share-unlock milestone, early release-eligible insiders have the opportunity to effectively flood the market with tradable shares and swamp retail investors. There's a reason I've referred to the Space Exploration Technologies IPO as the "greatest fleecing of retail investors in Wall Street's storied history."

Even if ongoing insider sales fail to completely swamp retail investors, SpaceX's operating results will likely do the trick. The company isn't particularly close to recurring profits and is trading at a price-to-sales ratio that's historically consistent with bubble territory. Additionally, hot, tech-driven IPOs don't have the best track record on Wall Street.

Sean Williams 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.