SpaceX’s record initial public offering has pushed Elon Musk’s rocket and satellite internet company into the upper tier of the world’s largest companies by market capitalisation, adding a major new name to a ranking dominated by technology, artificial intelligence and semiconductor firms.
The company priced its initial public offering at $135 per share, raising about $75 billion and giving SpaceX a market value of $1.77 trillion.
The valuation put SpaceX eighth among the world’s largest companies by market capitalisation, behind Broadcom at $1.83 trillion, as of Thursday’s market closing prices and ahead of Saudi Aramco at $1.75 trillion and Tesla at $1.25 trillion.
Unlike most companies at the top of the global market-cap table, SpaceX operates in a capital-intensive industry built around rocket launches, satellite communications, defence-related contracts and long-term space infrastructure.
It has become one of the most closely watched companies in the world over the past decade, driven by reusable rocket technology, NASA missions, the Starlink broadband network and its broader ambition to reduce the cost of access to space.
Starlink has expanded into residential, business, maritime, aviation and government services, making satellite internet one of the company’s most important growth drivers.
The listing marks a major shift in the global market-cap table.
Future orbital infrastructure
For years, the top ranks have been led by US technology platforms, chipmakers and Cloud-computing companies, while Saudi Aramco has remained one of the few non-US names among the largest firms. SpaceX adds a company whose valuation is tied to launch services, satellite-based connectivity and future orbital infrastructure.
