SpaceX disclosed Wednesday that it has filed confidentially with the SEC for an initial public offering, with a stock market debut expected next month. The filing marks a milestone for the commercial space giant, which has grown from a Mars-colonization startup into NASA's key partner and operator of the Starlink satellite network.
Founded by Musk in 2002, the company has become the most successful commercial space enterprise globally, spurring rival efforts from billionaires like Jeff Bezos and Richard Branson. Its recent acquisition of xAI — Musk's frontier lab that had just merged with X (formerly Twitter) — signals a strategic pivot toward orbital data centers.
Financial results reflect the complexity of recent mergers. SpaceX reported a $4.9 billion net loss on $18.67 billion in revenue for 2025, inclusive of its entire current business. In the first quarter of 2026, it booked a $4.27 billion net loss on $4.69 billion in revenue.
The IPO is expected to be the largest in history, potentially vaulting Musk to trillionaire status. Investors will weigh the company's heavy losses against its dominant position in space launch, satellite internet, and emerging orbital computing.
Critics caution that the merger-fueled financials obscure underlying performance, and the high valuation may test market appetite for a capital-intensive space venture.