SpaceX IPO target would tower over past U.S. listings
Fortune reported SpaceX is aiming for a $135-a-share IPO that would value Elon Musk’s rocket company at $1.77 trillion.
By Hana Yoshida · Markets Reporter
2 min read
SpaceX is aiming for an initial public offering priced at $135 a share, a plan that would value the company at $1.77 trillion, Fortune reported. If completed at that level, the listing would sit far above the largest U.S.-staged IPO valuations in an inflation-adjusted comparison compiled by Fortune using Reuters data.
Fortune reported that the proposed SpaceX valuation would be about seven and a half times Alibaba Group Holding’s adjusted valuation at its 2014 IPO, which Fortune identified as the prior record holder. The same comparison put SpaceX at roughly 15 times Facebook’s IPO valuation.
The planned offering would mark a defining moment for Elon Musk’s space company, which has remained private while becoming one of the most closely watched businesses in technology and aerospace. Fortune also reported that SpaceX raised $75 billion on Thursday.
Fortune said the expected IPO could make thousands of SpaceX employees millionaires. It also cited Yahoo Finance in reporting that the offering could lift Musk’s net worth enough to make him a trillionaire.
How the valuation compares
Fortune’s comparison adjusted earlier pre-IPO valuations for inflation and focused on major IPOs staged in the United States, using Reuters as the data source. The figures show how far the proposed SpaceX valuation would exceed previous large offerings.
- Alibaba Group Holding: $236.53 billion, according to Fortune’s inflation-adjusted comparison.
- Facebook: $118.48 billion, according to Fortune.
- Uber Technologies: $98.75 billion, according to Fortune.
- AT&T Wireless Services: $133.33 billion, according to Fortune.
- United Parcel Service: $119.79 billion, according to Fortune.
- Deutsche Telekom: $109.47 billion, according to Fortune.
- Kraft Foods: $101.27 billion, according to Fortune.
- Airbnb: $52.71 billion, according to Fortune.
- Snowflake: $43.73 billion, according to Fortune.
Alibaba’s adjusted figure was the highest in Fortune’s list, followed by several major communications, logistics, consumer and technology companies. Even those valuations were a fraction of the $1.77 trillion figure Fortune reported for SpaceX’s proposed listing.
Other companies on Fortune’s top-20 list included Rivian Automotive, Didi Global, Coupang, ENEL, Banco Santander Brasil, General Motors, Visa, Gazprom, Rocket Companies, Telefonica Moviles and Blackstone. Fortune’s chart placed their adjusted valuations between $43.73 billion and $109.28 billion, depending on the company.
The proposed SpaceX IPO would therefore reset the benchmark Fortune used for the largest U.S.-staged offerings by pre-IPO valuation. Fortune did not report a completed listing, only the target price and expected valuation tied to the anticipated IPO.
This story draws on original reporting from Fortune.