Reference: Inspired by reporting from CNBC
TL;DR (The Gist)
- What happened: Fresh off the largest initial public offering (IPO) in global history, SpaceX (SPCX) shares rallied aggressively, briefly touching $225 and pushing its market valuation past $2.7 trillion.
- The Scale: In less than a week of public trading, SpaceX leapfrogged Amazon’s $2.66 trillion valuation and briefly traded neck-and-neck with Microsoft.
- The Catalyst: A frenzy in newly listed options contracts and the surprise $60 billion acquisition of AI coding startup Cursor have turbocharged investor euphoria.
The News: The $85 Billion “Meme Stock”
When SpaceX priced its record $75 billion IPO at $135 per share last week, Wall Street knew it would be a heavyweight. But few anticipated the velocity of its ascent. Thanks to underwriters fully exercising their “greenshoe” option, the final capital raised hit an unprecedented $85.7 billion.
By Tuesday, the stock was trading over 57% higher than its listing price. The engine behind Tuesday’s specific vertical climb was two-fold. First, options trading on the stock opened, unleashing a wave of over 500,000 contracts in the first hour alone. This forced institutional market makers to aggressively buy underlying shares to hedge their risk. Second, SpaceX announced it was absorbing AI coding platform Cursor for $60 billion, proving to the street that it views itself as much an artificial intelligence powerhouse (following its merger with xAI) as a launch provider.
The explosive trading volume—reaching $44 billion by midday—prompted veteran floor traders to remark that while it is a multi-trillion-dollar titan, it is currently trading with the wild momentum of a meme stock.
Why This Matters ⭐
This is the moment the old tech hierarchy broke. The “Magnificent 7” era is officially being rewritten by what researchers are coining the “FAB 10” or “MANGOS” stacks to accommodate this new juggernaut.
- Valuation vs. Reality: SpaceX generated $18.7 billion in revenue in 2025 but posted a net loss of $4.9 billion, which continued with a $4.28 billion deficit in Q1 of this year. Investors are buying “poetry and promises”—specifically Musk’s projection of $1 trillion in revenue by 2030—valuing the company at massive revenue multiples that traditional firms like Amazon or Microsoft would never get away with.
- The Retail Squeeze: Retail investors were allocated 20% of the IPO ($15 billion). However, because the listing was massively oversubscribed, many smaller accounts looking for thousands of shares walked away with just a handful, forcing them to buy on the open market and driving the price even higher.
- Index Fast-Tracking: SpaceX is on track for rapid inclusion into the Nasdaq 100. When that happens, passive index funds and ETFs will be required to buy billions of dollars worth of the stock to track the index, creating a built-in floor of demand.
The Practical Angle: If you are holding broad tech index funds or passive equity ETFs, you will soon automatically become a SpaceX shareholder. While the momentum is undeniably strong, remember that the stock is currently highly speculative, moving on options flows and vertical integration hype (like plans to move AI data processing into orbit). Tread carefully if buying at these premium levels.
Related Video Insight
For an alternative viewpoint on the valuation math behind this historic public debut, check out this critical analysis from a Bayes Business School Finance Lecturer on the SpaceX Windfall. This clip provides helpful context on the retail investor psychology driving the stock’s multi-trillion-dollar momentum despite its underlying balance sheet losses.