SpaceX Eyes Historic IPO Amid High Valuation Hopes

SpaceX filed confidentially for an initial public offering (IPO) on April 1, 2026, signaling its intent to enter the public market. The company, which recently merged with Elon Musk's AI startup xAI, is targeting a valuation exceeding $2 trillion, a figure that would place it among the world's top ten most valuable companies. This valuation is significantly higher than that of Tesla and Meta Platforms, and the IPO could raise up to $75 billion, potentially making it the largest in history. As of December 2024, SpaceX was valued at $350 billion based on a secondary share sale, but the recent merger with xAI pushed its valuation to $1.25 trillion. The xAI acquisition, valued at $250 billion, was structured as a share exchange and assessed by Morgan Stanley and other banks, though it does not reflect the views of public investors. SpaceX's profitability, largely driven by its Starlink satellite internet service, is expected to provide financial stability for xAI, which is currently burning cash to compete in the AI sector. The combined entity is also preparing for Musk's vision of space-based data centers, a project some scientists question in terms of feasibility. Despite its profitability, SpaceX's revenue and profits remain smaller than those of companies with similar valuations. In 2025, the company reported between $15 billion and $16 billion in revenue and $8 billion in EBITDA. At the targeted $2 trillion valuation, SpaceX would trade at a price-to-sales ratio of approximately 130 and a price-to-EBITDA ratio of 250, far exceeding the S&P 500 average. These metrics highlight the speculative nature of the valuation, which may be driven more by Musk's ambitious future plans than current financial performance.