SpaceX Files for IPO Targeting $1.75 Trillion Valuation

SpaceX has confidentially filed for an initial public offering with the Securities and Exchange Commission, people familiar with the matter told CNBC, Bloomberg, and Reuters on Wednesday.

The filing brings Elon Musk's rocket and satellite company one step closer to what would be the largest IPO in history, with sources indicating the company is targeting a valuation of $1.75 trillion and a listing around June 2026.

Inside investment banks, the SpaceX filing has been expected for weeks. The confidential submission allows the company to submit financials to the SEC for regulatory review before revealing them publicly. SpaceX will need to file a public S-1 at least 15 days before its roadshow begins.

The Valuation Jump

The $1.75 trillion target represents a 40% increase from the $1.25 trillion valuation set when SpaceX merged with Musk's artificial intelligence company xAI in February 2026.

"The xAI merger was the linchpin," one person familiar with the company's strategy told Bloomberg. "It brought Grok's AI models into SpaceX's operational infrastructure and gave the combined entity a credible AI story to tell public market investors."

At the targeted valuation, SpaceX would be the third-largest publicly traded company in the United States, behind only Apple and Microsoft. Musk would become the first person to helm two separate trillion-dollar public companies, with Tesla currently valued at around $1.4 trillion.

Starlink Drives Revenue

The valuation case rests heavily on Starlink, SpaceX's satellite internet service.

The service crossed 10 million subscribers in February 2026, up from 9 million in December 2025 and 4 million in September 2024. Analysts at Quilty Space forecast SpaceX will generate $20 billion in total revenue in 2026, with the vast majority coming from Starlink subscriptions and launch services.

"Starlink's growth accelerated in Q4 2025," Quilty Space wrote in a March 2026 report. "The company is tracking toward 16.8 million subscribers by year-end 2026, representing 33% growth."

The service operates on a constellation of approximately 10,000 satellites in low-earth orbit. Unlike rocket launches, which require building new hardware for each flight, Starlink generates recurring revenue once satellites are deployed. From an investment banking perspective, it's the recurring revenue story that justifies the valuation jump. Think of it as SpaceX's version of what subscription software did for enterprise tech companies: predictable cash flow at scale.

The Offering Size

Sources told multiple outlets that SpaceX could seek to raise between $50 billion and $75 billion in the offering.

At the high end, that would be more than three times the size of the current US IPO record. China's Alibaba raised $22 billion in its 2014 New York listing, ahead of Visa's $18 billion raise in 2008. To put it in cricketing terms, SpaceX isn't just looking to beat the previous high score. It's playing a different format entirely.

"You can have a great company, with great fundamentals and a lot of investor interest, and an IPO can still flop if the markets have turned south, if there's too much volatility," Reena Aggarwal, a professor of finance at Georgetown and an IPO expert, told CNBC. "Hopefully the current geopolitical situations will have cooled down by June and there will be less uncertainty."

The Nasdaq is coming off its steepest weekly drop in nearly a year, driven largely by the US-Iran conflict and rising oil prices. Market volatility has delayed several anticipated IPOs in recent months.

Government Contracts and Launch Dominance

Beyond Starlink, SpaceX has received over $24.4 billion from federal government contracts since 2008, according to FedScout, which tracks government spending.

The company became NASA's largest launch partner after the space agency ended its shuttle program in 2011. SpaceX also holds contracts with the Air Force, Space Force, and multiple other federal agencies.

In 2025 alone, SpaceX conducted 165 orbital flights and ran additional test flights of its Starship Super Heavy Launch vehicle, which is designed to eventually carry humans to Mars.

Retail Interest Expected

Georgetown's Aggarwal anticipates heavy retail investor participation in the offering.

"It's not like five other companies like this will go public in the next five years," she said. "Anyone who wants more exposure to Elon Musk, this is their opportunity to get in."

Musk is the world's richest person, with a net worth close to $840 billion according to Forbes. The vast majority of his wealth is tied to his stakes in Tesla and SpaceX.

In addition to its aerospace and satellite operations, the combined SpaceX-xAI entity also owns X, the social network formerly known as Twitter, which xAI acquired before the merger.

What Happens Next

A confidential filing starts the regulatory review process but does not commit SpaceX to going public. The company can withdraw the filing at any time before the public S-1 is submitted.

If SpaceX proceeds, it will need to file a public registration statement and financial disclosures at least 15 days before beginning its IPO roadshow, where management pitches institutional investors.

The June timeline suggests a public filing would need to happen by mid-May at the latest, giving the market its first detailed look at SpaceX's financials, revenue breakdown, and profitability.

Until then, the company remains in what investment bankers call the quiet period, limited in what it can disclose publicly about its business or the offering.