SpaceX Files for IPO on Nasdaq as Starlink Drives Revenue
CNBC reported Wednesday that SpaceX has officially filed a prospectus with the Securities and Exchange Commission, setting up a landmark public debut on the Nasdaq under ticker symbol SPCX. The filing marks the most anticipated SpaceX IPO in years and would make founder Elon Musk the chief executive of two separate trillion-dollar publicly traded companies simultaneously.
Starlink Carries the Business
The prospectus paints a clear picture of where SpaceX makes its money. Satellite internet service Starlink generated $3.26 billion in first-quarter revenue, representing 69% of the company’s total $4.69 billion quarterly haul. The company now serves roughly 10.3 million subscribers globally. Crucially, Starlink’s connectivity division is the only segment currently operating at a profit, recording $1.19 billion in operating income for the quarter. The remaining two divisions are substantial drags on overall results.
AI Unit Burns Cash at a Steep Rate
SpaceX’s AI segment, which absorbed Musk’s xAI startup ahead of the IPO, posted a $2.5 billion operating loss in the first quarter alone. Research and development costs for the unit surged more than 300% in 2025, driven by soaring spending on graphics processing units and third-party cloud infrastructure. The company carries $25.45 billion in contractual commitments, with 95% falling due in 2026 and 2027. The legacy space launch business lost $619 million on an operating basis in the same period.
How SpaceX Reached This Moment
Founded in 2002 with the goal of building reusable rockets, SpaceX grew into NASA’s primary launch contractor after the space agency retired its shuttle fleet in 2011. The company confidentially approached the SEC in April before making its filing public Wednesday. CNBC previously reported that SpaceX aims to begin roadshow presentations to institutional investors on June 8. Goldman Sachs is leading the underwriting syndicate, alongside Morgan Stanley, Bank of America, Citigroup, and JPMorgan Chase. The company was last valued at $1.25 trillion following its merger with xAI in February.
Musk’s Mars Milestone and What Comes Next
The prospectus includes an unusual executive compensation structure. Musk received one billion performance-based restricted shares in January. Those shares only vest if SpaceX establishes a permanent human settlement on Mars with at least one million residents, alongside meeting specific market capitalization targets. Each tranche requires both conditions to be satisfied while Musk remains employed. Follow-up filings are expected to disclose per-share pricing ranges and a fuller breakdown of major shareholders. The SpaceX IPO is widely seen as the first of three potential mega-listings in 2026, with OpenAI and Anthropic also eyeing public markets.
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