SpaceX Stock Falls Below IPO Price After Record Listing

Shares of Space Exploration Technologies Corp., trading as SPCX, have fallen below their initial public offering price after the company completed the largest IPO in U.S. history on June 12. The company was valued at nearly $1.8 trillion with a listing price of $135 per share. Following a peak of approximately $202 on its third trading day, the stock dropped 36% to $129, eventually closing at $119 on July 20.

Financial analysts cite high risk and an expensive valuation as primary drivers for the decline. The stock currently trades at 88 times sales, which is 40% more expensive than Palantir Technologies. Morningstar previously estimated a fair value of $63 for the company. Prospectus data reveals that last year's capital expenditures of $20 billion exceeded the company's revenue of $18 billion.

Despite these financial pressures, SpaceX has quadrupled its connectivity subscribers over three years and increased its orbital launches. The company plans to leverage its reusable rocket architecture to deploy orbital AI data centers, though these are not expected to launch until 2028 at the earliest.