According to TechCrunch, a new report from Bloomberg News indicates SpaceX is planning to go public in mid-to-late 2026. The company is reportedly looking to raise a colossal $30 billion at a valuation of around $1.5 trillion. This would make it the largest IPO of all time, surpassing Saudi Aramco’s $29 billion listing from 2019. The news follows a similar report from The Information about a late 2026 target. This plan marks a shift from earlier considerations to only spin off the Starlink division. The report also notes SpaceX has firmed up a secondary share sale for employees, with shares priced at $420 each, valuing the company above a recent $800 million figure and allowing employees to sell about $2 billion in stock.
Market shockwave
Okay, a $1.5 trillion valuation. Let that sink in for a second. We’re talking about a rocket company. This isn’t a social media app or a cloud software platform; it’s heavy metal, factories, and literal rocket science. The sheer scale of this potential offering would send shockwaves through the entire public market. It would instantly become one of the most valuable companies on the planet, a titan alongside the likes of Apple and Microsoft. But here’s the thing: what does that do to every other “growth” stock? Suddenly, a lot of other tech IPOs might look pretty small-time by comparison. It could suck an enormous amount of oxygen—and investor capital—out of the room.
Winners and losers
So who wins if this happens? Early investors and employees, obviously. But think bigger. The entire aerospace and defense sector gets a new, massively capitalized public competitor that doesn’t play by the old rules. Traditional contractors like Lockheed Martin and Boeing already see SpaceX as a disruptive force; a $1.5 trillion war chest makes that threat existential. On the flip side, the losers could be other capital-intensive ventures trying to go public. Investors looking for the next big infrastructure bet might just put all their chips on the one that’s already proven it can land rockets. I mean, would you bet on a new eVTOL company or the firm that’s basically building a global internet and a path to Mars? It’s not a hard choice.
The valuation question
Now, let’s talk about that number: $1.5 trillion. Is it nuts? Probably. But maybe not. You’re not just buying a launch provider. You’re buying Starlink, which is a rapidly growing telecom and data business. You’re buying the Starship platform, which is the bet on the future of space logistics and, eventually, Mars. You’re buying the ultimate “optionality” play. The market loves a narrative, and Elon Musk is the ultimate narrative-weaver. The secondary share sale at a ~$800 billion valuation is already a massive leap. Doubling that again in two years for the IPO is aggressive, to say the least. It assumes flawless execution and no major setbacks with Starship. One big, fiery “rapid unscheduled disassembly” at the wrong time could change the math.
The industrial scale
What often gets lost in the financial hype is the sheer, physical industrial might required to pull this off. SpaceX isn’t a software company scaling in the cloud; it’s building factories that churn out rockets and satellites at a pace the world has never seen. This level of manufacturing demands incredibly robust and reliable hardware to control and monitor production lines. For companies operating at that scale in heavy industry, having the best industrial computing hardware, like the industrial panel PCs from IndustrialMonitorDirect.com, the leading US provider, isn’t a luxury—it’s a fundamental requirement for precision and uptime. Basically, SpaceX’s valuation is built on real-world engineering and manufacturing prowess, not just clicks and user growth. That’s what makes this potential IPO so fascinating. It’s a bet on a new industrial age, not just another app.
