If You Invested $2K in the SpaceX IPO, How Much Do You Have Now?

SpaceX’s IPO was the biggest in history, raising $75 billion at $135 a share.¹ The offering sparked much excitement, with retail investors keen on buying into one of the world’s most closely watched companies. If you had invested $2,000 at the $135 IPO price, here’s how much your investment would be worth today, and why the company’s long-term prospects may matter far more than its first few weeks as a public stock.

A Record-Breaking IPO, By the Numbers

SpaceX’s IPO was remarkable not just because of its size, but because it gave individual investors an unusually large opportunity to participate. A typical IPO reserves just 5% to 10% of its shares for retail investors. ² SpaceX initially targeted as much as 30% for retail buyers, more than triple the norm, though that allocation was ultimately cut to the low 20% range before the deal closed, as institutional demand proved even stronger than expected. ³ Even at the reduced share, retail investors submitted more than $100 billion in orders ahead of the debut.

The excitement reflected more than just the numbers. SpaceX entered the public markets valued at close to $1.77 trillion at the offering price, backed by businesses including Starlink, its commercial launch operations and its AI division following the xAI acquisition. Elon Musk’s track record of attracting retail investors through companies like Tesla also fueled investor interest.

A financial advisor could help you look past market excitement when evaluating investments like SpaceX for your portfolio.

What $2,000 Could Have Potentially Bought

An investor who put $2,000 into the SpaceX IPO at the $135 offering price would have purchased about 14.8 shares ($2,000 ÷ $135), assuming fractional shares were available. In the days after the IPO, the stock surged as high as $225.64, which would have pushed that same $2,000 to roughly $3,340 (14.8 shares × $225.64), a paper gain of nearly 67%. ⁴

That rally didn’t hold. By mid-July, about a month after the IPO, SpaceX shares had fallen back to around $135.27, close to where they started. ⁵ The same $2,000 investment is worth approximately $2,002 today (14.8 shares × $135.27), essentially unchanged from the original investment despite the dramatic swings along the way.

That round trip, from a 67% paper gain to essentially breakeven, is a clear illustration of why a stock’s first few weeks of trading can be a poor guide regarding its value as a long-term investment. According to SpaceX’s own S-1 filing, the company generated $18.7 billion in revenue in 2025 while posting a net loss of $4.9 billion as it continued investing heavily in Starlink, artificial intelligence and other long-term growth initiatives. ⁶ For long-term investors, those underlying business trends are likely to matter far more than anything that happened in the stock’s first month of trading.

What to Look at Beyond the First Few Weeks

For investors who bought at the IPO, the focus now shifts from the initial swings to the company’s execution. Holding may make sense if you believe in SpaceX’s long-term growth story, but upcoming earnings reports will be important. Watch whether revenue continues to expand, how much the company is spending on growth initiatives and whether those investments lead to stronger financial results over time.

For investors who missed the IPO, patience may be the better strategy. Waiting for a few quarters of public financial reporting can provide a clearer picture of the business while reducing some of the uncertainty that often comes with newly public companies.

A return of about 0.1% ($2 gain ÷ $2,000 investment) shows how quickly early gains can disappear. A more important question is whether SpaceX can continue growing its business and eventually generate more profits. Investors who are deciding whether to hold or wait may benefit from reviewing the company’s financial results.

A financial advisor could also help you evaluate how SpaceX fits into your portfolio.

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