SpaceX is in company in focus this week after the Elon Musk-led space exploration entity has filed its S-1 registration state with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, thus opening the books for what could be the largest initial public offering in history.
The rocket and satellite maker has applied to list its Class A common stock on Nasdaq under the symbol SPCX, with reports suggesting a target valuation of $2 trillion.
The prospectus shared by SpaceX is not something investors get to read every day, especially for a company pitching itself for an IPO. It mentions asteroid mining, and transportation to Mars as future revenue generators and breaks in detail Elon Musk's voting rights. From Mars to Moon, here are five things to know about the SpaceX IPO.
The headline loss of $4.28 billion
Perhaps the most striking thing about the SpaceX filing is the headline loss of $4.28 billion on revenue of $4.69 in the first quarter of 2026. That means the company burnt roughly a dollar of losses for every dollar of revenue in this corresponding quarter.
In the full-year 2025, SpaceX reported a loss of $4.94 billion, with accumulated deficit on balance sheet now standing at $41.3 billion. What's driving these losses? The real culprit is the absorbtion of xAI, which alone generated a $6.35 billion in operating loss in 2025 on a revenue of just $3.2 billion.
The implication of this is that SpaceX is essentially asking public-market investors to fund Musk's AI ambitions through a space and internet company.
Elon Musk's iron grip
The filing also revealed a dual-class share structure in which class B shares carry 10 votes each against one for Class A shares that will be offered to the public.
Wall Street Journal estimates Musk will hold roughly 85.1% of voting power post-IPO. This is because insiders own about 20% of class A shares and 96% of class B shares, giving them 86% of combined voting power.
This makes it impossible for investors to kick Elon Musk out of his role as CEO.
Starlink is the real star
The SpaceX IPO filing clearly suggests Starlink is the real cash cow for the company. The service's subscriber count has crossed 10.3 million across 164 countries by March 2026, with Connectivity segment revenue growing almost 50% on a yearly basis in 2025, while operating income went up 120%.
On the flip side, though, Starlink's average revenue per user (ARPU) has fallen from $99/month in 2023 to $66/month by March 2026, representing a drop of 33% in roughly two years. But this is normal given Starlink's push into price-sensitive emerging markets, including India, in an attempt to chase volume.
Capex of $20.7 billion and rising debt
Space spent as much as $20.7 billion in capex in 2025, with $12.7 billion of that going to the loss-making AI segment alone. Q12026 capex, meanwhile, was already $10.1 billion. Long-term debt at end-March 2026 stood at $29.1 billion and the filing references a fresh SpaceX Bridge Loan and an amended credit facility increasing borrowing capacity.
The S-1's risk factors flag "substantial indebtedness" as a material risk.
Markets that don't exist
SpaceX pegs its total addressable market at $28.5 trillion, which is roughly the size of the entire US GDP. Out of this, $26.5 trillion is from AI, $1.6 trillion from connectivity and $370 billion in space. The company going by the name SpaceX only has 1.3% of its total addressable market catering to space.
What is even more amusing is the 'future markets' section, where the filing has explicitly listed revenue lines that do not exist today. These includes things such as asteroid mining, in-orbit manufacturing, passenger transport to Mars, and energy production on the Moon.
The S-1's own risk factors concede the timeline for these "may be difficult or impossible to determine." The filing even namechecks Kardashev Type II civilisation status — a science-fiction concept about harvesting a star's full energy output — as part of the long-term thesis.
ALSO READ: SpaceX Filing Reveals $4.28 Billion Loss, Musk's Tight Grip
Essential Business Intelligence, Continuous LIVE TV, Sharp Market Insights, Practical Personal Finance Advice and Latest Stories — On NDTV Profit.
