Short sellers pocket $8.7B as SpaceX shares sink back to IPO price

SpaceX went public to enormous fanfare. Six weeks later, the people making the most money are the ones who bet against it.

Short sellers had accumulated roughly $8.7 billion in paper profits as of July 16, 2026, after SpaceX shares fell back to their IPO price of $135. The stock, which trades under the ticker SPCX, touched an intraday low of $132.15, briefly dipping below the level at which the company first sold shares to the public on June 12.

From $225 to $132 in six weeks

Shares peaked at $225.64 shortly after the June debut, a gain of roughly 67% from the offering price. By mid-July, the stock had given back essentially all of those gains, trading at or below the $135 IPO price for the fourth consecutive session. Bloomberg reported that short sellers had already booked around $3.88 billion in profits just one day before the $8.7 billion figure landed, meaning the bears added nearly $5 billion in a single day as the sell-off accelerated.

The IPO itself priced at $135 per share on June 12, 2026, raising approximately $75 billion in total capital.

What spooked investors

Two announcements appear to have done the most damage to the bull case.

First, SpaceX disclosed plans for a senior unsecured notes offering, effectively signaling that it intended to take on significant new debt after already raising $75 billion in equity.

Second, SpaceX announced a $60 billion acquisition deal structured heavily around stock-based transactions.

Short interest, which sat in the modest range of 5% to 7% of the tradable float in the days around the IPO, has since climbed to an estimated 28%.

What this means for investors holding the stock

Here is the uncomfortable math for anyone who bought SPCX above $135: the stock is now trading at or below your entry point if you participated in the IPO, and below it if you bought in the aftermarket excitement.

The $60 billion acquisition and the planned bond sale remain the central risks to watch. If the acquisition closes on terms that further dilute existing shareholders, or if the debt offering prices at yields that signal market skepticism about SpaceX’s creditworthiness, both could act as fresh catalysts for selling.

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