5 days ago
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SpaceX is back above water, at least for now. Shares of the Elon Musk-led aerospace company have climbed back above the $135 IPO price for the first time since mid-July, powered by a two-day surge of roughly 23% in early August.
It’s been a wild ride for investors who bought into the largest IPO ever recorded. After pricing at $135 per share on June 11, 2026 and raising approximately $75 billion, SpaceX stock closed its debut day near $161, giving the company a market capitalization of roughly $2.1 trillion. Shares then rocketed to an intraday high of $225.64 in mid-June before the whole thing came crashing back to earth.
From record highs to a trillion-dollar haircut
The decline from SpaceX’s June peak was severe by any measure. The stock shed more than 20% below its initial IPO price by late July, translating to over $1 trillion in lost market value from the mid-June highs.
Two forces conspired to push shares lower. Broader market volatility hit high-growth names across the board during July, and SpaceX, with its lofty valuation, was an easy target for profit-taking. But the bigger structural issue was a lockup expiration around August 6 that unleashed a flood of new supply. When SpaceX’s lockup expired, up to 911 million shares became eligible for trading.
A sharp reversal catches traders off guard
Starting around August 5, SpaceX shares began clawing their way back with daily gains exceeding 16% at times. By August 7, the stock had recrossed the $135 threshold, putting it back above where public investors first bought in nearly two months earlier.
Earnings reports appear to have played a role in the reversal, giving investors fresh data to reassess the company’s fundamentals rather than trading purely on supply-and-demand dynamics.
For context, the stock remains well below its $225.64 peak. Getting back to $135 means SpaceX has merely returned to break-even for IPO buyers. Anyone who bought during the euphoric first two weeks of trading is still sitting on significant losses.
What this means for the broader IPO market
The $75 billion raise was unprecedented, and it set expectations that were always going to be difficult to meet in the short term. SpaceX’s business, spanning Starlink satellite internet, government launch contracts, and the Starship program, is genuinely unique. The lockup dynamic, in particular, serves as a reminder that IPO pricing is just the opening act. The real performance begins when all the shares are free to trade.
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