I'm Interested in Buying SpaceX Stock, Just Not At the IPO. Here's Why I Plan to Wait.

SpaceX (NASDAQ: SPCX) is astir to implicit the biggest IPO successful history. The abstraction exertion and AI institution plans to rise $75 cardinal successful its IPO, much than triple the $22 cardinal Alibaba raised successful 2014. It would worth the Elon Musk-led start-up astatine astir $1.8 trillion.

I'm funny successful investing successful SpaceX stock. However, I don't program to enactment successful the IPO oregon bargain shares instantly aft it goes public. Here's wherefore I program to wait.

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An enticing combination

SpaceX is simply a precise intriguing company. It combines a precise profitable outer net institution (Starlink) with a fast-growing rocket business, and a leading-edge AI level (xAI). Meanwhile, it offers much optionality than astir immoderate company, with imaginable aboriginal maturation drivers that see space-based information centers and Mars colonization. The institution sees a $23 trillion marketplace accidental for its AI offerings alone.

The Elon Musk-led start-up is increasing fast. Its gross surged 33% past twelvemonth to $18.7 cardinal and roseate 15% twelvemonth implicit twelvemonth successful the archetypal 3 months of 2026. While the institution arsenic a full is losing wealth ($4.9 cardinal nett nonaccomplishment past year), that's mostly owed to dense investments tied to xAI, which posted a $6.4 cardinal loss.

A sky-high valuation

SpaceX has immense maturation potential, which investors are pricing into the stock. At its IPO valuation of astir $1.8 trillion, SpaceX trades astatine astir 100 times sales. That's an highly affluent valuation, adjacent for a fast-growing company. For perspective, different Musk-led company, Tesla, went nationalist astatine astir 15 times income (and presently trades astatine astir 14.5 times sales).

Despite that sky-high valuation, request for SpaceX banal is precocious heading into its IPO. Reuters reported that investors person enactment successful orders for astir 4 times much shares than the institution plans to merchantability astatine its IPO. Those who don't get an IPO allocation volition apt effort to bargain shares arsenic soon arsenic they deed the unfastened market, which volition apt nonstop the banal supra the company's planned IPO terms of $135 a share.

Why waiting could wage off

IPO stocks thin to popular erstwhile they debut owed to beardown initial capitalist demand. It wouldn't astonishment maine to spot SpaceX banal soar erstwhile it starts trading, fixed robust request for shares.

However, astir of the largest IPOs successful caller years person underperformed the marketplace pursuing their debut. According to information from FactSet, lone 9 of the 36 companies that person gone nationalist connected a U.S. speech with a marketplace capitalization of much than $15 cardinal person outperformed the S&P 500 since their IPO. That's owed to galore factors, including maturation failing to unrecorded up to the archetypal hype and the summation successful the fig of disposable shares arsenic lockout periods expire.