• SpaceX is formally interviewing investment banks, with Morgan Stanley (MS) seen as a leading contender to underwrite a planned IPO in 2026.
  • The company aims for a valuation around $1.5 trillion and a capital raise of $30–40 billion, potentially the largest IPO in history.
  • Internal pricing implies a current private valuation exceeding $800 billion, with Starlink driving most projected revenue growth.

SpaceX has begun formally interviewing investment banks for a planned initial public offering, with Morgan Stanley emerging as a top contender to lead the deal, according to people familiar with the matter. The company is targeting a mid-to-late 2026 timeline for the listing, though sources caution this could slip into 2027 depending on market conditions.

Elon Musk has publicly indicated that reporting on the 2026 IPO timeline and massive capital raise is "accurate" in posts on X, lending official weight to what had been circulating in financial circles. The company's preparations are advancing steadily, with JPMorgan (JPM) and Goldman Sachs (GS) also among the banks being considered for roles in what would be a landmark offering.

People familiar with SpaceX's financials indicate the company expects revenue of about $15 billion in 2025, rising to $22–24 billion in 2026, with most of that growth coming from its Starlink satellite internet business. At the targeted $1.5 trillion valuation, SpaceX would trade at roughly 65 times projected 2026 revenue—a multiple that far exceeds traditional aerospace companies but reflects what backers see as its unique position across space launch, global broadband, and emerging orbital data center capabilities.

"What institutional investors are really focused on is execution risk in Starship and governance around Musk's multiple roles," said one analyst who requested anonymity to discuss sensitive market positioning. "But the appetite for this deal is already enormous."

SpaceX has remained cash-flow positive for years and conducts twice-yearly share buybacks to provide liquidity to employees and early investors, according to Musk's public statements. A late-2025 internal share sale reportedly valued the company at more than $800 billion, or about $421 per share, setting the stage for the ambitious public market debut.

Regulatory approvals in 2025 for up to 25 Starship launches per year from the company's Texas facility marked a key milestone that enables the long-term business plan underlying the IPO case. Without that launch cadence, the company's ambitious plans for lunar infrastructure and Mars colonization would face significant delays.

Efforts to reach Morgan Stanley for comment were unsuccessful, and SpaceX did not respond to inquiries about the bank selection process. The quiet period before any formal filing typically limits what companies can say about IPO preparations, but market participants are already positioning for what could be the most significant public offering since Saudi Aramco (2222.SR)'s $29 billion listing in 2019.

SpaceX's dominance in launch services—delivering an estimated 90% of global payload mass to orbit—combined with its growing Starlink constellation and plans for space-based AI infrastructure creates what supporters call a "conglomerate of the future." Critics, however, highlight potential antitrust concerns as the company controls multiple layers of what could become critical space infrastructure.

The IPO proceeds are expected to fund Starship scaling, lunar infrastructure development, Mars colonization initiatives, and the emerging orbital data center business that could make SpaceX a critical AI infrastructure provider. As one industry executive noted privately, "The shift from launch services to data, connectivity, and AI infrastructure is where the real value creation happens."

Market reaction has already begun, with space-related stocks like Rocket Lab (RKLB) and AST SpaceMobile (ASTS) seeing speculative upside tied to expectations around what traders are calling the "SpaceX trade." The broader space economy, estimated at around $800 billion, is undergoing a fundamental transformation that SpaceX's public listing would both reflect and accelerate.

Correction: An earlier version of this article misstated the projected revenue multiple. At $1.5 trillion valuation, SpaceX would trade at roughly 65 times projected 2026 revenue, not 70 times.