SpaceX shares have fallen below the company’s $135 IPO price for the first time since going public, capping four consecutive days of declines that have erased the entirety of what was once a 40%-plus post-debut rally. For a company that raised $75 billion in what became the largest IPO ever recorded, the slide is a sobering reminder that even rockets come back down.
SPCX shares had soared after the June 12 listing, briefly pushing SpaceX’s fully diluted valuation above $2.5 trillion and placing it in the rarefied air of the world’s most valuable public companies. A little over a month later, that valuation premium has evaporated entirely.
From record-breaker to reality check
The SpaceX IPO was, by every measurable standard, a spectacle. Priced at $135 per share, the offering valued the company at approximately $1.8 trillion on a fully diluted basis. ARK Invest, Cathie Wood’s flagship firm, made a substantial purchase on opening day, a signal of institutional conviction that helped fuel the initial frenzy.
Shares quickly ripped higher, gaining more than 40% in the days following the debut. By July 15, SPCX had slipped below $135 for the first time, and the slide stretched across four straight trading sessions. The timing coincided with SpaceX’s 13th Starship test flight, which under normal circumstances might have served as a catalyst. Instead, investors appeared more focused on locking in profits than watching rocket launches.
