KEY POINTS
- SpaceX has fallen below its US$135 IPO price for the first time, trading around US$124 after a six-day slide.
- Since its peak on 16 June, the company's market value has shrunk by more than US$1 trillion. This is a fall from the peak, not a single day's loss.
- The latest drop came after SpaceX aborted a Starship rocket test when several engines failed to ignite.
- Our view: the business is still dominant, but the stock simply climbed too high, too fast, and reality is now catching up.
SpaceX (NASDAQ:SPCX) has done something almost nobody expected so soon: it has fallen below the price at which it went public. After the biggest IPO in history just last month, the stock has now dropped for six straight sessions, slipping under its US$135 debut price to around US$124. The headline number is staggering. Since its peak in mid-June, the company has lost more than US$1 trillion in market value. To be clear, that is the fall from its highest point, not a one-day drop, but it is still one of the fastest declines of its size ever seen.
What Actually Happened
The immediate trigger was a rocket.
On 16 July, SpaceX aborted the 13th test flight of its Starship rocket just seconds before liftoff, after four of the 33 engines on the booster failed to ignite. An automatic safety system shut the launch down. Elon Musk said two engines would be replaced and another attempt would come within a few days.
Starship matters enormously to SpaceX’s future. It is the rocket meant to launch the next generation of Starlink internet satellites and to carry NASA astronauts to the Moon. So when a test is called off, investors worry about delays to the plans that justify the company’s huge valuation.
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Why the Stock Has Fallen So Far
The aborted launch was the trigger, but it is not the whole story. Three deeper forces are at work.
The first is simple: the stock had soared too high. After debuting at US$135, it rocketed to a peak of around US$225 in June, giving SpaceX a market value of roughly US$2.6 trillion. That price assumed almost everything would go perfectly. When it did not, the stock fell back to earth.
The second is money. SpaceX lost US$4.9 billion in 2025 and another US$4.28 billion in the first quarter of 2026. For a company valued in the trillions, those losses have made investors question how quickly it can actually turn a profit.
The third is supply. A large number of shares held by employees and early investors are due to become available to sell in the coming weeks, once SpaceX reports its first quarterly results. More shares for sale usually means downward pressure on the price, and investors are selling ahead of it.
What It Means for Investors
The most important thing to understand is that SpaceX’s business is not in trouble. It dominates the launch industry, Starlink is growing fast, and Musk has talked about reaching US$1 trillion in revenue by 2030. This is a fall in the stock price, not a collapse of the company.
What has happened is a reality check. Investors got swept up in one of the most hyped debuts ever, pushed the price to extreme levels, and are now pulling back as the excitement fades and real-world problems, like a delayed rocket test, remind them how much still has to go right.
Our take: the drop below the IPO price is a blow to sentiment, but it does not change the long-term story. For believers, a much lower price could eventually be an opportunity, especially as most Wall Street analysts remain positive. But with more shares about to hit the market and profits still years away, the stock could stay volatile. The company is doing extraordinary things. The share price simply got ahead of them.
