Business
Musk eyes Wall Street record as SpaceX files for potentially historic IPO
What the filing reveals
The registration document shows SpaceX generated $18.7 billion in revenue in 2025 while reporting an operating loss of $2.6 billion as it invested heavily in next-generation rockets and artificial intelligence. SpaceX’s satellite internet business, Starlink, was the largest contributor, producing $11.4 billion in revenue in 2025, an increase of nearly 50% year-on-year.
The company’s AI-related segment, which includes xAI and the social platform X, recorded $3.2 billion in revenue for 2025 but posted an operating loss of $6.4 billion. Capital expenditure for that segment reached $12.7 billion in 2025 and $7.7 billion in the first quarter of 2026.
Commercial deals and partnerships
SpaceX disclosed a contract to rent spare capacity at its COLOSSUS and COLOSSUS II data centres to Anthropic for $1.25 billion per month through May 2029.
Governance and Musk’s control
The filing confirms a dual-class share structure that will leave Elon Musk firmly in control after the listing. It says Musk would serve as CEO, CTO and Chairman of the Board and would hold about 85% of voting power while owning roughly 42% of the company’s equity. The prospectus warns this structure poses risks for outside investors because Musk “will have the power to control the outcome of matters requiring shareholder approval, including election of all our directors.”
Ambitious technology roadmap
SpaceX set out an ambitious plan to build data centres in space and begin deploying AI compute satellites as early as 2028. The company said it aims to eventually put 100 gigawatts of compute capacity in orbit annually, a strategy it described as “incredibly difficult” and one that would require thousands of rocket launches per year and transporting roughly one million metric tons of payload to orbit.
The filing also included a company estimate of total addressable market across its businesses at $28.5 trillion, excluding China and Russia.
Timing, market impact and what’s next
Reports indicate SpaceX is targeting a June listing on the Nasdaq under the ticker SPCX, with trading expected to begin shortly thereafter. If the offering succeeds, it would dwarf all previous IPOs and be among the most consequential market events in recent memory.
“incredibly difficult”
Market commentary included a Wedbush analyst note predicting that the next step after an IPO could be a merger with Tesla, creating what the analyst described as an AI-powered “holy grail.”
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Source: iol.co.za
