The Aramco Record Is About to Fall
SpaceX has filed for an initial public offering at a target valuation of $1.75 trillion — a level that, if achieved, would make it the largest IPO in history and would surpass Saudi Aramco's record-setting $1.7 trillion debut on Tadawul in December 2019. The aerospace and satellite company, controlled by Elon Musk, is targeting more than $75 billion in proceeds, with shares scheduled to begin trading on the Nasdaq under the ticker SPCX on June 11, 2026.
The Numbers Behind the Valuation
SpaceX reported $18.67 billion in revenue last year and recently closed a paper transaction that valued the company at $1 trillion and Musk's xAI at $250 billion — a clear setup for the public-market debut. The company now operates roughly 10,000 Starlink satellites, generating the recurring connectivity revenue that has anchored the valuation case. SpaceX's own filings cite a $28.5 trillion total addressable market, blending satellite broadband, defense launch contracts, lunar logistics and Mars-related services.
A Wall Street Heavyweight Lineup
The underwriting syndicate reads like a who's who of US investment banking: Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Bank of America, Citigroup and JPMorgan are leading the deal. That breadth of bookrunners is itself a signal of how broad the institutional demand-build is expected to be, and it gives the deal access to the full global allocation network — including the Gulf sovereign wealth funds that have been steady SpaceX backers in the private rounds.
The Aramco Comparison Cuts Both Ways
For Arab investors, the SpaceX–Aramco comparison is unavoidable. Aramco's 2019 listing was a national project that priced into a captive demand pool; SpaceX is pricing into the deepest, most liquid public market in the world. The two deals will be compared on first-day pop, post-IPO trading range, and how the float is absorbed. The SpaceX listing also crystalizes a question the GCC has been navigating for years: whether the next generation of mega-IPOs comes from sovereign-backed national champions or from privately-built US tech platforms.
Calendar Risk
The June 11 debut leaves a tight window for marketing and bookbuilding, and any major geopolitical or macro event between now and pricing could move the deal terms. Investors who want exposure but cannot participate in the primary should watch the indicative grey-market quotes that typically circulate in the days before a deal of this scale.
Source: Al Jazeera — May 20, 2026.
