SpaceX Stock Falls Below IPO Price, Market Cap Plummets $1 Trillion

Bond issuance, Starship test suspension, and upcoming earnings report fuel investor concerns

The stock price of U.S. aerospace and artificial intelligence (AI) company SpaceX, which made its debut on the New York Stock Exchange last month through the largest-ever initial public offering (IPO), has significantly declined, with its market capitalization falling below the offering price within a month.

On the 17th (local time), SpaceX's stock price on the New York Stock Exchange closed at $123.99, down 5.43% from the previous day. With a six-consecutive-day decline, the market capitalization shrank to $1.6316 trillion. This is a decrease of $1 trillion (approximately 1,490 trillion Korean won) from the record high of $2.64 trillion set on June 16.

SpaceX raised a total of $85.7 billion (approximately 130 trillion Korean won) through the largest-ever IPO on June 10. Following oversubscription, the stock price surged immediately after listing as investor expectations grew, but recent adverse factors have caused the stock price to fall below the offering price of $135. On June 23, the company issued $25 billion in corporate bonds to repay debt, and concerns over AI infrastructure investments have intensified, leading to a downward trend in the stock price. Additionally, the sudden suspension of the 13th test flight of Starship, SpaceX's next-generation core spacecraft and the first test flight since the company's listing, on July 16 further fueled the decline.

Starship is a 124-meter-tall super-heavy launch vehicle developed by SpaceX. Elon Musk, the CEO of SpaceX, dreams of using Starship to transport people and cargo to Mars.

The disclosure of SpaceX's first earnings report in early August is also seen as a negative factor. This is because the lock-up period for a significant portion of institutional holdings in SpaceX will be lifted starting two trading days after the earnings announcement. The release of a large volume of shares into the market could drive the stock price further down.