Every so often, a company reaches the public markets that feels less like a stock and more like a chapter in American innovation. SpaceX is one of those moments.
Founded in 2002, SpaceX started with a wildly ambitious goal: make space more accessible. Since then, the company has gone from early rocket failures to reusable launches, NASA missions, Starlink internet, and Starship — which sounds like something our kids should be building with LEGOs, not engineers in Texas.
They’ve attracted significant media attention in recent months following last week’s IPO—and for good reason. But before diving deeper, it’s worth answering a basic question: what exactly is an IPO?
An IPO, or initial public offering, is the process through which a private company first offers shares to public investors and begins the transition to being publicly traded. Typically, shares are initially sold to institutional investors and other participants in the offering, and once the stock starts trading on an exchange, individual investors can buy and sell shares during normal market hours just like any other publicly traded company.
The opportunity with SpaceX is easy to understand. This is not a company selling a slightly better toaster. It sits at the intersection of aerospace, satellites, internet infrastructure, national security, artificial intelligence, and potentially commercial space travel. If even a portion of that future plays out, the long-term upside could be meaningful.
But here is the part that matters: exciting does not automatically mean safe.
Newly public stocks can be extremely volatile. Early trading can be driven by headlines, emotion, social media, valuation debates, and the fear of missing out. SpaceX may be a great company and still be an expensive stock at the wrong price. Those two things can both be true.
Our view: SpaceX is worth paying attention to, but not blindly chasing. It represents innovation, entrepreneurship, and the kind of big thinking that has the potential to reshape entire industries. That is exciting. But excitement alone is not an investment strategy.
Innovation is powerful. Discipline is still required. Even rockets need a flight plan.