SpaceX (SPCX) has overtaken Amazon to become the world's fifth-most valuable publicly traded company, capping a three-day rally that followed its record-breaking stock market debut. The rocket and artificial intelligence company's market capitalization reached approximately $2.66 trillion, narrowly surpassing Amazon's $2.65 trillion valuation.
Shares rose 4.8% on Tuesday to close at $201.80, after hitting an intraday high of $225.64. During the session, SpaceX briefly exceeded Microsoft's valuation before giving back some gains. Since its initial public offering priced at $135 per share, the stock has climbed roughly 50%, marking one of the strongest post-IPO performances in recent market history.
Record IPO Fuels Historic Market-Cap Surge
SpaceX's ascent has been driven by strong investor enthusiasm for its ambitions in space technology, artificial intelligence, and long-term projects such as Mars colonization. The company's initial public offering raised $85.7 billion, making it the largest stock market listing ever. The rally also significantly boosted Elon Musk's personal wealth, with reports noting that the listing helped make him the world's first trillionaire.
Investor demand has remained intense since the debut. The stock gained 19% on its first day of trading and added another 19% on Monday before extending gains on Tuesday. Monday's rally alone added approximately $433 billion to SpaceX's market capitalization, marking the second-largest one-day increase in value ever recorded by a U.S. company, behind only a larger gain achieved by Nvidia last year. Analysts, however, have questioned whether the pace of appreciation can be sustained given the uncertainty surrounding the company's future earnings profile.
Cursor Acquisition Strengthens AI Ambitions
Investor enthusiasm received another boost after SpaceX confirmed it would acquire artificial intelligence coding startup Cursor in an all-stock transaction valued at $60 billion. Cursor's parent company, Anysphere, develops AI-powered coding tools that automate software development tasks. The companies have been working together since April, when SpaceX secured the right either to purchase Cursor for $60 billion or pay $10 billion for the work completed through the partnership.
Announcing the partnership earlier this year, SpaceX said: "The combination of Cursor's leading product and distribution to expert software engineers with SpaceX's million H100 equivalent Colossus training supercomputer will allow us to build the world's most useful models." The acquisition is expected to close during the third quarter of 2026. Cursor has experienced rapid growth, with annualized revenue exceeding $4 billion in June, up from $3 billion in late April. Major customers include Stripe, Adobe, and Nvidia. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has described Cursor as his "favourite enterprise AI service."
Valuation Debate Continues
Despite SpaceX's soaring valuation, the company's financial performance remains significantly smaller than that of Amazon. Amazon generated $30.3 billion in profit during the first quarter of 2026 and reported $716.9 billion in revenue during 2025. By comparison, SpaceX reported a loss of $4.3 billion and generated revenue of $18.67 billion. The disparity highlights the extent to which investors are valuing SpaceX based on future growth opportunities rather than current financial results.
Supporters point to the company's expanding businesses, including reusable rocket launches, Starlink satellite internet services, AI infrastructure, and emerging artificial intelligence initiatives through xAI. Market observers also note that SpaceX's public float remains relatively small. Only about 5% of outstanding shares are currently available for public trading, while additional insider shares are scheduled to become eligible for sale beginning in August. For more on SpaceX's stock performance, see SpaceX Stock Slips 2% as Lockup, Short Interest Weigh on Sentiment and SpaceX Stock Dips Below $135 IPO Price Amid Post-Listing Volatility.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice.
