Business

SpaceX Nears Historic Nasdaq-100 Debut Tuesday as Investors Weigh Post-IPO Valuation Questions

Published

4 weeks ago

6 July 2026

Elon Musk has stepped back from his job of cutting government spending by firing civil servants and gutting or closing departments

Shares of Space Exploration Technologies Corp. continued to trade higher Monday morning as investors positioned ahead of the company’s addition to the Nasdaq-100 index, a milestone scheduled to take effect before markets open Tuesday and one that will mark the fastest index inclusion in the benchmark’s history.

SPCX shares stood at $163.79, up $1.79, or 1.10 percent, as of 10:19 a.m. Eastern time, according to Google Finance data. The move comes just 15 trading days after SpaceX’s initial public offering, which priced shares at $135 on June 12 and raised between roughly $75 billion and $85.7 billion, depending on the reporting source, making it the largest IPO in market history and valuing the company at approximately $1.77 trillion at the time of its debut.

SpaceX’s rapid path to inclusion in the Nasdaq-100 was made possible by a relatively new exchange rule that fast-tracks large initial public offerings into the index after just 15 trading days, a significant reduction from the longer waiting period previously required of newly listed companies. Nasdaq confirmed the inclusion on June 27, setting the stage for the company’s shares to become part of a benchmark that underpins more than $800 billion in tracked assets, including the widely held Invesco QQQ Trust and numerous retirement and 401(k) funds.

The stock’s performance since its debut has been volatile. Shares initially surged to an intraday high of $225.64 in the days following the IPO before retreating sharply, falling as much as 28 percent from that peak. Last week alone, SPCX shares dropped 16.4 percent after analysts at KeyBanc adopted a more cautious stance, arguing that the stock’s valuation had become increasingly stretched following its post-IPO rally. Shares closed Friday at $153.23, just above the IPO price, before climbing again in Monday’s trading session.

Analysts have offered a range of estimates for how much buying activity the Nasdaq-100 inclusion could generate as passive funds adjust their portfolios to reflect the index’s updated composition. Some projections suggest the Invesco QQQ Trust alone could purchase as much as $4.3 billion worth of SpaceX shares, while broader estimates across Nasdaq-100 and Russell index-tracking funds have ranged from approximately $7.3 billion to as much as $27 billion. That wave of anticipated demand is notable given how limited SpaceX’s public float remains: the company has roughly 13 billion shares outstanding, but only an estimated 3 to 5 percent are currently available for public trading, with Musk’s approximately 42 percent ownership stake locked up until June 2027.

That tight supply-demand dynamic is expected to persist for some time. According to reporting from TradingKey, SpaceX insiders are not expected to become eligible to sell meaningful portions of their holdings until around August 6, when the company is scheduled to report its first quarterly earnings as a public company. At that point, insiders could sell up to 20 percent of their holdings, with an additional 10 percent becoming saleable if shares trade at least 30 percent above the $135 IPO price for five of any 10 consecutive trading days. The remainder of locked shares are set to become available on a staggered basis through December 2026.

Some market analysts have cautioned against assuming the Nasdaq-100 inclusion will necessarily provide a sustained boost to the stock. Historical examples cited by market observers include Palantir and Strategy, both of which joined the index in December 2024 and saw their share prices peak around or shortly before their respective inclusion dates, with Strategy shares later falling roughly 80 percent from their peak in the months that followed. Given SpaceX’s own sharp post-IPO volatility, some analysts have suggested the stock could face similar pressure once the immediate index-driven buying subsides.

Beyond the technical dynamics surrounding the index addition, attention has also turned to SpaceX’s broader corporate strategy. Following the completion of the IPO, analysts at Baird said they believed investor focus could increasingly shift toward the possibility of a merger between SpaceX and Tesla, the electric vehicle maker also led by Musk. “We see the strategic rationale for a merger as clear and compelling with both companies benefitting from greater scale,” the firm wrote in a note, adding that it did not anticipate significant regulatory scrutiny given the limited overlap between the companies’ respective end markets. Baird noted that the timing of any such transaction remained difficult to predict, suggesting a period of integration was more likely in the near term as SpaceX works to absorb its recent merger with Musk’s artificial intelligence company, xAI, while also adjusting to its new status as a publicly traded company.

That merger with xAI, completed earlier this year, has reshaped SpaceX’s underlying business structure into three primary segments. The Connectivity division, anchored by the Starlink satellite internet business, generated roughly 61 percent of the company’s total revenue in 2025. The Space segment includes the company’s Falcon 9 and Starship launch operations, while the newly integrated AI division encompasses the Grok large language model, the X social media platform, and broader AI computing infrastructure. Starlink’s subscriber base has continued to expand rapidly, surpassing 10 million subscribers globally, more than double the 5.5 million subscribers the service had at the time of SpaceX’s June IPO.

Financially, SpaceX reported $4.7 billion in revenue during the first quarter of 2026 and disclosed cash and cash equivalents of approximately $100.8 billion as of June 19, following a senior unsecured notes offering used in part to repay bridge financing tied to earlier stages of the company’s growth. Even so, some valuation metrics have raised concerns among analysts, with the stock’s price-to-sales ratio estimated at various points between roughly 79 and 112 times trailing sales, a level that remains elevated even compared with other high-growth technology companies.

With Tuesday’s Nasdaq-100 inclusion set to bring SpaceX into the portfolios of millions of index-fund investors who never directly chose to own the stock, market attention in the coming weeks is expected to focus on how the company’s limited public float absorbs the anticipated wave of passive buying, as well as on SpaceX’s first earnings report as a public company, expected in early August, which analysts have identified as the next significant test of the stock’s long-term valuation and growth trajectory following one of the most closely watched public debuts in recent market history.

Business

Palantir’s CTO believes Chinese AI models could pose an economic threat to the US

Published

3 minutes ago

2 August 2026

NewsAdmin

Palantir’s CTO believes Chinese AI models could pose an economic threat to the US

Palantir CTO Shyam Sankar stated that China has advanced its artificial intelligence capabilities by developing new models through unauthorized means. This development signifies a significant escalation in global AI competition, highlighting concerns over intellectual property breaches and the potential impact on technological leadership. The move underscores the importance of safeguarding innovation in the rapidly evolving AI landscape.

Palantir’s CTO has expressed concerns that Chinese AI models could pose significant economic risks to the United States. As China accelerates its development of advanced artificial intelligence technologies, there is growing concern over the potential for these models to undermine American competitiveness. Chinese AI innovations are rapidly progressing, closing the innovation gap and creating new strategic advantages for China in the global economy.

The CTO highlighted that Chinese AI models could be used to enhance espionage, cybersecurity threats, and economic espionage, potentially compromising US businesses and government operations. This increased capability might lead to a loss of technological edge, threatening America’s leadership in key industries. The worry extends to the potential for China to leverage AI for economic dominance in sectors like finance, manufacturing, and defense.

To counter these risks, Palantir advocates for stronger investments in AI research and development within the US. Enhancing domestic AI capabilities and establishing robust regulatory frameworks are seen as essential steps to safeguard national security and maintain economic stability. The official emphasized that staying ahead in AI is vital to ensuring America’s technological and economic resilience amid global competition.

source

Business

Thailand’s 2027 Action Plan Targets High-Value Tourism Growth

Published

29 minutes ago

2 August 2026

NewsAdmin

Thailand's 2027 Action Plan Targets High-Value Tourism Growth

Thailand’s Tourism Minister introduced the 2027 Action Plan, emphasizing high-value tourism growth through innovation, data integration, and targeting premium markets, while promoting sustainability and year-round travel.

Key Points

Overview of the Action Plan: Minister Surasak Phancharoenworakul launched the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) Action Plan 2027 in Bangkok on July 13, 2026, focusing on positioning Thailand as a high-value tourism destination. Key officials, including Permanent Secretary Natthriya Thaweevong and TAT Governor Thapanee Kiatphaibool, highlighted strategic marketing policies and tourism’s role in the economy.
Strategic Guidelines: The action plan emphasizes four strategic guidelines: elevating Thailand as a high-value destination, enhancing competitiveness through market balance, advancing the industry via data and innovation, and developing a high-performance organization. Integration of data, technology, and AI is crucial for sustainable travel experiences.
Focus on Transformation: The TAT identified 2027 as “The Year of Transformation,” shifting its focus from tourist volume to high-value travelers through targeted demographics, promoting secondary cities, and developing sustainable tourism. An upcoming Market Briefing on July 21, 2026, will connect local operators with global market opportunities, with detailed marketing directions to be announced in August 2026.

Tourism Minister Outlines 2027 Action Plan to Position Thailand as a High-Value Destination

2 hours ago

2 August 2026

NewsAdmin

Idaho mass shooter died from self-inflicted gunshot, police say

Business

Growth slows in Perth housing market

Published

2 hours ago

2 August 2026

NewsAdmin

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Business

AstraZeneca holds talks with Bristol Myers Squibb on $400 billion megadeal, FT reports

Published

3 hours ago

2 August 2026

NewsAdmin

AstraZeneca holds talks with Bristol Myers Squibb on $400 billion megadeal, FT reports

Business

These 9 equity mutual funds delivered over 10% returns in July. Did you invest in any of them?

Published

3 hours ago

2 August 2026

NewsAdmin

Technology-focused mutual funds dominated the performance charts in July, with nine equity schemes delivering returns of over 10%. HDFC Technology Fund topped the list with a 16.91% gain, while international funds accounted for most of the double-digit losers during the month.