Newly disclosed financial figures show that SpaceX is posting multi-billion-dollar losses ahead of its planned blockbuster stock market debut.
The space company founded by tech billionaire Elon Musk reported a net loss of about $4.94 billion last year on revenue of $18.67 billion, according to a Wednesday filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Media reports have said SpaceX is seeking a valuation of around $2 trillion in the offering. With expected proceeds of up to $80 billion, the flotation would be by far the largest initial public offering on record. The IPO is reportedly targeted for mid-June after SpaceX initially filed confidentially without disclosing financial data.
According to the prospectus, Musk controls more than 85% of the company's voting rights through shares with enhanced voting power and will retain control after the listing.
SpaceX posted a loss of $4.28 billion in the first quarter of this year on revenue of roughly $4.7 billion.
The newly disclosed details also highlighted the importance of SpaceX's satellite internet business Starlink, which generated $3.26 billion in revenue in the first quarter. Starlink now has about 10.3 million customers across 164 countries.
Filing shows over $15 billion invested in Starship programme
The filing also showed that SpaceX has invested more than $15 billion in its giant Starship rocket programme. The company expects Starship to begin commercial flights after testing is completed in the second half of the year.
SpaceX says the rocket is designed to significantly lower the cost of transport into space and will also be used to launch Starlink satellites capable of delivering internet service directly to smartphones.
Musk has also folded his AI company xAI and social media platform X into SpaceX. Media reports valued the combined group at about $1.25 trillion following the merger.
Musk recently said xAI would no longer operate as a standalone company and that products such as chatbot Grok would instead be marketed under the SpaceXAI brand.
The billionaire has also floated plans for AI data centres in space, arguing that solar energy would be abundant and cooling easier in orbit. Critics, however, point to high construction costs and radiation risks that could damage computer circuits.
