SpaceX earnings date opens first post-IPO insider share window

SpaceX shares rose about 5% on Tuesday after the company set Aug. 4 for its first earnings report, a date that also starts the first scheduled release of insider shares from post-IPO trading restrictions. CNBC reported the move puts as many as 911.5 million shares, or 20% of eligible locked-up stock, in position to become saleable.

The stock was trying to end a seven-session decline. CNBC market data showed SpaceX at $126.91, up $7.06, or 5.89%, at 10:16 a.m. EDT on Tuesday.

SpaceX, the aerospace and defense contractor led by Elon Musk, raised $85.7 billion in June in what CNBC described as the largest initial public offering on record. The IPO priced at $135 a share. The stock later reached an intraday high of $225.64 on June 16 and an all-time closing high of $211.39 that same day, according to CNBC. By Monday’s close, the shares had fallen almost 50% from the intraday peak and 43% from the closing high.

Lock-up agreements are used in IPOs to limit when insiders and early investors may sell shares, reducing the amount of stock that can enter the market immediately after a listing. CNBC reported that SpaceX adopted a staggered structure rather than a conventional 180-day restriction, allowing portions of insider holdings to be released at earlier dates. The first earnings report activates the initial 20% release.

A further 10% of eligible shares could be released if SpaceX closes at least 30% above the IPO price on five of the 10 trading days before the report, according to CNBC.

The limited public float has also drawn short sellers. CNBC reported that bearish positions recently reached about one-third of SpaceX’s public float as the stock retreated. Musk criticized short sellers in a Monday post on X, writing: “The survival probability of firms who maintain a significant short position in SpaceX over time is very low.”

Forbes’ Real-Time Billionaires Index placed Musk’s net worth at about $786 billion on Monday, down from more than $1 trillion as of June 12, according to CNBC.

SpaceX’s operating calendar is also in focus. The company planned a Tuesday Falcon 9 launch carrying 24 Starlink satellites to low Earth orbit after scrubbing the mission on Monday before liftoff, according to SpaceX information cited by CNBC. It was the company’s second cancelled launch in a week.

SpaceX also plans to launch Starship on Thursday after halting a test last week because of an engine ignition failure. Musk wrote on X that “some of the engines didn’t start, triggering an automatic launch abort.” CNBC reported that SpaceX said it was adjusting the rocket’s propulsion system to address the problem.

Investors are monitoring Starship because the rocket is central to SpaceX’s plans for expanding Starlink satellite internet service and meeting commitments to NASA’s Artemis program, which is targeting a return of astronauts to the lunar surface in 2028. CNBC described Starship as the largest rocket ever built or flown. Musk has called Starship the “holy grail” of space travel and has said he wants it used eventually for tourism and crewed missions to Mars.

SpaceX’s broader business has also expanded into computing. CNBC reported that SpaceX acquired Musk’s artificial intelligence venture xAI in February, now known as SpaceXAI, adding data centers and a power plant in Greater Memphis. Google, Anthropic and Reflection have agreed to rent excess computing capacity from SpaceXAI, according to CNBC, while The Wall Street Journal reported SpaceX has been in talks to supply computing power to the Pentagon.

This story draws on original reporting from CNBC.