SpaceX Stock Drops 12% as 911M Shares Unlock
Get the Finance newsletter
Daily finance — markets, central banks, M&A, the prints that move money. Free.
- SpaceX stock dropped 12% on Wednesday after its first quarterly report as a public company posted $7.8 billion in sales (above the $6.8 billion Wall Street projected) and a surprise $1.1 billion AI-division Ebitda profit, with shares entering Thursday down 20% from the $135 IPO price and more than 50% below the June 16 record of $225.64.
- SpaceX is unlocking up to 911.5 million insider and early-investor shares on Thursday, per the company's amended prospectus — a quantity exceeding 140% of the stock available to trade since the IPO.
- SpaceX faces a staggered lockup calendar: another 319 million shares unlock on Aug. 12, a further 319 million 20 days later, and more than 4 billion total shares tradable by year-end.
- Elon Musk's 6.4 billion SpaceX shares (including stock options) remain locked until June 2027, and the article notes he is unlikely to sell.
- The early-week SpaceX rally of nearly 16% across Monday and Tuesday was likely driven by bearish short sellers adjusting positions ahead of the earnings report and the known share unlock.
- On Thursday, SpaceX stock swung between a low of $105.11 and $109.40 (up 1%) after opening, while the S&P 500 rose 0.1%.
Why it matters: The unlock turns the lockup calendar into the dominant near-term variable: with 911.5 million shares hitting the float Thursday and a staged release totaling more than 4 billion shares by year-end, traders must price in multi-month supply pressure even though SpaceX's fundamentals — a revenue beat and a profitable AI unit — arguably support the stock.
