SpaceX Stock Volatile as 911.5M Shares Unlock

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- SpaceX stock dropped 12% on Wednesday after reporting $7.8 billion in first-quarter sales (above the $6.8 billion Wall Street projected) and a $1.1 billion Ebitda profit from its AI division, where analysts had expected a small loss
- SpaceX faced potential volatility as up to 911.5 million shares held by insiders and early investors unlocked Thursday—more than 140% of the stock available to trade after its IPO at $135 a share
- The lockup cascade continues: another 319 million shares unlock Aug. 12, another 319 million 20 days after that, and more than four billion shares will be tradable by year-end
- Elon Musk's 6.4 billion shares (including stock options) become freely tradable in June 2027; the article notes he is unlikely to sell
- Musk suggested on the earnings call that SpaceX could hit $1 trillion in annual sales by 2029, while Wall Street projects a more modest $284 billion in 2029 revenue
- Shares traded as low as $105.11 after Thursday's open before recovering to $109.40, up 1%, against an S&P 500 up 0.1%; entering the session, SpaceX was down 20% from its IPO price and more than 50% from its June 16 record of $225.64
Why it matters: The lockup mechanics create an 'overhang' that can pressure shares as early investors and insiders sell for cash. With more than four billion shares becoming tradable by year-end and Musk's 6.4 billion shares unlocking in June 2027, supply dynamics—not the $7.8 billion revenue beat and $1.1 billion AI Ebitda surprise—will dominate SpaceX's near-term trading for weeks or months until the IPO overhang clears.
