SpaceX passes Amazon after Nasdaq surge

SpaceX has overtaken Amazon to become the world’s fifth most valuable company after its share price rose by more than 50% following its debut on the Nasdaq. The rally values Elon Musk’s rocket company at about $2.78tn (£2.1tn), ahead of Amazon, which is currently worth about $2.66tn.

The surge followed the biggest public listing ever, which raised $85.7bn and made Musk the world’s first trillionaire. SpaceX shares were first sold to the public at $135 each and have risen to $209, helped by investor enthusiasm for reusable rockets, Starlink satellites, AI data centres in space and long-term plans for Mars.

The valuation has drawn scrutiny because SpaceX’s financial performance remains far behind Amazon’s. Amazon made $30.3bn of profit in the first quarter of 2026, while SpaceX lost $4.3bn; in 2025, Amazon recorded $716.9bn in sales compared with SpaceX’s $18.67bn. Analysts also noted that only around 4% of SpaceX shares are freely traded, which could expose smaller investors to dilution if larger holders sell later.

SpaceX also announced it would buy Anysphere, the parent company of AI coding start-up Cursor, for $60bn in SpaceX shares. Cursor automates software coding and is used by companies including Stripe, Adobe and Nvidia, while SpaceX says the deal will strengthen its AI ambitions alongside xAI and the Grok chatbot.