SpaceX went public on Friday, and the stock did what most people hoped. The bigger story is who got rich around it, starting with the banks that took home about $500 million.
SpaceX set its share price at $135 the night before. Shares then opened at $150, so buyers paid 11% more right away.
The stock kept climbing from there. It touched $176, then settled near $161 by the close.
That was a gain of about 19% in one day. Everyday investors drove a big part of the move.
SpaceX was the most-bought stock by regular traders on Friday, with demand strong enough to set a record. That kind of crowd usually piles into meme stocks, not rocket makers.
This time it showed up for both.
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Big IPOs cost a lot to pull off, and SpaceX ran one of the priciest in years. The banks that handled the sale split about $500 million in fees.
Goldman Sachs led that group. Traders liked what they saw, and the bank's own stock rose more than 2%.
Think of those fees like a real estate agent's cut. The bank earns a slice for lining up buyers and closing the deal, win or lose.
SpaceX leaders pointed to a market worth as much as $28.5 trillion. One well-known value expert called that number a "hallucination."
Doubts like these are old news to Musk. He has said he once gave SpaceX just a 10% chance of working at all.
The mood was not all cheers, either. A large protest filled part of Times Square near the Nasdaq while the stock soared.
Still, the people closest to the company are staying put. Longtime backer Antonio Gracias said he plans to hold his shares for years.
SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell rang the opening bell at the Nasdaq. For years, she was not even sure the company would ever go public.
She told reporters it finally "feels like the right time." Shotwell has run the day-to-day side of SpaceX for years.
Putting her front and center sent a clear message about who steers the ship. The win could open the door for others, too.
Both Anthropic and OpenAI have quietly filed to go public next. A strong debut like this tends to pull the next wave off the sidelines.
The first day was loud, but the next few will matter more. Traders want to see if SpaceX can hold its opening price once the buzz dies down.
Some desks had even whispered about $200 before the open. So $161 was strong, yet still below the early hype.
One expert said a new stock like this needs a full week to prove itself. A $500 million payday says the banks already trust it.
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