SpaceX Allocates 20% of $86.2B IPO to Retail Brokers' Customers
MS•SpaceX’s $86.2 billion IPO allocated 20% of shares to global retail investors, with platforms like Robinhood, Schwab, Fidelity and SoFi guaranteeing at least one share to every eligible customer. Demand exceeded $100 billion, leaving many investors with smaller allocations despite shares closing 43% above the $135 IPO price.
1. Retail Allocation Structure
The IPO reserved approximately 20% of the offering for global retail investors, with Robinhood, Charles Schwab, Fidelity and SoFi each guaranteeing at least one share to every eligible customer who submitted a request.
2. Demand and Pricing
Demand for shares exceeded $100 billion, significantly outstripping supply, and shares closed their second trading day 43% above the $135 IPO price, valuing SpaceX at roughly $2.5 trillion.
3. Global Retail Participation
In South Korea, Mirae Asset clients received no allocation despite underwriting status; Japanese investors acquired 16.3 million shares for $2.2 billion; UK retail orders worth $1 billion translated into $364 million of allocations; European demand of $2.5 billion resulted in $600 million allocated to retail.
4. Morgan Stanley’s Role
E*TRADE by Morgan Stanley was listed as a retail broker in the IPO prospectus and participated in distributing shares to individual investors while the firm’s investment banking arm served as a top underwriter of the offering.
