How retail investors can participate in the SpaceX IPO

The rocket and satellite company plans to raise at least $75 billion in its IPO by selling over 555 million shares at $135 a piece, valuing the company at more than $1.75 trillion. If underwriters exercise options for additional allotments to meet high demand, proceeds could grow to $85.7 billion. 

The IPO is expected to price Thursday evening, with shares trading Friday on the Nasdaq under the ticker SPCX.

‌As much as 30% of the offering will be earmarked for retail investors, meaning they will scoop up more than $20 billion worth of shares, with institutional investors grabbing the rest.

That’s well above the 5%-10% that’s typical set aside for retail investors, who have emerged in recent years as a major force in the stock market, especially as they doggedly “buy the dip” whenever there’s a selloff.

SpaceX designated Robinhood Markets, SoFi, E*Trade, Fidelity Investments, and Charles Schwab to distribute shares to retail investors who want to participate in the IPO.

Investors seeking to get in on the action must first meet the requirements for each brokerage. For example, Charles Schwab requires investors to have at least $100,000 in their accounts in order to be eligible for the SpaceX IPO.

Fidelity lowered its account minimum to $2,000 from $500,000, while Robinhood, SoFi, and E*Trade don’t require minimum amounts.

Once logged in to one of the brokerages, investors must take some additional steps, such as submitting an indication of interest that also specifies the number of shares desired.

Under Fidelity’s rules, investors can request any amount of shares, from as little as one to as much as a million, but it doesn’t guarantee account holders will actually receive them.

“You may receive some, none, or all of the shares requested,” Fidelity says. “Final allocations depend on supply and demand, which are ultimately determined by the number of shares Fidelity receives vs. the number of shares requested by clients.”

Once that’s been submitted, investors must then confirm their interest on Thursday night, when the SpaceX IPO prices. Confirmation turns the indication of interest into an actual order. But again, that doesn’t guarantee investors will get what they want.

Shares will be allocated on Friday morning, and investors will receive an alert if their order went through. Any shares must be paid for no later than one business day after the stock begins trading.

Investors with enough cash in their accounts will automatically be debited, while those who need additional funds must deposit them via check or wire transfer.

Fidelity says it will try to allocate “some” shares to everyone who confirms interest but warned that high demand may not make that possible.

“If Fidelity is unable to allocate shares to all customers interested in participating, we will use a ‘lottery’ to allocate shares as fairly and equitably as possible across all interested clients,” the brokerage says. “Please note that due to the limited amount of shares available on any IPO, clients may receive fewer shares than they requested or in some cases none at all.”

Of course, retail investors who don’t make the cut can still buy SpaceX shares once they start trading publicly by placing an order just like they would for any other stock. There is also a wide array of other space stocks already trading, such as Rocket Lab, Firefly Aerospace, and Intuitive Machines.

But stocks often pop in their trading debut, and the rush of orders may mean investors going that route may end up paying a steep premium to own SpaceX.

And given that the IPO will be the biggest ever, the market will likely see extra volatility as investors sell other shares in their portfolios to raise cash for SpaceX purchases.

“If all are chasing to buy (or sell) at the same time, the risk of price dislocation becomes much greater,” Greg Boutle, head of U.S. equity derivative strategy at BNP Paribas, said in a note on Friday. 

Interest in the company has been high for years with Musk teasing an IPO along the way. That’s because SpaceX has long been one of the most highly valued startups after taking over the space industry since its founding in 2002.

It claimed more than 80% of global rocket launches last year and has over 10,000 Starlink satellites in orbit, providing space-based internet connections to businesses and militaries.

SpaceX is also a top launch provider for NASA and the Pentagon, which is also looking to the company to help develop President Donald Trump’s “Golden Dome” missile-defense shield.

The company’s stunning innovations—like reusable boosters that can land autonomously—have also earned it a devoted fan base that should translate to retail investors. In addition, Musk has his own set of fanboys who follow his lead.

BNP Paribas said retail investors could be more important for SpaceX and the IPO’s market impact than flows from passive investment funds adding SpaceX to their indexes. According to Boutle, they have behaved in “a FOMO-style, rally-chasing manner” so far this year.

“This type of herd behavior tends to amplify moves and create fatter tails,” he added. “This would then be amplified by passive investment demand.”