SpaceX Starts a Wall Street Bake-Off to Hire Banks for Possible IPO

Rocket-and-satellite maker will interview bankers this week to advise it on its initial public offering

By Corrie DriebuschFollow

Dec. 14, 2025 4:43 pm ET

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SpaceX is more than two decades old and has grown into an essential contractor for the U.S. government. Steve Nesius/Reuters

Quick Summary

• SpaceX is initiating the selection process for investment bankers to advise on a potential initial public offering. View more

SpaceX executives are starting the process to select Wall Street bankers to advise it on its initial public offering, according to people familiar with the matter. 

Investment banks are scheduled to make their initial pitches this coming week in what is known as a bake-off, according to people familiar with the matter, representing the most concrete steps the rocket maker has taken toward what would be a blockbuster IPO.

On Friday, SpaceX told employees it is preparing for a possible public offering next year, The Wall Street Journal reported. Chief Financial Officer Bret Johnsen told SpaceX staff in a message that, “The thinking is that if we execute brilliantly and the markets cooperate, a public offering could raise a significant amount of capital.”

Johnsen also wrote that whether a listing will happen and when it might take place remain “highly uncertain.”

The rocket-and-satellite maker’s decision to pursue an IPO has surprised some people close to the company. SpaceX is more than two decades old and has grown into an essential contractor for the U.S. government, launching satellites and astronauts. Its valuation has also grown over time and has been bolstered more recently by customer gains at its Starlink satellite-internet business.

Earlier this month, the Journal reported that SpaceX is also pursuing a secondary share sale that would value the company at roughly $800 billion, up from $400 billion this summer. 

The U.S. IPO market is picking up momentum after several years of relative quiet, and bankers are optimistic headed into 2026 with or without the possible blockbuster listing by SpaceX.

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Write to Corrie Driebusch at corrie.driebusch@wsj.com

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Appeared in the December 15, 2025, print edition as ‘SpaceX Schedules Bank Pitches For IPO’

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