SpaceX IPO Delayed? Here’s Why SPCX Still Isn’t Trading Yet

Rich Duprey

Fri, June 12, 2026 at 10:38 AM EDT 4 min read

Quick Read

• SpaceX priced its IPO at $135 per share, but early Nasdaq indications placed the opening trade near $175, representing a 30% premium before a single share changed hands.

• Nasdaq’s opening auction collects and balances millions of buy and sell orders before printing the first trade, a process that can stretch well beyond an hour.

• Meta’s 2012 IPO debut was delayed more than two hours after the opening bell, establishing that major trading delays are a feature, not a flaw.

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The stock market thrives on anticipation, and few public offerings have generated as much of it as SpaceX‘s (NASDAQ:SPCX) debut. The aerospace giant priced its IPO at $135 per share, raising tens of billions of dollars and becoming one of the largest public offerings ever. Yet as investors refreshed their brokerage accounts Friday morning, many were greeted by an unexpected sight: SpaceX was public, but there were still no trades.

That delay isn’t a sign that anything has gone wrong. In fact, it’s a normal part of the IPO process, particularly for highly anticipated offerings where demand can overwhelm supply. Understanding what’s happening behind the scenes can help investors avoid confusion and make better decisions as trading finally begins.

The IPO Clock Doesn’t Start at 10:00 A.M.

Many investors assume that if an IPO is scheduled to begin trading at 10:00 a.m. Eastern time, shares will automatically change hands at that exact moment. That’s not how the process works.

SpaceX’s IPO was quoted around 9:50 a.m. ET, but Nasdaq still needed to complete its opening auction before any shares could trade. The exchange gathers buy and sell orders, evaluates demand, and determines a price that balances the market.

At approximately 9:50 a.m., Nasdaq released its first indications — preliminary estimates of where the stock might open. For SpaceX, those indications came in around $175 per share.

Those early figures are not actual trades. They’re simply a gauge of where supply and demand currently meet.

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What Happens Before the First Trade?

The opening auction follows a structured process designed to create an orderly market. Here’s what Nasdaq does before the first share changes hands:

1. Investors enter buy and sell orders.

2. No trades occur during this period.

3. Nasdaq continuously updates the indicative opening price.

4. The exchange adjusts that price as new orders arrive.

5. Once supply and demand are balanced, the opening auction takes place.

6. The first official trade is printed.