3 min read
The successful debut of SpaceX (SPCX) to public markets is the type of landmark IPO that just may trigger a new wave of gains for the stock market.
The insight: Netscape Navigator’s 1995 IPO became the internet launch point that spurred investors to dream bigger, Evercore ISI strategist Julian Emanuel recalled in a new note. The IPO at the time was a by-product of the rapid rise of the internet and spurred more companies involved in the technology to go public.
It’s not unlike how AI today is the dominant theme in corporate America, leading to the creation of new companies.
Emanuel explained, “An era of increasing productivity and unprecedented wealth creation began [after the Netscape IPO]. Three decades later, comparisons to 1999 are growing amidst historic AI led momentum off the pivotal March 30 low. Likewise, SpaceX’s largest IPO in history could accelerate a capital market cycle that catalyzes the next leg of the bull market. Interspersed throughout prior IPO eras were landmark global listings that allowed investors an avenue to gain exposure to emergent themes. Early enthusiasm is positive and persistent for landmark IPOs as demand for exposure to new themes is high. S&P 500 skews higher but to below average returns on a 12 month forward basis as the cycle matures.”
The Elon Musk-led rocket company SpaceX officially priced its stock at $135 on June 11, offering 555.6 million shares. The pricing valued SpaceX at $1.78 trillion.
SpaceX made its historic public debut on the Nasdaq on June 12, when the stock officially opened for trading around midday at $150 per share.
Now all eyes turn to potentially two more landmark IPOs this year: OpenAI (OPAI.PVT) and Anthropic (ANTH.PVT).
Driven by heavy demand from both institutional and retail investors, the stock steadily climbed throughout the session before closing its first day at $160.95.
This successful 19.2% gain from its initial offering price instantly catapulted SpaceX to a massive $2.1 trillion market capitalization, according to Yahoo Finance AlphaSpace.
Both artificial intelligence powerhouses officially submitted confidential IPO filings to the SEC in recent weeks.
Following intensive fundraising rounds in early 2026, Anthropic currently edges out its chief rival with a massive $965 billion private valuation, while OpenAI sits closely behind at $852 billion.
Emanuel served up several charts to underscore his point on the possible upbeat signal the SpaceX IPO just sent investors.
The bottom line: There is more that will drive the stock market into year-end — ranging from how new Fed Chair Kevin Warsh deals with inflation to the outcome of the US attacks on Iran — than big, buzzy IPOs. But the fact that SpaceX came to market so strongly offers up a bullish signal to how markets may fare into year-end if other key factors go reasonably well.
