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SpaceX Shares Surge, Briefly Surpassing Microsoft in Market Cap
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CNBC6/16/2026Business2 min read

SpaceX Shares Surge, Briefly Surpassing Microsoft in Market Cap

Quick Look

  • SpaceX shares surged approximately 9% on Tuesday, briefly overtaking Microsoft and Amazon in market capitalization.
  • The rocket-builder's valuation touched $2.94 trillion, following a record-breaking IPO and a 20% jump on its first full trading day.
  • The company also announced the acquisition of AI coding agent Cursor for $60 billion.

AI-generated summary

Why It Matters

SpaceX, founded in 2002, has become a dominant force in satellites through its Starlink service and reusable rockets. It recently merged with Elon Musk's AI startup xAI.

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SpaceX shares popped about 9% on Tuesday, as Elon Musk's rocket-builder continued its meteoric rise following a record-breaking IPO on Friday.

With the skyrocketing share price, SpaceX briefly overtook Microsoft in market cap, becoming the fourth-largest company in the U.S.

SpaceX's market cap touched $2.94 trillion in mid morning trading, surpassing Microsoft's valuation of $2.93 trillion, before settling lower.

SpaceX also leapfrogged Amazon , which has a market cap of about $2.66 trillion. The stock has a higher bar to clear to pass Apple , the third-largest U.S. company, with a market value of more than $4.3 trillion.

The move comes after SpaceX shares jumped 20% in their first full day of trading after a blockbuster debut.

Earlier on Tuesday, SpaceX announced it would acquire popular artificial intelligence coding agent Cursor for $60 billion.

Musk, who serves as CEO of SpaceX, posted on X on Sunday that the company "might be able to reach approximately" $1 trillion revenue in 2030.

That would be a huge jump from the $18.7 billion in revenue it made in 2025. The company posted a $4.9 billion net loss in 2025, and it lost $4.28 billion in the first quarter of this year.

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Founded in 2002, SpaceX has become dominant in satellites through its Starlink service and reusable rockets.

In February, Musk merged the company with his AI startup xAI, after combining the latter with his social media platform X in 2025.

SpaceX's debut has raised questions over its sky-high valuation, despite the huge gains it's seen since listing.

CFRA on Friday initiated coverage of the stock with a "sell" rating and a 12-month price target of $115, which is a nearly 29% drop from Friday's closing price. CFRA said its view was "due to the company's extremely ambitious growth strategy, elevated valuation expectations, and significant capital intensity."

Speaking to CNBC's "Squawk Box Asia" on Monday, Steve Westly, founder and managing partner of The Westly Group and a former board member of Musk's Tesla , said that SpaceX will need to deliver results to bullish backers fast.

"Investors at SpaceX, I believe, will get pretty grumpy after three or four quarters if he doesn't meet some of the growth projections that they made in the S1," he said, referring to the SEC filing used by companies planning on going public.

Bullish market analysts point to a long-term time frame for returns on the stock.

"When you take a further step back, it's about this fourth industrial revolution, and investors are focused on where everything's heading, whether it's on ships, space, whether it comes to infrastructure, industrials," Dan Ives, global head of tech research at Wedbush Securities, told CNBC's "Europe Early Edition" on Tuesday.

What to Watch

AI outlook — possibilities, not facts

  • SpaceX may reach approximately $1 trillion revenue in 2030.

    Speculative · Within years

Open Questions

  • Can SpaceX meet ambitious growth projections?
  • What is the long-term impact of the Cursor acquisition?
  • Will SpaceX's valuation remain sustainable?

Related Topics

This article was originally published by CNBC.

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