SpaceX Officially Files With SEC. Breakdown of the Largest IPO Prospectus in History: Starlink Accounts for 70% of Revenue, R&D Expenses Surge 125%

Tradingkey - According to a May 20 disclosure by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), SpaceX, Elon Musk’s largest-ever IPO project, has officially filed with the SEC. Reports suggest that SpaceX secretly submitted the filing in April of this year.

Underwriters for this SpaceX offering include Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, BofA Securities, Citigroup, and J.P. Morgan Securities. SpaceX will issue two classes of common stock: Class A common stock (one vote per share) and Class B common stock (10 votes per share). According to the prospectus, Musk holds a combined 85.1% of the voting power, owning 12.3% of Class A shares and 93.6% of Class B shares.

On the financial front, for the fiscal years ended December 31, 2023, 2024, and 2025, SpaceX reported revenues of $10.387 billion, $14.015 billion, and $18.674 billion, respectively. Corresponding basic net income/(loss) per share for the same periods were a loss of $1.68, a profit of $0.01, and a loss of $1.69, respectively.

Notably, research expenses within the company's expenditure categories have risen exponentially. Research and development (R&D) expenses for the corresponding periods were $2.105 billion, $3.464 billion, and $8.643 billion, representing a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 60.01%.

This aggressive "cash-burning for technology" stance was further evidenced in the latest financial report: In the first quarter of 2026, while SpaceX achieved revenue of $4.694 billion, a steady year-over-year increase of 15.4%, its net loss widened significantly by 709.8% from a low base in the same period last year. The "core burden" behind this profit gap was the R&D expense line item, which surged 125.7% year-over-year.

SpaceX noted that the rising costs were primarily driven by three factors: a $62 million increase in R&D and production costs for next-generation satellites, an $8 million increase in Starlink kit costs, and $14 million in additional ground equipment costs. This indicates that the company is funneling the vast majority of its cash flow toward the technological frontier, regardless of the cost.

In addition, SpaceX currently divides its main operations into three segments: Space, Connectivity, and Artificial Intelligence. The Connectivity segment is centered on the Starlink satellite network service, with a customer base spanning general consumers as well as partnerships with national governments and military agencies.

Specifically, in the first quarter of 2026, SpaceX's total revenue reached $4.69 billion, with the Connectivity segment alone accounting for $3.26 billion, or 69% of the company's total revenue.

Among the three business segments, only the Connectivity segment achieved profitability. For this quarter, the Space segment recorded an operating loss of $662 million, and the AI segment's loss reached $2.5 billion, while the Connectivity segment posted a profit of $1.19 billion.

The prospectus shows that data from the first quarter of this year indicates the Starlink business now covers 164 countries and regional markets globally, with a cumulative user base of 10.3 million. Its service relies on a network of approximately 9,600 low-Earth orbit satellites; this constellation size already accounts for 75% of the world's active maneuvering satellites currently in orbit.