SpaceX Assembles 21-Bank Underwriting Syndicate for "Project Apex", the IPO That Could Rewrite Wall Street History
Elon Musk’s SpaceX is moving fast. The Texas-based rocket and satellite company has now assembled at least 21 banks to underwrite what promises to be the most consequential stock market debut in years.
The offering, internally codenamed “Project Apex,” is targeting a June 2026 listing at a jaw-dropping estimated valuation of $1.75 trillion.
For aerospace industry stakeholders and institutional observers, the structural details of this deal deserve a close read.
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What Is Project Apex?
“Project Apex” is SpaceX’s internal codename for its planned initial public offering.
The name itself signals ambition: this is not a routine listing. It’s a carefully orchestrated, globally coordinated capital-markets operation designed to introduce the world’s most valuable private aerospace company to public investors.
The IPO is expected to price close to Musk’s 55th birthday on June 28, according to Reuters sources. The timing is deliberate. SpaceX’s CFO Bret Johnsen has been the key liaison between the company and Wall Street banks, coordinating the deal structure.
Project Apex: Key Parameters (as reported)
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Expected IPO Date: June 2026
Target Raise: Up to $75 billion
Target Valuation: ~$1.75 trillion
No. of Banks Involved: At least 21
Active Bookrunners: 5 (lead banks)
Additional Banks: 16 (regional/retail roles)
The 21-Bank Syndicate: Who Is In and What Do They Do?
The size of the underwriting group alone signals how complex this deal is.
Five banks are serving as active bookrunners, or the lead managers of the transaction. Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, and Citigroup are leading the syndicate, according to people familiar with the matter who spoke to both Reuters and CNBC.
Beyond these five, an additional 16 banks have been assigned specific, clearly defined roles. This is not a free-for-all. SpaceX has built what market participants are calling a “lane” structure in which each firm focuses on defined investor pools and geographies rather than competing broadly across the deal.
Geographic & Investor Role Breakdown (per Reuters reporting)
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Morgan Stanley: Smaller-ticket retail investors via E*Trade
Bank of America: U.S. high-net-worth individuals and family offices
UBS: International high-net-worth investors
Citigroup: International retail and institutional distribution
Mizuho: Japan
Barclays: United Kingdom
Deutsche Bank: Germany
Royal Bank of Canada: Canada
The remaining named banks in the syndicate include Allen & Co, BTG Pactual, ING Groep, Macquarie, Needham & Co, Raymond James, Societe Generale, Banco Santander, Stifel, Wells Fargo, and William Blair.
About half of those bank names had not been previously reported before Reuters’ and CNBC’s April 1 disclosures. The plan remains subject to change, and additional banks could still be added.
The Financial Case: Revenue, Profit, and the Starlink Engine
Any discussion of the SpaceX IPO has to begin with the company’s underlying financial performance. SpaceX generated approximately $8 billion in EBITDA profit on $15 billion to $16 billion of revenue in 2025, according to two sources familiar with the company’s results who spoke to Reuters in January 2026.
Starlink, the company’s satellite internet service, is the primary revenue driver, accounting for an estimated 50% to 80% of total company revenue. Starlink crossed 10 million active subscribers globally as of February 2026, adding 1 million subscribers in just 53 days at that pace.
The company has been equally aggressive on spectrum. SpaceX acquired $19 billion worth of wireless spectrum rights from EchoStar last year as it positions Starlink for the direct-to-device market, where mobile phones can connect directly with satellites without requiring a Starlink terminal.
That’s a significant long-term strategic bet in the satellite communications sector.
SpaceX 2025 Financials (Reported Figures)
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Revenue: $15 billion to $16 billion
EBITDA: ~$8 billion
Starlink's Revenue Share: ~50% to 80% of total
Active Starlink Subscribers: 10 million+ (as of Feb 2026)
Spectrum Investment (EchoStar): $19 billion
Bloomberg’s PitchBook assessed that a $1.75 trillion valuation for SpaceX in an IPO would be “justifiable” given a three-to-five year investment horizon, with SpaceX’s trajectory in launch services, satellite broadband, and next-generation Starship development taken into account.
A Historic Retail Investor Bet
One of the most structurally unusual aspects of Project Apex is the retail allocation. In a standard IPO, retail investors typically receive just 5% to 10% of available shares. SpaceX, under Musk’s direction, is planning to allocate up to 30% of the offering to individual investors, at least three times the typical amount.
This is a deliberate strategic choice. SpaceX is betting that retail investors who have followed the company for years are less likely to engage in immediate post-listing sell-offs.
The logic: a more stable, loyal retail base should reduce post-IPO volatility.
Rowan Taylor, managing partner of Liberty Hall Capital Partners, a private equity firm focused on aerospace and defense, described the anticipated demand as “one of those lifetime moments in which people may say they just have to get in.” He compared retail appetite for SpaceX’s shares to the buzz surrounding Google’s IPO more than two decades ago.
The Financial Times separately reported that SpaceX has told prospective investors it hopes to raise roughly $75 billion in the offering. If achieved, that figure would shatter the current record for the largest IPO ever conducted.
How This Stacks Up Against the Biggest IPOs in History?
For context on what Project Apex would mean for global capital markets, consider the benchmarks.
Saudi Aramco holds the current record for the largest IPO in history, raising approximately $29.4 billion in 2019. Alibaba raised $21.8 billion in 2014, while ARM Holdings assembled a syndicate of close to 30 banks for its 2023 listing.
Largest IPOs in History (by Amount Raised)
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Saudi Aramco (2019): ~$29.4 billion
Alibaba (2014): ~$21.8 billion
SoftBank Corp (2018): ~$21.3 billion
Facebook/Meta (2012): ~$16 billion
ARM Holdings (2023): ~$5 billion (at ~$60B valuation)
SpaceX (projected 2026): Up to $75 billion (target)
SpaceX’s targeted raise of $75 billion would be more than double the existing record. Even at a more conservative scenario, SpaceX’s listing would fundamentally reorder the rankings of the world’s most significant IPOs.
The $1.75 trillion valuation target would place SpaceX in the same bracket as TSMC (and just below Amazon), and would surpass Tesla’s current market capitalization.