Alphabet’s SpaceX Bet Surges From $900M to $94B Stake

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Alphabet’s Position in SpaceX Surges After IPO

Alphabet’s early move into SpaceX has generated enormous paper gains, with the Google parent reporting that its stake in Elon Musk’s rocket company was worth roughly $94.2 billion at the end of June. That valuation is based on Alphabet’s holding of 551.2 million SpaceX shares and the June 30 share price of $170.86. Alphabet had previously said it invested $900 million in SpaceX in 2015, implying that the position has increased in value by more than 100 times.

A Reuters analysis of regulatory filings indicated that Alphabet has become the largest single institutional shareholder in SpaceX following the company’s $86 billion initial public offering in June. The disclosures provide a rare window into how much value some early backers have seen as SpaceX evolved from a privately held startup into a major publicly traded company.

Limitations of 13F Data and Visibility Into Pre-IPO Stakes

The details of institutional positions in SpaceX are drawn from quarterly 13F filings, which large investors submit to U.S. regulators. Because these reports are filed once per quarter and must be disclosed within six weeks after the quarter ends, they only show holdings as of June 30 and do not reflect any changes made since then.

The filings also offer an incomplete view of the broader shareholder base and the timing of when various stakes can be sold in the public market. The complexity of pre-IPO holdings and different lockup arrangements makes it difficult to track how early private investments translate into public market positions.

“It’s very, very difficult to tease out which of these institutions were holding pre-IPO shares,” said Steve Sosnick, market strategist at Interactive Brokers.

Alphabet is a notable exception, because the company previously disclosed its $900 million investment in SpaceX in 2015. That public statement gives investors a concrete reference point for assessing the scale of the gains reflected in its current stake. Alphabet did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Sosnick also pointed out that the 13F data does not indicate whether investors are subject to lockups or how they may be planning to realize profits on positions established before the IPO.

Alphabet and Other Major Institutional Holders

At the end of the second quarter, Alphabet’s 551.2 million SpaceX shares, valued at about $94.2 billion at the June 30 price, made it the largest reported institutional holder. Using Thursday’s closing price, Alphabet’s disclosed position would be worth about $77.9 billion, still roughly 86.5 times the size of the original $900 million investment.

Other major institutional holders reported in the filings included Fidelity Investments, with 302.6 million SpaceX shares, Gigafund Management with 171.8 million, Baillie Gifford with 51.4 million and BlackRock with 51.0 million.

Together, Alphabet, Fidelity, Gigafund Management, Baillie Gifford and BlackRock accounted for nearly three quarters of the reported institutional ownership in SpaceX, underscoring the concentration of large positions among a small group of investors.

Separately, SpaceX disclosed in a regulatory filing that Elon Musk held a 48.4% stake in the company.