SpaceX has finally opened the books. In a long-awaited IPO filing released on Wednesday (May 20), Elon Musk’s rocket and satellite company disclosed new details about its finances, spending and insiders are poised to reap big profits if the listing meets expectations.
The filing leaves out key pricing details for now, but investors are sticking to a valuation of nearly $2 trillion. At that rate, Musk would become the world’s first trillionaire, while a tight circle of longtime executives and early investors would become billionaires.
Here’s a closer look:
COO Gwynne Shotwell
Few people are better positioned to benefit than Gwynne Shotwell, SpaceX’s president and chief operating officer. Hired in 2002 as employee number 11, Shotwell was initially tasked with building sales for the Falcon 1 rocket. He rose to president and COO in 2008 after winning a major NASA contract and now oversees nearly all non-engineering functions, including operations, legal, finance and sales.
Shotwell owns 12.6 million SpaceX shares. At a valuation of $2 trillion, his stake alone would be worth nearly $3 billion. He received $85.8 million in compensation last year, including stock options.
His background includes engineering roles at Aerospace Corp. and the Microcosm. He holds a degree in mechanical engineering and applied mathematics from Northwestern University.
CFO Bret Johnsen
Bret Johnsen plays a key role in preparing SpaceX for the public markets. He joined the company in 2011 after senior finance positions at Broadcom and Mindspeed Technologies, bringing experience managing capital-intensive operations.
Johnsen has become a key bridge between SpaceX—one of the world’s most valuable private companies—and its small circle of powerful shareholders. His responsibilities have become more serious as spending has reached tens of billions.
Johnsen owns about 9.6 million shares of SpaceX. At an estimate of $2 trillion, his stake would be worth $1.4 billion. His total compensation last year was $9.8 million, according to Wednesday’s report.
Early investors plan for windfalls
Many of Musk’s longtime allies and early supporters remain on SpaceX’s board, and will benefit greatly from the list:
- Luke Nosek: Founder of PayPal and founder of Gigafund; board member since 2008; a total of about $5 billion.
- Antonio Gracias: Founder of Valor Equity Partners; board member since 2010; controls 503 million shares in all funds, making Valor one of SpaceX’s largest institutional owners.
- Steve Jurvetson: Founder of Future Ventures and longtime friend of Musk; joined the board in 2009.
- Donald Harrison: Google CEO; represents an early institutional investor in SpaceX.
- Ira Ehrenpreis: Venture capitalist and Tesla board member; he joined in 2026 and is expected to chair the compensation and nomination committee.
- Randy Glenn: Founder of DFJ Growth; long board observer turned director in 2026; appointed to chair the audit committee.
SpaceX’s financial reality and the big picture
Despite its size and ambition, SpaceX is unprofitable and spending money faster than it can make it. The company lost $4.9 billion last year. In the first three months of this year alone, it lost $4.3 billion on revenue of $4.7 billion.
Annual revenue has been growing at about a 33 percent pace, but its capital spending is doubling every year. Last year, SpaceX spent 20.7 billion dollars. Nearly 60 percent spent on AI In the first three months of this year, SpaceX has already spent $10.1 billion, $7.7 billion of which was on AI.
SpaceX’s startup isn’t just about rockets. With its integration with xAI, the company is positioning itself at the center of the AI infrastructure race. It’s also expected to open the floodgates for other big AI listings, including potential IPOs from OpenAI and Anthropic.
For now, the big question is whether public market investors will embrace SpaceX’s aggressive spending and long-term vision—or limit its losses.
SpaceX will trade on the Nasdaq under the ticker SPCX in June.
