SpaceX made history on 12th June when it listed on the Nasdaq at a valuation of around $1.77 trillion, making it the largest Initial Public Offering (IPO) ever. Before this, owning SpaceX shares was only possible for a small group of private investors. Now, anyone can buy them.

As you'd expect with a high-profile listing, the share price jumped in the first few days before settling back. That's pretty typical. New listings often attract a lot of excitement, and that excitement doesn't always tell us much about where the business will be in five, ten or twenty years' time.

The headlines have focused on the record-breaking valuation, but the more interesting story is why a company this large is only just coming to the public markets.

Years ago, companies like Apple and Microsoft became publicly listed much earlier in their journey, giving ordinary investors the opportunity to benefit from decades of growth. Today, many of the world's biggest companies stay private for much longer, with much of that growth taking place behind closed doors and only being available to venture capital firms, institutions and wealthy private investors.

By the time companies like SpaceX eventually list, they're already among the largest businesses in the world.

And SpaceX is much more than a rocket company. Alongside its space business, it operates Starlink, its satellite internet network, and following a merger earlier this year, it also owns Elon Musk's AI company. It arrived on the public market as one of the world's largest companies from day one, which is why several major index providers relaxed their usual rules to include it more quickly.

For investors, that means there's a good chance you'll own SpaceX without ever making a conscious decision to buy it. If you have a globally diversified portfolio, the funds you invest in will simply add SpaceX as it's included in the major global indices.

It's also worth remembering what an IPO actually is. We often hear them described as an exciting opportunity to "buy in", but an IPO is simply the first time shares in a private company are sold to the public. The people selling those shares are often early investors or employees who are turning years of paper wealth into real money. That's neither good nor bad, it just reminds us that every buyer has a seller.

It's natural to wonder whether now is the right time to invest in a company like SpaceX. The reality is that nobody knows. New listings are often volatile, with share prices moving sharply as excitement builds before settling as the initial demand fades. SpaceX has already followed that familiar pattern, but short-term price movements tell us very little about where the business could be in ten years' time.

For globally diversified investors, that's largely beside the point. As companies like SpaceX join the major indices, they'll become part of the portfolios that track them. Rather than deciding whether to buy every new company that grabs the headlines, diversification allows your portfolio to evolve naturally as markets evolve.

SpaceX is unlikely to be the last company to arrive this way. Reports suggest AI giants Anthropic and OpenAI could also come to the public markets in the years ahead. As more of today's largest private companies eventually list, diversified investors will gain exposure in exactly the same way.

For most long-term investors, a listing like this doesn't require any action. It's simply another reminder that a globally diversified portfolio is designed to evolve alongside the market, giving investors exposure to the world's leading companies as they emerge.

Sometimes, the most rewarding investment decision is simply sticking to the plan. 

Disclaimer:

The value of investments and any income from them can fall as well as rise. You may not get back the full amount invested. Past performance should be used as a guide only and is not a guarantee of future performance. Different investors will view these trade-offs differently depending on their objectives, time horizon, and attitude to risk.