Alphabet's investment in SpaceX has increased 100-fold over the past 10 years
By August 13, the value of Alphabet's portfolio had fallen to $77.9 billion
In 2015, Google invested $900 million in SpaceX / Photo: X / SpaceX
Alphabet’s early investment in SpaceX has grown more than 100-fold: Google’s parent company reported that, as of the end of June, its stake in Elon Musk’s space company was worth about $94 billion. In 2015, Google invested $900 million in the startup.
Details
Following SpaceX’s $86 billion IPO in June, Alphabet became the company’s largest individual institutional shareholder, according to a Reuters analysis. As of the end of the second quarter, Alphabet held 551.2 million shares of SpaceX, according to the company’s financial statements. Based on SpaceX’s closing share price on June 30, this stake was worth approximately $94.2 billion.
Reuters reviewed Google’s quarterly financial statements and SpaceX’s Form 13F filings, but notes that these figures are as of June 30 and may change rapidly. For example, by August 13, the value of the Alphabet stake had already fallen to $77.9 billion. That is still roughly 86 times the initial investment.
SpaceX went public on June 12, offering shares at $135 each. On Thursday, the stock closed at $141.29—4.7% above the IPO price, but 17.3% below the closing price on June 30.
Who else owns shares in SpaceX?
As of the end of June, the second-largest disclosed institutional shareholder of SpaceX was the investment firm Fidelity Investments, with 302.6 million shares. It was followed by Gigafund Management with 171.8 million shares, Baillie Gifford with 51.4 million, and BlackRock with 51 million.
Alphabet, Fidelity, Gigafund Management, Baillie Gifford, and BlackRock—the five largest disclosed shareholders—collectively held nearly three-quarters of all SpaceX shares. This highlights the high concentration of institutional ownership among a small group of investors, Reuters notes.
“[After the stock begins trading] it is very, very difficult to determine exactly which investors held shares prior to the IPO,” Steve Sosnik, a market strategist at Interactive Brokers, told Reuters. He added that 13F filings do not indicate whether investors are subject to lock-up restrictions or whether they intend to take profits on positions acquired before the IPO.
Separately, SpaceX disclosed in its regulatory filings that Musk owns 48.4% of the company.
This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor
