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Alphabet Emerges as Biggest Institutional Holder of SpaceX

Prime Highlights 

  • Alphabet’s $900 million SpaceX investment in 2015 grew to a reported holding worth about $94.2 billion by the end of June.  
  • Alphabet held 551.2 million SpaceX shares, far exceeding the positions reported by other institutional investors.  

Key Facts 

  • Alphabet emerged as the largest reported institutional holder of SpaceX after the company went public in June.  
  • The five largest reported institutional investors controlled nearly three-quarters of SpaceX’s reported institutional shares.  

Background 

Alphabet’s early investment in SpaceX has grown more than 100-fold, making the Google parent the largest reported institutional holder of the rocket company. Alphabet invested $900 million in SpaceX in 2015 and held 551.2 million shares worth about $94.2 billion at the end of June. 

The sharp increase followed SpaceX’s $86 billion initial public offering in June. At SpaceX’s June-end share price, Alphabet’s holding was valued at about $94.2 billion. The value later fell to around $77.9 billion as the stock pulled back. 

Alphabet’s holding was far larger than those reported by other major institutional investors. Fidelity Investments held 302.6 million shares, followed by Gigafund Management with 171.8 million, Baillie Gifford with 51.4 million and BlackRock with 51 million shares. 

The five largest reported institutional holders accounted for nearly three-quarters of reported SpaceX shares, showing a high concentration of institutional ownership. A separate regulatory filing showed Elon Musk owned a 48.4% stake in SpaceX. 

Other investors also reported significant holdings. Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund held 154.1 million shares, while Brookfield reported 19.2 million shares. 

SpaceX began trading publicly in June at $135 a share. Its shares later moved above the IPO price but remained below their end-June level. 

The reported figures are based on quarterly regulatory filings and may not reflect transactions after June. The filings also do not show whether investors plan to sell their shares after lock-up restrictions expire.