The SpaceX IPO Unlock Window Arrives in a Month. What Investors Should Know.
The biggest IPO in history could face a reckoning once its lockup periods expire.
By Leo Sun
SpaceX (SPCX 0.04%) has taken investors on a wild ride since its June 12 IPO. The aerospace and AI company went public at $135 per share, started trading at $150, and soared to a record high of $225.64 on June 16. But as of this writing, it trades at about $160.
SpaceX's stock pulled back because its valuation had gotten overheated. At its peak, its market cap briefly hit $2.66 trillion, or 142 times its 2025 revenue of $18.7 billion. It also only floated about 4% of its shares in its IPO, and that limited supply amplified its gains.
Yet after that pullback, SpaceX is still worth $2.06 trillion, or 110 times last year's sales. That's a bubbly valuation for a company that grew its revenue by 33% in 2025. While market hype and rosy expectations could prevent its stock from dipping below its IPO price, it could face a reckoning once its lockup periods start to expire in about a month.
When will SpaceX's lockup periods expire?
When a company goes public, its insiders, early investors, and institutional investors are barred from selling their shares immediately. Instead, they generally need to wait until the traditional 180-day "lockup period" ends before they can sell those shares.
However, that's not a firm rule -- so companies can structure their lockup periods in different ways. Instead of waiting for 180 days, SpaceX will allow its insiders and early investors to sell their shares in several waves. The first wave will occur on the second trading day after its second-quarter earnings report in late July or early August.
On that day, SpaceX will unlock 20% of its shares held by its employees and early pre-IPO holders. If its stock closed at or above $175.50 per share for at least five of the ten consecutive days before the earnings release, it will unlock another 10% of its shares. It will continue to unlock 7% of its shares on Aug. 20, Sept. 9, Sept. 24, Oct. 9, and Oct. 24.
On the second trading day after its third-quarter earnings report in late October or early November, it will unlock 28% of its shares. On Dec. 8, it will unlock all of its remaining shares.
Why should investors watch these dates?
SpaceX's stock could decline on those lockup dates as its insiders and early investors cash out. That selling could make it much easier and cheaper to short the stock. Therefore, if you believe SpaceX has a bright future but don't want to pay the wrong price for the right stock, those lockup expirations could create some good buying opportunities.