SPCX Stock Dips On Profit-Taking Despite Investment-Grade Ratings

SpaceX slipped on Thursday amid heavy profit-taking after its debut rally briefly lifted the stock above $225 and drove its valuation near $3 trillion at peak levels.

• BBB+ and BBB are both investment-grade credit ratings that sit near the lower end of the investment-grade spectrum.
• Fitch, S&P Global and Moody’s noted constraints, including concentrated governance under Elon Musk, execution risk tied to Starship development, and next-generation satellite deployment, among others. 
• Fitch cited the company’s commanding lead in commercial launch for its BBB+ rating.

Shares of Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SPCX) fell 4% on Thursday, extending losses for a second straight day, after the company’s record-breaking IPO just six days earlier.

The decline came amid heavy profit-taking following a debut rally that briefly pushed the stock above $225 and valued the company near $3 trillion at its peak.

Despite the selloff — which still left SPCX up around 37% from its $135 IPO price — the company received investment-grade credit ratings from three major agencies on the same day, highlighting Wall Street’s confidence in its dominant position in commercial space launch and the rapidly scaling Starlink connectivity business.

Fitch Assigns ‘BBB+’ Rating

Fitch Ratings published a ‘BBB+’ Long-Term Issuer Default Rating with a Stable Outlook and assigned the same rating to SpaceX’s senior unsecured revolving credit facility. Fitch cited the company’s commanding lead in commercial launch, where it has delivered more than 80% of global mass to orbit since 2023. 
It highlighted proprietary reusability, high flight cadence, vertical integration, and recurring revenue from over 12 million Starlink subscribers as of June 4, plus enterprise, government and mobile contracts. A rapidly scaling terrestrial AI compute business was noted as an additional high-margin driver.

Fitch expects earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) growth to keep leverage within or below management’s 2x–3x target, backed by pro forma liquidity exceeding $90 billion.

S&P Global Ratings Issues ‘BBB’

S&P Global Ratings assigned a ‘BBB’ Issuer Credit Rating with a Stable Outlook. The agency balanced the “solid foundation” of the launch and connectivity businesses against risks in the still-nascent AI segment and significant capital needs. It described the space business as having a deep competitive moat, with Falcon 9’s proven track record and Starship development key to further cost reductions. Starlink was viewed as the near-term cash-flow engine, with strong growth expected from enterprise and government clients.

Moody’s Assigns Baa1 Rating

Moody’s Ratings assigned a Baa1 long-term issuer rating, equivalent to BBB+, with a Stable Outlook. Moody’s praised SpaceX’s “exceptional franchise strength” as the world’s leading orbital launch provider and operator of the largest LEO broadband network. It pointed to robust recurring Starlink revenue, vertical integration driving cost efficiency, U.S. government contracts, and AI compute monetization potential, including recent third-party leasing deals.

Key Constraints Across All Agencies

Across all three reports, key constraints included concentrated governance under Elon Musk, execution risk tied to Starship development and next-generation satellite deployment, and the unprecedented scale of the AI infrastructure buildout. All agencies viewed deeply negative free cash flow as elective growth investment rather than structural weakness and noted SpaceX’s conservative financial policy, including a target minimum $25 billion cash balance and no plans for dividends or buybacks.

The ratings give SpaceX greater access to debt markets at lower cost while it funds aggressive expansion. BBB+ and BBB are both investment-grade credit ratings that sit near the lower end of the investment-grade spectrum. Both ratings reflect solid fundamentals and access to capital markets at reasonable cost, but they also indicate that the company faces notable risks that could pressure its credit profile if not managed well.

A Stable Outlook suggests the agencies do not expect the rating to change materially in the near term.

How Did SPCX Retail Traders React?

On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around SPCX fell from ‘extremely bullish’ to ‘bullish’ over the past 24 hours, while message volume remained at ‘extremely high’ levels.

A Stocktwits user noted that the stock is way overpriced but placed their faith in Elon Musk, opining that his track record must be respected.

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