S&P 500 Provider Won't Bend the Rules for SpaceX

S&P Global says it's going to treat SpaceX like it would any other money-losing company. The index provider says it won't relax key entry rules for the S&P 500, shutting down hopes that the rocket maker's record-shattering IPO next Friday could jump straight into Wall Street's benchmark index, Reuters reports. Despite SpaceX seeking a $1.75 trillion valuation that would rank it among the 10 most valuable US-listed companies, S&P said it won't waive standards on profitability, trading history, or how much stock is available to the public. SpaceX lost $4.94 billion in 2025 on $18.67 billion in revenue, falling short of the profit requirement.

• Nasdaq has changed the rules so SpaceX can join the Nasdaq 100 index in just 15 days. FTSE Russell shortened the time to five days. Bloomberg Intelligence analyst James Seyffart says he is "genuinely surprised" by S&P's decision. "But S&P is the market leader and they can buck the trend."

• The decision means "passive" funds that track the S&P 500 won't be forced buyers anytime soon. Without a rule change, it will be at least a year before SpaceX can qualify for the index. S&P will instead open the door for SpaceX to its broader, lesser-known total market indexes.
• The decision also applies to other mega-listings like Anthropic, which filed for an IPO earlier this week, and OpenAI, which is expected to file soon. S&P will instead open the door for SpaceX to its broader, lesser-known total market indexes.
• The S&P 500 is followed by around $7.5 trillion in passively managed funds. Bloomberg estimates that quickly including SpaceX in the index would have led to around $14 billion in "forced passive buying."

• The decision "speaks highly of the credibility of S&P Dow Jones Indices to be rules-based and make sure there's profitability before entrance to the index," says Art Hogan, chief market strategist at B. Riley Wealth," per Reuters. "Making exceptions because companies are so large and have been private so long yet are still not profitable, didn't make a great deal of sense."
• The price has been set at $135 for what is set to be the biggest IPO in history, though some analysts believe SpaceX has been "significantly overvalued" at $1.75 trillion.
• Jim Edwards at Fortune writes that since other indexes have changed their rules, "if you're using mutual funds or indexes to save for retirement, you'll have to pick and choose carefully if you want to avoid funding Elon Musk's rocket dreams."