SpaceX IPO Expectations Ignite Space ETFs

SpaceX's anticipated public listing is drawing a massive influx of funds into space-themed funds. According to Reuters, citing data from Morningstar, the space ETF sector saw an inflow of $1.3 billion in the past month, bringing the total assets under management to $3.3 billion.

The pace of product expansion is staggering. Procure Space ETF, established in 2019, was previously the only fund on the market solely focused on the space economy. As SpaceX's listing plans become clearer, six competing products have entered the market in the past three months.

Among them, the Tema Space Innovators ETF (ticker: NASA) has reached an asset size of over $1.27 billion within about seven weeks of its establishment, while Procure Space ETF took almost a decade to reach the same scale. Procure Space ETF currently manages assets of about $900 million, with a return rate of 49% so far this year.

SEC filings show that around the mid-June launch window for SpaceX, at least two new funds are preparing to enter the market, including leveraged and enhanced yield products directly linked to SpaceX's stock.

The enthusiasm for the space sector has formed well before expectations for SpaceX's listing. Rocket Lab and AST SpaceMobile have seen gains of 393% and 258%, respectively, over the past 12 months. According to Bespoke Investment Group data, a basket of 26 space stocks has seen an average increase of 81.8% so far this year.

SpaceX itself exhibits typical characteristics of high growth and high losses. The company has already submitted the S-1 registration statement to the SEC on May 20th, officially initiating the process of listing on Nasdaq under the ticker SPCX.

In 2025, the company's revenue was $18.67 billion, with the Starlink satellite internet business contributing $11.39 billion; however, burdened by AI business losses—which amounted to $6.36 billion in operating losses that year—the company's consolidated operating loss reached $2.59 billion.

Risks highlight that the rapid expansion of products has raised analysts' concerns about homogenization. After Reuters combed through the holdings of seven pure space ETFs, it found that the same four stocks appear in the top ten of each fund's holdings, and the overlap between any two funds is no less than 50%.

Strategas ETF strategist Todd Sohn told Reuters, "When everyone is investing with the same mind, I start to worry—it makes it hard for each fund to differentiate through investing rather than marketing."

For investors, two questions need to be clarified: Is buying space ETFs an investment in the SpaceX IPO expectations, or in the long-term growth of the entire industry? And given the high degree of overlap in holdings, how meaningful is the choice of which fund to invest in? SpaceX is expected to go public in mid-June, and the subsequent capital flows once expectations are met will be the first real test of whether this enthusiasm can continue."