S&P Global on Thursday reaffirmed its index entry rules, effectively blocking early inclusion for Elon Musk's SpaceX in the S&P 500 following what is set to be the world's largest ever initial public offering. SpaceX is raising $75 billion at a valuation of $1.75 trillion, ranking it among the top ten most valuable publicly traded U.S. companies. However, the index provider maintained its existing requirements for profitability, seasoning, and minimum float, stating it would not grant exceptions solely based on market capitalization. The company posted a $4.94 billion net loss in 2025, despite revenues rising 33% to $18.67 billion. S&P's decision preserves its credibility, as passive index funds managing trillions of dollars would have been forced to buy SpaceX shares had rules been changed.
Nasdaq has already altered its rules to ease entry for newly listed megacaps like SpaceX into the Nasdaq 100, which would require index funds to purchase a sizable portion of available shares. S&P also indicated it would modify entry rules for its broader Total Market Index, offering a pathway for SpaceX into less widely followed benchmarks. SpaceX has also qualified for fast-entry into the Russell and FTSE global equity indexes under newly announced provisions.