Scottish Mortgage’s SpaceX Bonanza: A $2tn Valuation, a 5% Drop and a Contentious Vote Ahead
14.06.2026 - 06:05:15 | boerse-global.de
Elon Musk’s SpaceX made history on Friday with the largest US initial public offering ever, instantly hitting a valuation north of two trillion dollars. But for the biggest publicly traded holder, a lock-up, macro headwinds and a classic “sell-the-fact” reaction conspired to turn the landmark event into a disappointment. Shares of the Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust tumbled 5.29 percent to €16.12, despite the multibillion-dollar boost to its portfolio.
The space exploration titan raised $75 billion in its debut, pricing at $135 a share. By the close of the first trading day, the stock had surged roughly 19 percent, elevating Musk to the world’s first trillionaire. The listing was anchored by SpaceX’s satellite arm Starlink, which generated $11.2 billion in revenue last year — about 60 percent of the group’s total. Yet the company as a whole posted a $5 billion loss for 2025, a hole largely attributable to heavy losses at Musk’s artificial intelligence venture xAI.
For Scottish Mortgage, the IPO marks a pivotal moment. Its stake in SpaceX is now worth more than $4 billion, having sat for years as an illiquid private holding. Co-manager Tom Slater had resisted repeated calls from hedge funds to sell the position, and the patience paid off handsomely. At the start of June, SpaceX accounted for exactly 21 percent of the trust’s total assets. That concentrated bet is now a highly liquid publicly traded asset — but the liquidity comes with strings attached. A staggered lock-up period prevents Scottish Mortgage from selling any shares for up to 180 days, a constraint the trust’s management flagged in advance. “SpaceX shares could double or halve in the coming days,” Slater warned.
Should investors sell immediately? Or is it worth buying Scottish Mortgage Investment?
Market commentators attributed the trust’s own share slide to a textbook “sell-the-fact” move, amplified by broader macro pressures. Reports of a potential US-Iran peace deal pushed oil prices lower, which in turn lifted banking stocks and shifted sector momentum. Scottish Mortgage’s shares have now slipped below the 50-day moving average, though they remain above the 100-day line. On the week, the stock lost nearly six percent, but it still shows a gain of roughly 16 percent since the start of 2025.
Beyond the SpaceX event, the trust faces a strategic crossroads. Over the past two years, management has deployed more than £3 billion to buy back its own shares, fighting a persistent discount to net asset value. The next test comes on 2 July 2026, when shareholders will vote on a controversial proposal to allow the board to invest an additional £250 million in private companies, even if doing so pushes the non-listed allocation above the current 30 percent cap. The outcome of that vote will shape the portfolio’s risk profile for years.
Retail investors, meanwhile, received an unusually high allocation of SpaceX stock in the IPO, a development that has drawn criticism from some US pension funds concerned about heightened volatility in index-tracking strategies following the stock’s accelerated inclusion in the Nasdaq-100. For Scottish Mortgage, the transition of its largest single holding from a private black box to a public market bellwether brings both transparency and exposure to daily price swings — a shift that is already testing the patience of its own shareholders.
Ad
Scottish Mortgage Investment Stock: New Analysis - 14 June
Fresh Scottish Mortgage Investment information released. What's the impact for investors? Our latest independent report examines recent figures and market trends.
