Amazon gained the market cap SpaceX lost in six weeks
In less than six weeks, Amazon has gained almost as much market capitalization as SpaceX has lost. Since June 26, both companies have swapped precisely $560 billion in market cap.
Believe it or not, as recently as June 16, both companies had the same valuation, each being a $2.65 trillion company.
Since then, however, their valuations have trended in opposite directions.
Shares of Amazon climbed above $284 today, carrying the online retailer’s market value past $3 trillion for the first time. Only four publicly traded companies had ever reached that mark before.
Elon Musk’s rocket, internet, and AI conglomerate SpaceX had a great start after its IPO, running above $2.9 trillion within three days and briefly eclipsing the value of Amazon for one glorious week.
Stock in SpaceX then crashed, crashed, and crashed some more. Over the past month, the stock has lost 32% of its value.
Today, Amazon’s $3.06 trillion market cap is more than twice as valuable as SpaceX’s $1.44 trillion.
A good earnings report from Amazon
Last week, Amazon reported second quarter net sales of $200 billion and operating income up an impressive 43%, largely due to tariff refund checks and an increase in its Anthropic investment.
Its Amazon Web Services division grew at its fastest rate in 18 quarters.
The company posted adjusted earnings of $1.97 per share that beat Wall Street’s $1.82 estimate, on impressive revenue of $200 billion versus an expected $196 billion.
Accelerating cloud-computing growth eased investors’ concerns about Amazon’s heavy AI spending, with analysts framing its AI expenditures as bets that were starting to pay off.
The stock surged 15% the day after the report and was up about 5% again on Monday, marking another record high.
CEO Andy Jassy said, “There’s a lot to be excited about, and we have much more coming for customers in the second half of the year and beyond.”
Some of that excitement came from outside the business. Roughly $53 billion of the quarter’s $62.6 billion net income arrived as non-operating gains, largely on Amazon’s stake in Anthropic.
Amazon even nudged capital spending guidance toward $220 billion, and investors were happy to oblige — bidding up its stock 22% over the past week despite its plans to spend more cash on AI.
Wall Street raised its Amazon price targets. Analysts at JPMorgan raised their price target to $365 from $330, Wells Fargo reiterated its overweight recommendation and $328 price target, and TD Cowen said buy up to $350.
Read more: Some SpaceX bonds have already sunk to junk-like territory
SpaceX reports Tuesday, more stock unlocks Thursday
All of that good news for Amazon contrasts starkly with a terrible few weeks for SpaceX, which priced shares of the largest IPO in history at $135 apiece in June.
Within three trading sessions, it touched an intraday peak near $2.95 trillion — a level it would never regain. In fact, its value has halved since that high.
By this morning, SpaceX traded down to a fresh all-time low near $105. The stock sits well below the price its own underwriters set less than two months ago.
The calendar offers no relief.
SpaceX posts its first quarterly results as a public company after the close of regular trading tomorrow. Investors are obviously not optimistic, given the poor stock performance.
Two days after earnings, a share unlock will free 911 million additional shares for sale. That will more than double the tradable float, adding sell pressure on shares already under steady pressure over the past month.
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