It is reported that SpaceX has obtained investment grade credit ratings from three major international rating agencies, and may accelerate its debt financing layout after the IPO.

According to informed sources, SpaceX has received investment-grade credit ratings from the three major international rating agencies Moody's Corporation, S&P Global, Inc., and Fitch Ratings. This means that the company is expected to enter the investment-grade bond market for financing at a lower cost, providing financial support for its continued expansion in the aerospace, satellite internet, and artificial intelligence businesses. As planned, SpaceX will complete its IPO pricing on Thursday and begin trading on the Nasdaq the following day. The offering is expected to raise approximately $75 billion, giving the company a valuation of around $1.8 trillion, potentially making it the largest IPO in global capital market history. With the listing nearing, bond market investors have begun to focus on SpaceX's next financing plans. Analysts at CreditSights released a report this week predicting that SpaceX will launch a new bond financing plan shortly after the IPO. One of the key concerns is the company's current outstanding bridge loan of up to $20 billion. According to SpaceX's filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), as of March 31 this year, the company's total long-term debt was approximately $29.1 billion, with around $20 billion in bridge loans due in September 2027, making up a significant portion of the long-term debt. Under the financing agreement, SpaceX is required to repay at least a portion of the bridge loan within six months of raising funds through the IPO and some debt financing. It is widely believed that obtaining an investment-grade rating will allow the company to issue bonds at lower financing costs in the future and attract more large institutional investors to subscribe. Although SpaceX is currently operating at a loss, its future revenue sources are rapidly growing. The prospectus shows that in the first quarter of this year, SpaceX generated revenue of $4.69 billion but widened its net loss to $4.28 billion, higher than the $528 million loss in the same period last year. By traditional standards, companies with sustained losses tend to find it difficult to obtain investment-grade ratings. However, several market observers point out that SpaceX has a significant number of long-term contracts and stable cash flow expectations, making its situation markedly different from ordinary growth companies. The most attention-grabbing are two recent large-scale partnership agreements signed by the company. According to previous disclosures, Alphabet Inc. Class C's parent Alphabet has agreed to pay SpaceX approximately $30 billion under a long-term cloud computing partnership that will last until mid-2029. In addition, artificial intelligence company Anthropic is expected to pay SpaceX approximately $45 billion in service fees over the coming years. CreditSights analyst Davis Hebert stated that the revenue expectations from just these two contracts are theoretically enough to support a higher credit rating. "Even without any other factors, solely based on the cash flow expectations from these long-term contracts, the company has the ability to achieve a high credit rating." In fact, in the U.S. corporate credit rating system, cases like SpaceX, which has not yet turned a profit but has received an investment-grade rating, are not common. For comparison, Elon Musk's other publicly traded company Tesla, Inc., was categorized as a junk credit-rated company for a long time until it achieved sustained profitability and gained an investment-grade rating. Zachary Griffiths, CreditSights' director of investment-grade strategy, stated that there are hardly any direct precedents for SpaceX's situation. "Loss-making companies usually do not receive investment-grade ratings, but SpaceX is not a typical company, it is almost in a category of its own." Griffiths believes that SpaceX's high credit rating in the market largely stems from its monopoly-like advantage in the commercial aerospace sector, the growth potential of its Starlink satellite internet business, and the long-term growth expectations from the artificial intelligence infrastructure market. In recent years, SpaceX's financing model has primarily relied on equity financing and support from the private market. But with the company about to enter the capital market and obtain a higher credit rating, future financing channels are expected to significantly expand. Analysts believe that the investment-grade bond market will become an important source of funding for SpaceX in the next phase. For a company that is simultaneously involved in rocket launches, satellite internet, artificial intelligence computing power, and space infrastructure, significant financial support will still be needed for business expansion in the future. And obtaining an investment-grade rating will not only help reduce financing costs but also mean that the company is officially entering the investment range of global large insurance institutions, pension funds, and long-term bond funds. It is worth noting that Moody's Corporation, S&P, and Fitch have not publicly released SpaceX's formal ratings. Fitch has stated that they have not yet announced the relevant rating; S&P also stated that they have not published a rating report yet; Moody's Corporation has not commented on the market rumors. However, SpaceX clearly stated in its prospectus that the company's goal is to "maintain an investment-grade credit rating," which has been interpreted as an important signal that the company may have already been recognized by the relevant rating agencies.