
The SpaceX IPO is expected to debut this Friday on the NASDAQ at $135 per share, but its extreme valuation of 94x revenue suggests investors should consider selling on the initial "pop" rather than holding long-term. Alphabet (GOOGL) stands to benefit significantly from this event, as its 6% stake in the company has surged to an estimated $60 billion in value. For those seeking AI exposure with lower infrastructure costs, Apple (AAPL) is a strategic play as it leverages Google Gemini to upgrade Siri while avoiding the massive capital expenditures weighing down its peers. Conversely, exercise extreme caution with the broader AI sector, as 95% of CFOs report a lack of return on investment, signaling a potential liquidity crisis for companies over-leveraged in hardware. Outside of tech, the "value play" is shifting toward top-tier public universities like UT Austin and UCLA, which are seeing record application growth as families prioritize high-ROI education over high-debt private institutions.
• The company is expected to begin trading on the NASDAQ this Friday in what could be one of the largest IPOs in history. • Valuation: The share price is set at $135, giving the company a valuation of approximately $1.77 trillion. • Revenue Multiple: The stock is going public at a staggering 94 times revenues, which is significantly higher than traditional tech giants like Amazon (trading at roughly 4.5x revenues). • S&P 500 Exclusion: The index decided not to fast-track SpaceX into the S&P 500, meaning there won't be immediate forced buying from index funds. • Infrastructure Pivot: SpaceX recently signed a massive deal with Google (Alphabet), where Google will pay $920 million per month for computing power and access to NVIDIA chips.
• High Risk of "Meme Stock" Volatility: Scott Galloway warns that the stock may hit a 10-year high the minute it goes public and could decline thereafter due to the extreme valuation. • Artificial Scarcity: Expect a potential "pop" in price on day one as banks and Musk manufacture scarcity, but be wary of long-term sustainability at 94x revenue. • Exit Strategy: For those receiving an allocation, the recommendation discussed is to consider selling on the first trade rather than holding long-term. • Capital Drain: The IPO is expected to suck liquidity out of other sectors, potentially causing a short-term decline in Bitcoin and other tech stocks as investors rotate funds into SpaceX.
• Google owns a 6% stake in SpaceX, purchased in 2015 when the company was valued at only $12 billion. • At a $1 trillion+ valuation, this stake is worth approximately $60 billion, a 5x return on their initial position. • Google is currently renting compute capacity from SpaceX/xAI to meet surging AI demand.
• Circular Value: The deal to buy compute from SpaceX is a "no-brainer" for Google; for every dollar they spend on compute, they likely see a significant increase in the value of their 6% equity stake in SpaceX. • Short-term Infrastructure Bridge: Google is using SpaceX as a stop-gap to keep up with AI demand while they build out their own internal hardware capabilities.
• Apple is expected to announce a major overhaul of Siri at its annual developers conference. • The new Siri will reportedly use Google Gemini technology for heavy reasoning and multi-step commands. • Apple’s AI capital expenditure (CapEx) actually decreased last year, making them an outlier among big tech companies.
• Strategic Outsourcing: By partnering with Google for AI, Apple is avoiding the massive infrastructure costs (CapEx) that are currently weighing down other tech giants. • Brand Risk: Siri has historically been a "product fail." If this overhaul doesn't succeed, Apple risks permanently surrendering the AI interface to competitors like Google or OpenAI. • Privacy as a Moat: Apple’s primary advantage remains user trust; if they can integrate AI while maintaining their privacy standards, it could drive a new hardware upgrade cycle.
• Vibe Shift: There is a growing "sourness" in the business world regarding AI returns. A recent MIT study noted that 95% of CFOs are not seeing the anticipated returns on AI investments. • The "Bailout" Theory: Galloway predicts a future government-backed "backstop" or bailout for AI companies that have over-committed to expensive infrastructure (chips and data centers) that their revenues cannot yet support. • Specific Companies: * Anthropic: Seen as having strong momentum; potentially a better short-term IPO play than others. * OpenAI: Described as having "negative momentum" and potential for a "broken IPO" due to internal tumult and high burn rates.
• Investment Caution: The "job apocalypse" and "one-person billion-dollar companies" narratives are being viewed with increasing skepticism. • Infrastructure Overhang: Be cautious of companies with massive debt tied to AI hardware, as the "money furnace" of AI development may lead to a liquidity crisis if valuations deflate.
• Applications to flagship public universities (e.g., University of Texas at Austin, UCLA, University of Michigan) are exploding. • UT Austin saw a 25% year-over-year increase in applications (over 90,000).
• The "Value" Play: Investors and families are pivoting away from "luxury" private elite schools ($100k+/year) toward public flagships that offer a better Return on Investment (ROI). • Economic Shift: The market is disciplining higher education. The "New American Dream" is identified as saving $250,000 by attending a top-tier public school and using the savings for a home down payment, rather than carrying elite private school debt.

By New York Magazine
Every Tuesday and Friday, tech journalist Kara Swisher and NYU Professor Scott Galloway offer sharp, unfiltered insights into the biggest stories in tech, business, and politics. They make bold predictions, pick winners and losers, and bicker and banter like no one else. After all, with great power comes great scrutiny. From New York Magazine and the Vox Media Podcast Network.