S&P Global announced Thursday it will not change its requirements for entry into its major indices, effectively blocking SpaceX from swift S&P 500 inclusion.
The decision deals a significant setback to Elon Musk’s SpaceX, which is targeting a $1.75 trillion valuation and raising $75 billion in what would be the world’s biggest-ever IPO.
S&P stated that “exceptions to the financial viability, seasoning, and IWF (investable weight factor) requirements should not be granted solely based on market capitalization.”
The index provider said it will not shorten the existing 12-month seasoning period for newly public companies, diverging from rivals Nasdaq and FTSE Russell, which recently changed their own rules.
To qualify for the S&P 500, a company must be profitable under Generally Accepted Accounting Principles in its most recent quarter and across its four most recent quarters combined.
SpaceX posted a net loss of $4.94 billion in 2025, even as revenue climbed 33% to $18.67 billion, disqualifying it from meeting that profitability threshold.
S&P had previously consulted investors on shortening the seasoning period to six months and waiving the minimum float requirement, which requires at least 10% of shares be publicly available.
SpaceX is planning to offer fewer than 5% of its shares in the IPO, falling well short of the float requirement that S&P chose to keep intact.
In a statement, S&P said the decision “preserves core index principles,” signaling that it prioritized consistency over accommodating a single high-profile listing.
“It speaks highly of the credibility of S&P Dow Jones Indices to be rules-based and make sure there’s profitability before entrance to the index,” said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at B. Riley Wealth.
“Making exceptions because companies are so large and have been private so long yet are still not profitable, didn’t make a great deal of sense,” Hogan added, reinforcing the rationale behind S&P’s stance.
“I am genuinely surprised,” said James Seyffart, ETF analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, noting that “S&P is the market leader and they can buck the trend.”
Nasdaq recently changed its rules so SpaceX can join the Nasdaq 100 Index in just 15 trading days, down from a previous three-month minimum waiting period.
FTSE Russell adopted a similar approach, shortening its own waiting period to just five trading days for newly listed companies of significant scale.
Millions of passive investors will not be forced to quickly absorb SpaceX shares, which had drawn sharp criticism from fund managers concerned about mandatory exposure to an unprofitable company.
Passive S&P 500 index funds holding trillions of dollars in assets would have been compelled to purchase SpaceX shares had the rules been changed to admit the company.
S&P Global said it would modify entry rules for the broader S&P Total Market Index and Dow Jones U.S. Total Stock Market Index, creating a more limited pathway for SpaceX.
SpaceX has already become eligible for inclusion in both the Russell U.S. Equity Indexes and the FTSE Global Equity Index Series under newly announced fast-entry rules from FTSE Russell.
With the SpaceX IPO scheduled for next week, S&P’s decision sets up a closely watched moment that could either validate or challenge the index provider’s cautious posture.
Other heavily capitalized private firms, including OpenAI and Anthropic, now face the same S&P 500 entry requirements regardless of their valuations at the time of listing.
