Retail investors continued purchasing SpaceX shares after the company’s first earnings report triggered a sharp decline in its stock price, even as a significant insider share unlock approaches.
SpaceX shares fell 13.6% to $108.27 following the earnings release, with investors reacting to the company’s second-quarter capital expenditures of more than $18 billion. The spending, primarily directed toward AI infrastructure and data centers, exceeded analysts’ expectations by roughly 40%.
While the higher-than-expected investment raised concerns among many institutional investors, individual investors took a different approach. According to Vanda Research, retail traders purchased approximately $22 million worth of SpaceX shares during the first hour of trading on Wednesday, making it one of the strongest early-session retail buying periods for the stock.
The company is also approaching a major lock-up expiration. Around 911.5 million restricted shares are expected to become eligible for trading, increasing SpaceX’s public float by more than double. Additional insider shares are scheduled to be unlocked through December, making it one of the largest post-IPO share releases in U.S. market history.
Some market participants believe the additional supply could weigh on the stock in the short term. However, Brent Donnelly, president of Spectra Markets, suggested that investors may have already factored the upcoming share unlock into the stock price. He also noted that previous lock-up expirations have sometimes created attractive long-term buying opportunities.
Despite recent volatility, many retail investors appear to remain optimistic about SpaceX’s long-term prospects, viewing the company’s heavy investment in AI infrastructure as a strategic move to support future growth.