Alphabet’s $1 billion SpaceX gamble balloons into a $94 billion stake

Alphabet has disclosed a $94.1 billion stake in Elon Musk’s SpaceX more than a decade after Google joined a $1 billion funding round for the rocket company. Summary Alphabet disclosed a $94.1 billion SpaceX stake, equal to roughly 6% of the company. Google first backed SpaceX through a $1 billion funding round with Fidelity in 2015. SpaceX shares remain below their $135 IPO price, trimming Alphabet’s paper gains. Alphabet’s second-quarter 10-Q filing showed that the Google parent owns roughly 6% of the newly listed company, providing the clearest public measure of an investment it previously valued using private-market estimates. The disclosure splits the holding into about $80 billion of shares under short-term sale restrictions and another $14.1 billion subject to longer restrictions through the third quarter of 2027. Google began building its position in January 2015, when it joined Fidelity Investments in a $1 billion financing round for SpaceX. The two investors received a combined stake of just under 10%, while the funding supported work on space transportation, reusable rockets and satellite manufacturing. At the time, the deal valued SpaceX at about $12 billion. Reports pla...