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Inside the giants — Thursday morning, 18 June

SpaceX Market Cap Surges Past Amazon, Briefly Tops Microsoft Amid Shifting Tech Valuations

The Elon Musk-led rocket and AI firm's rapid ascent challenges the traditional 'Magnificent 7' composition, reflecting intense investor focus on AI-driven growth.

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The story

SpaceX continued its remarkable post-IPO rally on June 17, with its market capitalization surging to surpass Amazon and briefly overtake Microsoft, positioning it as the fifth-largest stock globally. This rapid ascent, extending its rally since going public to 58%, underscores a significant shift in investor sentiment and the evolving landscape of top-tier technology valuations.

The company's performance is prompting Wall Street to re-evaluate the composition of the 'Magnificent 7' as new AI-focused entities gain substantial market traction. While traditional Big Tech firms continue to invest heavily in AI infrastructure, SpaceX's challenge to their market dominance highlights the increasing importance of frontier AI and deep tech in investor portfolios. This dynamic suggests a potential reordering of the tech giants based on their perceived leadership in the AI era.

Who moved

SpaceX

What Changed: Its market capitalization surged on June 17, surpassing Amazon and briefly topping Microsoft, becoming the fifth-largest stock globally.

Why It Matters: This significant market movement redefines top-tier tech valuations and influences the ongoing discussion around the 'Magnificent 7' composition.

OpenAI

What Changed: Audited 2025 financials, released June 17, revealed $34 billion in spending, $13 billion in revenue, and a $38.5 billion net loss.

Why It Matters: These figures provide a clear financial picture of the substantial investment and early-stage losses involved in frontier AI development.

Microsoft

What Changed: Confirmed on June 17 that it is routing GitHub traffic through Amazon Web Services (AWS) due to high load from AI coding agents.

Why It Matters: This illustrates the immediate infrastructure demands and cross-cloud reliance driven by surging AI agent usage on its platforms.

Apple

What Changed: Announced a partnership with Google Cloud and Nvidia on June 17 to scale Apple Intelligence for enterprise AI applications.

Why It Matters: This signals Apple's strategic expansion into enterprise AI capabilities through key cloud and chip partnerships.

Anthropic

What Changed: Is nearing a $1 trillion valuation after raising $65 billion and confidentially filing for an IPO, reporting approximately $47 billion in annualized revenue.

Why It Matters: This points to massive investor confidence and the rapid maturation of leading AI startups into significant commercial platforms.

Meta

What Changed: Its stock dropped over 5% on June 17 following Federal Reserve signals of potentially higher interest rates later in 2026.

Why It Matters: This demonstrates the immediate market sensitivity of major tech stocks to macroeconomic policy shifts and their impact on growth-oriented companies.

Products & launches

Apple Intelligence (Enterprise AI)

Company: Apple

What: Apple is partnering with Google Cloud and Nvidia to scale its AI capabilities for enterprise use, focusing on delivering advanced AI features to businesses.

Money & markets

OpenAI. Reported $34 billion in spending and a $38.5 billion net loss for 2025 against $13 billion in revenue, highlighting significant investment in AI development.

Anthropic. Nearing a $1 trillion valuation after a $65 billion funding round, with approximately $47 billion in annualized revenue, indicating rapid commercial scaling.

Meta. Stock declined over 5% on June 17, reflecting market concerns over the Federal Reserve's signal of potentially higher interest rates later in 2026.

Big Tech (Aggregate). Aggregate free cash flow across major AI builders is projected to cross zero around Q3 2026, as capital expenditures grow roughly 70% annually against 23% operating cash flow growth.

What we'll be watching

Reporting + analyst voices: grounded via Google Search at publish time.