03/04/2026

BIZ & FINANCE FRIDAY | APR 3, 2026

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SpaceX files securities documents to go public o Company could be

customer queries in the week of March 16, up from 20.7% in late February. “While higher gas prices can spur interest in electrified vehicles, they typically need to be sustained or more pronounced to drive a meaningful shift,“ said Jessica Caldwell, head of insights at Edmunds. “Right now, many consumers appear to view the latest spike as temporary,“ she said. Previous oil-price surges have sent automobile markets into tailspins: Sales dropped 44.7% the year after the 1973 oil shock and more than 40% after the 1979 Iranian Revolution. Auto sales plunged 45.5% in the year after the 2008 financial crisis, and slid 12.7% after Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, according to figures from Anderson Economic Group. – AFP Amazon in talks to buy satellite telecoms group WASHINGTON: Amazon is in talks to buy US satellite telecoms group Globalstar, seeking to boost its bid to rival Elon Musk’s Starlink, the Financial Times reported yesterday. Citing people familiar with the matter, the British newspaper said the two companies were hammering out the more complex points of the acquisition deal. It comes after Musk’s SpaceX, which operates the Starlink satellite internet service, filed papers for what could be the largest-ever public stock offering. Starlink says it operates more than 10,000 satellites, offering connectivity to people on the ground. US tech and e-commerce giant Amazon, founded by billionaire Jeff Bezos, is building a competing network called Amazon Leo, which has more than 200 satellites in orbit. Globalstar, whose market value is about US$9 billion, has its own, smaller “low Earth orbit” satellite constellation. The newspaper said one factor complicating the lengthy talks was the fact that Apple holds a 20% stake in Globalstar, meaning that Amazon and Apple also had to negotiate a deal. AFP has contacted Amazon, Globalstar and Apple for comment. The Financial Times report said no deal had been struck and discussions could still collapse. Globalstar’s share price has soared nearly 230% over the past year. In October, Bloomberg reported that the company was exploring a potential sale with several potential buyers including SpaceX. Globalstar told the Financial Times it “does not comment on industry speculation or rumours,“ while Amazon declined to respond. On Wednesday, a source familiar with the matter confirmed SpaceX’s confidential IPO filing to AFP, which would reportedly put the rocket and satellite builder on track to list its shares by July. Media reports have said the SpaceX IPO could be valued at a whopping US$75 billion or more. SpaceX did not respond to a request for comment. – AFP

valued at US$75 billion, making it largest IPO ever

NEW YORK: Elon Musk’s SpaceX has filed papers with US regulators that set the stage for what could be the largest-ever public stock offering, a source familiar with the matter told AFP on Wednesday. The confidential filing puts the rocket and satellite builder on track to list its shares on a public exchange by July, according to The Wall Street Journal , citing unidentified sources. Media reports have said the initial public offering could be valued at a whopping US$75 billion or more, for a venture with stratospheric ambitions. The IPO looks set to blow past a record from 2019, when the oil group Saudi Aramco raised US$25.6 billion. SpaceX did not respond to a request for comment, and officials at the Securities and Exchange Commission declined to comment. If successful, SpaceX could arrive on Wall Street with a valuation exceeding US$1.75 trillion, putting it among the world’s ten biggest companies by market capitalisation. After its acquisition of xAI in early February, SpaceX was valued at US$1.25 trillion. Analysts have said that taking SpaceX public will require it and Musk to maintain greater transparency, particularly about its revenues. It could also expose the company to investor pressure to focus on profits instead of

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket is displayed outside a Space Exploration Technologies Corp facility in California. – AFPPIC

reportedly planning IPOs this year. SpaceX, which dominates the space launching market with its reusable rockets, is owned by Musk alongside several investment funds and tech companies including Google’s parent Alphabet. The company’s rockets vastly reduce the cost of putting satellites into orbit. SpaceX is also the owner of the Starlink satellite constellation. In February, Musk announced that SpaceX would take over his artificial intelligence outfit xAI, a step in the billionaire’s plan to use SpaceX’s rockets to launch solar-powered, satellite-based data centres to run future AI models. – AFP

said he had little worries that SpaceX would be able to raise such a massive amount of capital, even as markets are roiled by the ongoing war in the Middle East. “US markets are some of the largest, most robust fundraising in the world, and this is a unique company that has captured the imagination of a lot of investors,” Kennedy said. He also noted investor enthusiasm in potential advancements on space exploration and in AI, alongside the cash to be made in the telecoms sector. Besides SpaceX, two other technology heavyweights, the artificial intelligence developers OpenAI and Anthropic, are

long-term investments – such as Musk’s plan to build a rocket for sending people to Mars. When the documents are released, SpaceX’s IPO filing will likely reveal details about its operations, including its satellite and rocket manufacturing, alongside its xAI artificial intelligence arm. Given that investors appear “enamored” with Musk’s space and artificial intelligence ambitions, SpaceX could “probably get away with listing in a less exuberant market than some other companies might”, said Steve Sosnick of Interactive Brokers. Matthew Kennedy, a senior strategist at Renaissance Capital, It also cited the “exceptionally high” level of sales in March 2025, when worries about expected tariffs from President Donald Trump prompted shoppers to rush car purchases. Meanwhile, Toyota Motor North America reported 569,420 first-quarter vehicle sales, down 0.1% from a year ago. But FCA US, the US affiliate of Stellantis, reported a 4% increase to 305,902 from its line-up, which includes Jeep, Dodge and Alfa Romeo. And Hyundai reported a 1% increase to 205,388 units. Other leading automakers, including Ford and Tesla, have yet to release first-quarter figures. Cox Automative projected a US sales decline of 6.5%, with the boost from expected lofty tax refunds offset by affordability difficulties and anxiety about the war.

US automakers report mixed sales as market awaits war impact NEW YORK: Carmakers reported mixed first-quarter US sales on Wednesday pointing to a hit from winter storms, as the Middle East war clouds the industry’s outlook compared with unusually favourable dynamics a year ago. Exactly how the Iran conflict impacts auto sales will depend on its duration, especially if higher inflation prompts central banks to keep interest rates high, or raise them higher. prices and ongoing affordability challenges, it’s no surprise sales are down year over year,“ Edmunds said.

Deutsche Bank said it did not anticipate an “immediate near-term impact” from the war on volumes, confirming an outlook of 15.8 million sales for this year, down 2.5% from 2025. Analysts that track electric-vehicle maker Tesla expect it sold 365,645 units in Q1, which would be an increase of 8.6% from the 2025 period but a decrease of 12.6% from the final quarter of 2025. The outlook for EV sales has been clouded by Trump’s elimination of tax credits to encourage sales of the climate-friendly autos. But an extended period of high energy prices could spark greater interest in EVs. Searches for electric vehicles on Edmunds accounted for 23.8% of

The US-Israel war against Iran “adds tremendous amount of uncertainty to the vehicle market”, said Charlie Chesbrough, an economist at Cox Automotive. A note from Oxford Economics pointed to improving dynamics in March after winter storms abated. “However, sales will face major headwinds as higher gas prices due to the US-Iran war take a bite out of consumers’ real disposable income growth,“ Oxford said. Auto information website Edmunds projected US car sales of 3.7 million in the first quarter, down 6.5% from the year-ago period. “Between severe weather, geopolitical uncertainty, rising gas

The US-Israeli offensive against Iran, launched on Feb 28, has boosted oil costs by more than 50%, sending gasoline prices to more than US$4 per gallon in the United States. While that adds to the affordability challenges facing the industry, experts and automakers say it is too soon to determine the war’s overall impact on sales. General Motors said on Wednesday it sold 626,429 vehicles between January and March, and that the early part of the quarter was marred by “severe winter weather,“ while March emerged as a “much stronger month”.