SpaceX files S-1, SK Hynix goes confidential: the $90B IPO pipeline.
The week of April 14 produced two milestones that signal a structural shift in the IPO market: SpaceX filed a full registration statement with the SEC targeting a valuation above $75B, and SK Hynix submitted a confidential S-1 for its US subsidiary targeting a NASDAQ listing. Combined, these two companies alone represent more than $90B in potential market capitalization entering public markets — a concentration of supply not seen since the 2021 SPAC wave, but with materially stronger fundamentals behind it.
The $75B S-1
SpaceX's registration statement reveals for the first time that Starlink generated $6.2B in revenue in 2025, growing 89% year-over-year and approaching profitability with EBITDA margins of 23% — ahead of the 18% consensus estimate from secondary market analysts. The launch segment contributed an additional $4.1B in revenue, with reusable booster economics driving gross margins above 60% for the first time. If SpaceX prices at its $75B target valuation, it would become the largest IPO in US history, surpassing Saudi Aramco's $29.4B raise in 2019 in terms of capital raised. The critical variable for institutional allocators will be the Starlink growth trajectory and whether satellite internet penetration in emerging markets accelerates as projected.
The HBM Bet
SK Hynix currently holds 52% global market share in HBM (High Bandwidth Memory) — the chip architecture that has become essential infrastructure for AI model training and inference at scale. HBM demand has grown 3x in 12 months as hyperscalers expanded data center capacity, and SK Hynix's position as the dominant supplier to NVIDIA (which controls ~70% of the AI accelerator market) makes it a direct proxy for AI infrastructure buildout. A US listing would give SK Hynix a dollar-denominated acquisition currency for potential US targets and a valuation benchmark against Micron, which currently trades at 4.2x sales — implying a $45-55B valuation range for SK Hynix's US subsidiary. The confidential filing signals a targeted Q4 2026 window, with pricing contingent on Q3 earnings confirming continued HBM revenue growth.
The Rest of the Pipeline: 16 More Names
Beyond SpaceX and SK Hynix, 16 additional companies are in active S-1 preparation as of April 2026. The most notable: Stripe ($65B last private round, payment volume growing 28% YoY), Databricks ($62B, now profitable on an adjusted basis), Chime ($28B, largest US digital bank by account count), and Klarna ($15B, BNPL unit economics materially improved from 2023 re-filing). The top 10 pipeline names by implied valuation represent a combined $300B+ in potential market cap — the most concentrated IPO backlog since 2021. Unlike the 2021 vintage, the median pipeline company in 2026 has a clear path to profitability; the days of growth-at-all-costs IPO narratives are over.
Window Analysis: When Will They Price?
The Federal Reserve's rate trajectory is the most important variable for IPO window timing. With two cuts already executed in 2026 and a third priced into futures by Q3, the IPO market is more favorable than at any point since mid-2021. However, the 2021 comparison cuts both ways: that cohort of IPOs now trades at a median 61% below its IPO price, and institutional allocators have been burned. The result is a bifurcated market: companies with strong unit economics and clear profitability paths (SpaceX, SK Hynix, Stripe, Databricks) will find robust demand. Companies relying on projected future profitability will face sharp pricing pressure. The window is open — but selective.