Rocket Lab Corp. (NASDAQ:RKLB) CFO Adam Spice says a potential SpaceX IPO could be a defining moment for publicly traded space stocks, forcing investors to separate true operators from companies simply riding the space label.

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The Rocket Lab CFO spoke directly with retail investors in a Q&A session following the company's first-quarter earnings release.

"What's going to happen is the good companies are going to get dragged up by SpaceX," Spice said, referring to the SpaceX IPO. "And I think the less quality names are going to get basically put into obscurity."

SpaceX IPO

SpaceX, led by Elon Musk, is reportedly weighing a mid-2026 IPO that could value the company at roughly $1.5 trillion. 

Spice argued that SpaceX entering public markets would not lift all space-related stocks equally. 

Instead, he said it would likely create a market of "haves and have nots," where investors reward companies with real space infrastructure, recurring contracts, launch capability, ...