Shares of Goldman Sachs climbed as high as 2.9% in afternoon trading on June 12, the day the firm shepherded SpaceX onto the Nasdaq in what became the largest initial public offering in U.S. history. The rocket maker's preliminary filing pointed to a reported $75 billion share sale , shattering the previous IPO record of $26 billion set by Saudi Aramco in 2019 . SpaceX executives rang the closing bell at the Nasdaq , and CEO David Solomon congratulated SpaceX publicly, calling it a "strong partnership" — with Goldman serving as lead left bookrunner . For shareholders, the transaction is more than a trophy — it is a proof point for the firm's entire strategy.

  • The Fee Haul Is Real, Even if SpaceX Drove a Hard Bargain. SpaceX negotiated an unusually thin fee spread — the last time a U.S. IPO was done at a rate this small was General Motors' 2010 offering, when Goldman matched a rival's proposed 0.75% fee to win the deal . At roughly $100 million in projected underwriting fees, the payout is modest relative to the deal's size. But in investment banking, prestige begets mandates: Goldman and Morgan Stanley will be racing for the top spots throughout 2026 in what's shaping up to be a major IPO year .

  • Q1 Already Proved the Dealmaking Drought Is Over. Investment banking fees climbed 48% to $2.84 billion in Q1, roughly $340 million more than analysts expected , with advisory revenue alone skyrocketing 89% to $1.5 billion . Solomon told analysts the M&A backlog sits at its highest level in four years . SpaceX now validates the equity underwriting leg of that resurgence.

  • A Pipeline of Mega-IPOs Could Keep Fees Elevated. OpenAI is reportedly planning to go public as early as September, with Anthropic following close behind . Goldman itself forecasts U.S. IPO proceeds will quadruple to a record $160 billion in 2026 . As the bank that underwrites these deals and publishes the forecast, it has an obvious incentive to be optimistic — but the pipeline is undeniably deep.

  • Valuation Looks Reasonable, but Hinges on the Cycle Continuing. Goldman trades at a forward price-to-earnings ratio of roughly 15, slightly below Morgan Stanley . Q1 revenue jumped 14% year over year to $17.2 billion and net income surged 24% to $5.6 billion . With interest rates expected to decline and a friendlier regulatory backdrop, M&A should stay robust — but any macro shock could stall the pipeline overnight.