Jun 13, 2026
If global speculation, buzz and pent-up demand were fuel, the SpaceX IPO would have built up enough to blast a fleet of rockets to the moon.
Elon Musk’s private firm launched into the public sphere June 12 with a valuation of US$1.77 trillion. That’s more than 430 times what it cost to send the Artemis II crew to the moon for their lunar flyby.
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The buzz has been building for months, with institutional and retail investors worldwide lining up for this investment moonshot. Competition is fierce.
If you have SpaceX FOMO, you’re not alone. But it’s a good idea to pause before buying a stock because you fear missing out.
A new survey from Marketwise reveals just how many Americans make investment decisions based on FOMO (fear of missing out) — and what emotional investing can cost you.
Investors regret trades based on FOMO and other emotions
This May, MarketWise surveyed 1,000 American retail investors about their trading habits and the role emotion plays in their decisions.
While only 20% of respondents described themselves as emotional investors, 48% admitted they’d made a FOMO-driven investment in the past 12 months, buying a stock, ETF or crypto at an all-time high.
A full 42% admitted that they’d lost money as a result, with an average loss of $1,606. This is the opposite of the “buy low, sell high” mantra.
Meanwhile, one in four admitted that they panic-sold stock during a war, election or other geopolitical event — and lived to regret it a few weeks later when the market recovered.
More self-described emotional investors said they’d consulted AI on trading decisions, particularly when experiencing FOMO, seeking reassurance. Of those, 34% made money following AI’s advice while 12% lost money.
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Are financial influencers better? Not for these investors. Of the 1,000 respondents, 52% said they’d followed a finfluencer, but of those, 34% lost money as a result; only 18% made money.
The findings also suggest that emotional investing is a generational thing, decreasing with age. Only 23% of boomers admitted to emotional trades, while 41% of Gen Z did so.
Emotional investors tend to prioritize different sources than self-described rational investors, with Reddit the top source for 42% of emotional investors and financial news outlets the top source for 46% of rational investors.
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Avoid the herd mentality when making investment decisions
According to the CFA Institute, herd mentality — particularly FOMO — is one of the biggest biases affecting investors, impacting 34% of their trading decisions. Hall Financial Advisors recommends avoiding herd mentality because it can lead to bubbles and market volatility, with everyone suffering when the market drops.
It’s especially risky if you’re saving for retirement.
Instead they advise staying the course with a thoughtful investment strategy and a diversified portfolio — and adjusting based on solid research and expert financial advice.
As far as SpaceX FOMO is concerned, Morningstar analysts Nicholas Owens and Suryansh Sharma offer some advice to investors eyeing the stock, suggesting that SpaceX is “significantly overvalued” — worth US$780 billion, less than half of its current valuation.
They advise waiting to buy it, noting that private investors and employees will be selling more SpaceX shares in coming months, which could moderate the stock price.
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Laura Boast is an Associate Editor with Moneywise.com and a lifelong content creator who has reached international audiences at Discovery, CBC, Blue Ant Media, Bond Brand Loyalty and more.
