Scottish Mortgage’s Unprecedented Tandem: SpaceX’s Unlisted Windfall Meets Nvidia’s AI Earnings Blowout

Scottish Mortgage Trust hits €17.93 52-week high as SpaceX stake soars 1,900% and Nvidia earnings surge. Premium to NAV at 6.52%.

Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust has hit a fresh 52-week high of €17.93, propelled by two distinct yet equally powerful forces. On one side sits a staggering 1,900% paper gain from its years?old bet on SpaceX; on the other, Nvidia’s latest earnings report that blew past expectations and reaffirmed the AI infrastructure cycle. The stock has climbed roughly 29% since the start of the year, and the trust now trades at a 6.52% premium to its net asset value — a rarity in a UK market where most investment trusts are nursing discounts.

The SpaceX holding has become the trust’s defining position. Scottish Mortgage first bought into Elon Musk’s rocket company in 2018 for a three?digit million?pound sum. Today, management values that stake at nearly £3 billion, a return of 1,900%. The internal valuation of SpaceX itself stands at a colossal $1.25 trillion, and the position now accounts for 19.3% of the entire portfolio — up from a fraction just a few years ago. That weight is a direct driver of the trust’s share price momentum.

Nvidia provided the public?market counterpoint. The chip giant reported fiscal first?quarter revenue of $81.6 billion, an 85% jump from a year earlier and above the consensus estimate of $78.9 billion. Its data?center business — the engine of the AI boom — surged 92% to $75.2 billion. Nvidia also announced a 25?fold increase in its dividend and a new $80 billion share buyback programme. For Scottish Mortgage, which holds Nvidia as a core listed position, these figures reinforce the thesis that the AI build?out is shifting from software hype to capital?intensive hardware and infrastructure.

Portfolio managers Baillie Gifford have not been passive. During the first quarter they added 2.5 million shares of Axon Enterprise, a US?based technology company, while continuing to hold major private stakes in Anthropic alongside SpaceX. These unlisted holdings are precisely what makes the trust stand out: many retail investors cannot replicate such exposure through index funds. The premium to NAV — last seen at 6.52% — signals that the market is willing to pay extra for access to that private?tech growth.

The macro environment, however, is far from benign. The Bank of England holds its benchmark rate at 3.75%, a level that still crimps long?duration growth stocks. UK public borrowing in April came in at £24.3 billion, £4.9 billion more than a year earlier and £3.4 billion above forecasts. Housing data is mixed: London prices fell 2.1% annually while Scottish prices rose 1.6%. Those headwinds have not yet broken the trust’s premium, but they keep valuations sensitive to any shift in sentiment.

The next big catalyst could be an initial public offering of SpaceX. Market reports peg a possible IPO for June 2026, with a standard 180?day lock?up for existing shareholders. Until then, Scottish Mortgage remains one of the few vehicles through which ordinary investors can ride the rocket company’s valuation trajectory. Should the deal materialise, the trust could see a further re?rating — or a test of whether the current premium is a structural or cyclical phenomenon.

For now, Scottish Mortgage is benefiting from a rare alignment: a private?equity windfall that has no public?market equivalent, combined with a listed AI bellwether that keeps delivering above expectations. How long that premium holds will depend on whether the narrative around private tech continues to outshine the macro drag. That balance, more than any single earnings number, will determine whether the stock can hold its new highs.