You're looking for the stock symbol for Mars, right? Honestly, I get why. We’re living in an era where billionaires are racing to the red planet and candy conglomerates are buying up entire aisles of the grocery store. It feels like the kind of thing you should be able to just click "buy" on in your Robinhood app.
But here’s the cold, hard truth: you can't.
There is no "MARS" ticker on the New York Stock Exchange. There isn't one on the Nasdaq either. If you see someone claiming they found a secret backdoor to buy "Mars shares" under a single symbol, they're probably looking at a SPAC (Special Purpose Acquisition Company) that has nothing to do with the Snickers bar in your pocket or the rockets headed for the Martian atmosphere.
The Two "Mars" Realities
When people search for a stock symbol for Mars, they usually mean one of two things. They either want to own a piece of Mars, Inc. (the people who make M&Ms, Skittles, and Ben's Original) or they want to invest in the literal colonization of the planet Mars (usually via Elon Musk’s SpaceX).
Neither of these is a public company.
Why Mars, Inc. is the "Great White Whale" of Investing
Mars, Inc. is a titan. We're talking about a company that pulled in roughly $50 billion in revenue recently. To put that in perspective, that’s bigger than many companies in the S&P 500. Yet, since Franklin Mars started the whole thing in 1911, it has remained fiercely, stubbornly private.
The Mars family—yes, there is a real family behind it—is legendary for its privacy. They don’t have to answer to Wall Street. They don’t have to do quarterly earnings calls where some 24-year-old analyst grills them on their profit margins. They think in terms of generations, not fiscal quarters.
Kinda cool, right? But frustrating if you want to own a slice.
The Recent $36 Billion Shocker
If you've been following the news lately, you might have seen Mars, Inc. making massive waves by acquiring Kellanova (the snack side of the old Kellogg’s empire). This was a $36 billion deal that closed recently. Because Kellanova was public (trading under K), some investors thought this might be a "backdoor" IPO for Mars.
Nope.
Mars simply wrote a massive check, took the company private, and delisted the symbol. They’re absorbing brands like Pringles and Cheez-It into their private vault. If anything, this proves Mars has zero interest in going public. They have enough cash to buy the competition without ever needing to issue a single share of stock to the public.
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The Other Mars: Investing in the Planet
Now, maybe you aren’t interested in chocolate. Maybe you want to fund the first city on the red planet.
When people talk about the "Mars stock symbol" in a space context, they are almost always talking about SpaceX. Elon Musk has been very vocal about his goal: making life multi-planetary. He literally builds the Starship rockets with the intent of landing on Mars.
But SpaceX is also private.
Musk has famously said he won't take SpaceX public until they have a "regular flight rate to Mars." Why? Because the stock market hates risk. If a rocket explodes on a test pad, a public company’s stock would crater 20% in an hour. Musk wants the freedom to fail, explode things, and iterate without answering to panicked shareholders.
Is there a "Proxy" Symbol?
While there is no direct stock symbol for Mars (the planet or the company), some people play the "proxy" game.
- The SpaceX Proxy: Some investors buy Alphabet (GOOGL) because Google was an early investor in SpaceX. It’s a tiny, tiny fraction of Google’s value, but it’s a legal way to have a microscopic amount of exposure.
- The Candy Proxies: If you want the "Mars experience" in your portfolio, you usually look at The Hershey Company (HSY) or Mondelez International (MDLZ). These are the public rivals. They move with the same commodity prices for cocoa and sugar, but they aren't Mars.
What Most People Get Wrong About "MARX"
You might see a symbol out there: MARX.
Wait, is that it? No.
MARX is the symbol for Mars Acquisition Corp. It’s a SPAC. These are "blank check" companies that raise money to buy something. While the name is the same, it has zero affiliation with the Mars family or the planet Mars. In fact, MARX recently moved to merge with an AI-based identification company. If you bought that thinking you were getting M&Ms or Moon landings, you’d be sorely disappointed.
The "Starlink" Rumor for 2026
There is one glimmer of hope for investors looking for a "Mars-adjacent" symbol.
There has been endless talk about SpaceX spinning off Starlink (their satellite internet business) into its own public company. As we move through 2026, the rumors are louder than ever. Starlink is the "cash cow" that is supposed to fund the Mars missions.
If Starlink IPOs, it would be the closest thing to a "Mars stock" the world has ever seen. It would likely trade under a symbol like SLNK or STAR. But even then, you're investing in internet satellites, not a colony.
Actionable Steps for Interested Investors
Since you can't buy a stock symbol for Mars today, here is how you actually handle this:
- Stop searching for a MARS ticker: It doesn't exist, and anyone telling you otherwise is likely lead-gen for a shady brokerage or a misunderstanding of a SPAC.
- Look at the "Picks and Shovels": If you believe in the Mars mission, look at companies that supply the industry. Rocket Lab (RKLB) and Intuitive Machines (LUNR) are public and actually doing space stuff.
- Monitor the Private Markets: If you’re an "accredited investor" (meaning you have a high net worth or income), you can sometimes buy private SpaceX shares on platforms like Forge Global or Hiive. It’s expensive, and there’s no "symbol," but it's the real deal.
- Watch the Starlink Filings: Keep an eye on the SEC’s S-1 filings. If Musk decides to spin off the satellite business in 2026, that will be the biggest "Mars-related" trade of the decade.
The "Mars" you want to buy is currently locked behind family legacy and billionaire ambition. For now, the only way to get a piece of Mars is to go to the store and buy a Milky Way.
Next Steps:
- Verify if you qualify as an Accredited Investor to access private secondary markets.
- Set up a news alert for "Starlink S-1 filing" to catch any potential 2026 IPO news early.
- Research Rocket Lab (RKLB) as a public-market alternative for space exploration exposure.