SpaceX earnings soar past expectations as AI business surges
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SpaceX rocketed past expectations on revenue and profit in its second earnings report as a publicly traded company — with its space, connectivity and AI businesses all delivering strong performances.
Why it matters: With a market cap of about $2 trillion, SpaceX is one of the most powerful companies in the AI economy and has aggressive plans to uproot entire industries, such as telecommunications.
Driving the news: SpaceX reported revenue of $14.58 billion in the third quarter of 2026, about $9 billion more than the same period in 2025.
- That crushed S&P Capital IQ expectations of $13 billion.
- The company also swung from a $1.05 billion net loss a year earlier to a $4.4 billion profit in the third quarter, more than doubling consensus expectations of $2.12 billion.
In all three of its divisions, SpaceX topped expectations, posting:
- AI revenue of $7.56 billion, nearly tripling its year-ago performance and beating S&P Capital IQ consensus expectations of $6.47 billion.
- Connectivity revenue of $5.25 billion, topping expectations of $4.9 billion.
- Space revenue of $1.77 billion, outpacing expectations of $1.46 billion.
The big picture: The report comes amid mounting scrutiny over the sustainability of AI spending.
- Gartner research analysts rattled investors with a report last week estimating that more than $3.5 trillion in AI infrastructure spending "could be exposed to impairment" by the end of 2030.
SpaceX said its capex totaled $19.59 billion in the third quarter, up from $6.88 billion a year earlier.
- The company's capex is expected to soar from $69.9 billion in 2026 to $194.3 billion in 2028, according to Melissa Otto, global head of Visible Alpha Research at S&P Global.
The impact: SpaceX shares — which were down about 9% from their IPO through Monday's close — rose 2% in after-hours trading Tuesday.
- "The weakness has been partially driven by concerns about overgrowth around AI and data centers," Otto wrote before the earnings report was released. "There is increasing concern in the market that AI infrastructure investments will not be able to generate a return in line with the level of cash needed."
What we're watching: SpaceX CEO Elon Musk is expected to address investors on an earnings call at 4:30pm.
