SpaceX posts 161% revenue jump in second earnings report as a public company
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The gist
SpaceX reported $14.58 billion in quarterly revenue, up 161% year over year, beating analysts' $12.72 billion estimate.
The AI-driven surge puts the newly public firm's growth costs in focus.
Background
SpaceX (Space Exploration Technologies) is the aerospace and AI company founded and led by Elon Musk that builds spacecraft, operates the Starlink satellite internet service and oversees xAI. It went public in June 2026 in what was described as the biggest IPO ever, raising about $85.7 billion at a valuation of roughly $1.75 trillion. The Oct 20 report was only its second quarterly disclosure as a public company, and its AI division — Grok chatbot, X platform and cloud computing — accounted for about 52% of third-quarter revenue.
How it unfolded
- Jun 2026SpaceX completed its initial public offering, described as the biggest IPO ever, debuting on the Nasdaq and raising about $85.7 billion in net proceeds at a valuation of roughly $1.75 trillion.
- Aug 2026Its first earnings release as a public company reported $7.8 billion in revenue for the three months ending in June, up from $4 billion a year earlier, but revenue failed to keep up with costs.
- Sep 28, 2026Starship Flight 14 reached orbit for the first time and deployed 26 Starlink V3 satellites.
- Oct 20, 2026SpaceX posted Q3 revenue of $14.58 billion, up 161% year over year and above the $12.72 billion analysts expected, with net income of $4.4 billion versus a $1.1 billion loss a year earlier.
- Oct 20, 2026On the earnings call, Musk said SpaceX will attempt to catch both stages of Starship on Flight 15, targeted for next month.
- Oct 21, 2026Shares jumped in premarket trading after the results and Musk's floated potential SpaceX-Tesla merger.
- Oct 23, 2026SpaceX launched 27 Starlink satellites on a Falcon 9 from California, and shares gained after PhillipCapital upgraded the stock from 'sell' to 'buy' and raised its price target from $75 to $250.
Who’s saying what
- Official
- CFO Bret Johnson said SpaceX delivered another strong quarter, with revenue up 161% year over year on Connectivity momentum and a clear inflection in its Super Intelligence business.
- Bulls
- PhillipCapital analyst Glenn Thum, who upgraded the stock to 'buy' with a $250 target, attributed the shift into profitability to AI scaling, higher rental pricing agreements and Cursor's $608 million contribution from mid-August.
- Analysts
- Futurum Group CEO Daniel Newman said AI revenue is now SpaceX's biggest business line and that its growing strength and diversification makes a merger with Tesla feel imminent.
- Caution
- Macquarie analyst Paul Golding said Starlink's acquisition of nationwide low-band spectrum suggests it will seek to compete with U.S. mobile carriers, and that he will be listening for launch timing, terrestrial build plans and appetite for more spectrum.
Still unverified
Barclays suggested a SpaceX-Tesla deal could be announced before Tesla's annual meeting, with SpaceX the likelier acquirer, but neither company nor Musk has officially committed to favoring a deal. Musk gave no specific target date for Starship Flight 15, saying only that it was expected next month.