SpaceX Reports 161% Revenue Increase to $14.6 Billion, AI Business Surpasses Starlink

SpaceX’s revenue increased by 161% to $14.6 billion in the third quarter, with its artificial intelligence division generating more income than its Starlink satellite internet service.

The company reported a net profit of $4.4 billion, a notable recovery from a $1.1 billion loss a year earlier, according to its quarterly results, the second published since its listing.

Both figures exceeded Wall Street expectations, which had forecasted revenue of $12.72 billion and a profit of $1.57 billion, as reported by LSEG data. Following the announcement, shares rose 2.5% in extended trading on October 20.

SpaceX’s AI unit, now referred to as Super Intelligence, generated $7.56 billion, more than nine times its revenue from the previous year. The majority of this income came from renting data center computing power to various companies, including Anthropic, Google, and Reflection AI.

In addition to the rental business, the AI unit encompasses the Grok chatbot, the X social network, and the coding tool Cursor, which SpaceX acquired during the quarter.

Revenue from connectivity, primarily driven by Starlink, grew by 69% to $5.25 billion. By the end of September, Starlink had 13.6 million consumer subscribers, an increase from 7.2 million a year earlier.

However, the average monthly revenue per subscriber decreased to $69 from $99 in 2023, as Starlink introduced more affordable plans and expanded into lower-income markets. The space business, which includes rocket launches, saw slower growth, rising to $1.77 billion from $1.67 billion.

Spending has escalated even more rapidly than revenue. SpaceX invested $19.6 billion in the quarter, nearly triple the $6.9 billion spent a year earlier, with $16.4 billion allocated to AI and its data centers. The company anticipates spending between $35 billion and $40 billion in the fourth quarter as it increases capacity.

Elon Musk, SpaceX’s CEO, stated, “We are in an inflection moment for SpaceX across launch, connectivity, and superintelligence,” according to Reuters.

Brad Coffman, the chief financial officer, indicated that the new computing capacity pays for itself in less than a year at current prices. SpaceX projects revenue of $33 billion to $37 billion in the first quarter of 2027.

Meanwhile, the Starship rocket, SpaceX’s next-generation vehicle, has yet to carry paying customers. Its first orbital test flight last month deployed several Starlink satellites, but an engine issue curtailed the flight.

Investors are also awaiting updates on a potential merger with Tesla, which is set to report its own results on Wednesday. No agreement has been reached as of now.

Source: The Next Web