SpaceX Exceeded Revenue Expectations: Revenue Nearly Doubled Thanks to Starlink
The company's stock rose immediately after the results were released, but then began to fall by more than 7%
Photo: X / SpaceX
Revenue at Elon Musk’s space company, SpaceX, comfortably exceeded Wall Street’s expectations in the company’s first financial report following its high-profile IPO in June. It totaled $7.8 billion, up 92% from the same period a year ago. Analysts surveyed by Bloomberg had forecast $6.81 billion.
At the same time, the company reported a net loss of $541 million, although it had nearly halved year-over-year. On a per-share basis, the loss was $0.09, while Wall Street had predicted $0.26, according to CNBC.
Investors reacted negatively to the results: the stock price fell by more than 7%
How is SpaceX doing?
— Revenue from the Starlink satellite internet service, SpaceX’s only profitable business, totaled $4.29 billion, compared with the $3.83 billion expected, according to LSEG. The number of subscribers reached 12 million by the end of the second quarter—twice as many as a year ago. The company fell short of forecasts on this metric: Wall Street had expected 12.19 million, according to Bloomberg.
— Sales for the AI business totaled $2.56 billion, compared with Wall Street’s forecast of $2.18 billion, according to CNBC. The AI division’s operating loss was $1.26 billion—roughly half the consensus estimate, according to Bloomberg.
— Revenue from space launches totaled $962 million, compared with the $835 million projected by analysts, according to StreetAccount, as reported by CNBC.
— SpaceX's capital expenditures reached $18.37 billion, while analysts had forecast $18.58 billion, according to Bloomberg.
Will AI generate profits for SpaceX?
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk began his quarterly conference call by discussing the heavy-lift Starship rocket, but quickly shifted the conversation to artificial intelligence, according to Bloomberg.
"We are building large-scale computing capabilities for AI faster than anyone else, as far as we know, and we are now significantly improving our AI models," Musk said. According to him, SpaceX plans to launch its first data center in space as early as 2027.
SpaceX has already entered into a number of agreements to sell its existing computing capacity. In June, it signed a deal with Google to lease AI servers through mid-2029, with a total value of $33 billion. In May, it signed a deal with Anthropic through May 2029, with a potential total contract value of $45 billion. Reflection AI, a startup backed by Nvidia, agreed in June to pay SpaceX’s AI division $150 million per month through 2029. Thus, the total value of the deal can be estimated at approximately $6.3 billion.
What about the stocks?
SpaceX shares initially reacted positively to the results, but then gave up all their gains and began to plummet: at one point, they were down more than 7%. Regular trading on Tuesday, August 4, ended with a 9.43% gain, closing at $125.33.
Ahead of the earnings release, analysts at Bernstein and Deutsche Bank reaffirmed their “Buy” rating on the space company’s stock. SpaceX’s valuation looks more attractive following a 52% drop in its stock price from its peak, although the upcoming expiration of lock-up periods and overall market sentiment could weigh on the stock, analysts at RBC Capital Markets wrote on Sunday, August 2.
Most analysts tracking SpaceX stock recommend buying it: the stock has 28 “Buy” and “Overweight” ratings versus seven “Hold” and three “Sell” and “Underweight” ratings, according to MarketWatch. The target price of $228.18 is 85% higher than the closing price on August 4.
This news story is being updated...
This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor
