SpaceX reported third-quarter revenue growth of 161%, and its AI business grew ninefold to become its largest segment. Starlink still supplies almost all of the profit, while most capital spending goes to AI.
SpaceX reported 161% revenue growth for the third quarter, and the stock rose about 3% in extended trading on Tuesday. Revenue reached $14.58 billion versus $12.72 billion expected, according to LSEG consensus estimates.
The company recorded net income of $4.4 billion, against a net loss of $1.05 billion a year earlier. Separately, adjusted EBITDA climbed 306% to $8.8 billion, Crypto Briefing reported.
AI becomes SpaceX's largest business
AI revenue jumped ninefold to $7.56 billion from $813 million in the same quarter last year, while analysts expected $6.47 billion, according to StreetAccount. The unit swung to a profit of $431 million.
SpaceX credited the growth to new cloud services agreements, the Cursor acquisition and increased Grok adoption. During the quarter it also closed its $60 billion purchase of Cursor.
The growth came at a cost. Of $19.6 billion in capital expenditures, more than $16.4 billion went to the AI business. According to Musk on the company's call, SpaceX aims to "deploy power, cooling infrastructure at a rate that is vastly faster than anyone else."
Starlink still supplies the profit
Connectivity revenue rose 69% to $5.25 billion, with analysts expecting $4.84 billion, according to StreetAccount. Starlink's subscriber base grew to 13.6 million from 12 million in the prior period.
Almost all of SpaceX's profit still comes from Starlink, CNBC reported. Operating income in the connectivity unit about doubled to $2.37 billion, while the space division lost $7 million.
Launch sales, meanwhile, rose only to $1.77 billion from $1.67 billion a year ago.
Shares sit near their IPO price
Since opening at $150 on June 12, SpaceX shares have slipped to $147.50 on Tuesday, which gives the company a market cap of about $2 trillion.
Sources: CNBC, Crypto Briefing
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