SpaceX's first quarterly earnings report since its June IPO showed revenue beating Wall Street estimates, but a sixfold jump in capital expenditures tied to artificial-intelligence spending sent shares down about 7% in extended trading. Starlink remained the company's only profitable segment, while a large block of insider shares is set to hit the market this week.
SpaceX shares dropped about 7% in extended trading after the rocket maker posted its first earnings report since going public on the stock market in June, with soaring AI investment overshadowing a revenue beat. SpaceX said in a statement that revenue reached $7.81 billion, up 92% from $4.1 billion a year earlier, while net loss narrowed to $541 million from $1 billion. Revenue beat the $6.93 billion analysts expected, and loss per share of 9 cents topped the 26-cent loss projected, according to LSEG estimates cited by CNBC.
Capital spending overshadows the beat
Capital expenditures jumped more than sixfold to $18.37 billion, exceeding the $13.22 billion average analyst estimate tracked by FactSet. Of that total, $15.83 billion went toward artificial-intelligence infrastructure.
Chief Financial Officer Bret Johnsen said SpaceX's AI capital deployment carries "less than a one-year payback." He added that the company is on pace to reach $100 billion in annualized recurring revenue by the end of the year.
Starlink carries the profit, AI drains it
Connectivity, anchored by the Starlink satellite service, was the only profitable segment, posting operating income of $1.66 billion on revenue of $4.29 billion. The AI unit lost $1.26 billion, while the space unit's loss narrowed to $542 million. According to Coinpedia, the space segment's revenue grew an annualized 29% to $962 million.
Starlink's subscriber base reached 12 million in the quarter, doubling from a year earlier. Average revenue per user fell to $66 from $85 a year earlier.
Shares still trail the IPO price
Despite Tuesday's swing, shares closed the regular session at $125.33, up 9.4% — still below the $135 IPO price from June. SpaceX is also due to unlock 911.5 million insider shares, roughly 20% of its total equity, for public trading on Thursday — an event that, according to Coinpedia, has historically triggered supply shocks that pressured stock prices.
Sources: SpaceX, CNBC, Coinpedia
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