SpaceX shares rose about 9% on Wednesday after the company reported Q3 earnings per share of $0.35, more than double the $0.16 analysts expected. Revenue grew 161% to $14.6 billion, but heavy spending on its AI division still drains cash.
Space Exploration Technologies, known as SpaceX, rocketed 9% higher through 10:55 a.m. ET Wednesday after its Q3 report the night before. The stock trades under the ticker SPCX.
Analysts had forecast $0.16 per share for the quarter. SpaceX instead earned $0.35, more than double what Wall Street expected.
AI division revenue jumps 830%
Revenue at the renamed "Super Intelligence" division, formerly "Artificial Intelligence," rose 830% to $7.6 billion. Connectivity grew 69% to $5.2 billion, while the Space division inched up 6% to $1.8 billion.
Total revenue increased 161% to $14.6 billion.
Profit shifts between divisions
Connectivity, until now the only profitable division, raised its profit 99% year over year to $2.4 billion. The Super Intelligence division flipped from unprofitable to a $431 million profit for the quarter.
The Space division moved the other way. It lost $7 million, after earning $259 million in Q3 last year. The Motley Fool notes this may reflect an accounting quirk, because SpaceX does not recognize any inter-segment revenue in that division for launches of Starlink satellites for the Connectivity division.
Cash burn remains a drain
Not all the news was good. Capital expenditure in the Super Intelligence division more than tripled year over year to $16.4 billion in Q3.
SpaceX's total capex so far this year is $48.1 billion, and its cash burn is $35 billion, on course for $47 billion.
Source: The Motley Fool
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