New Delhi: SpaceX’s first earnings report as a publicly traded company has offered investors a glimpse into how rapidly the Elon Musk-led firm is evolving beyond its traditional identity as a rocket manufacturer.
The results suggest that satellite internet and artificial intelligence are increasingly becoming the company's primary growth engines, even as mounting spending on AI infrastructure raises fresh concerns on Wall Street.
The company reported second-quarter revenue of $7.8 billion, up sharply from $4.1 billion in the same period last year, representing a growth of nearly 92%.
A major contributor to that growth was Starlink, SpaceX’s satellite internet business, which now generates more than half of the company's total revenue. The service has expanded its global footprint to around 12 million subscribers, reflecting growing demand for satellite-based connectivity across international markets.
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However, the rapid expansion has come with trade-offs. Average revenue per user declined by 22% as the company introduced lower-cost plans to attract customers in new geographies.
Beyond connectivity, SpaceX is also making an aggressive push into artificial intelligence. Revenue from its AI-related businesses—including xAI, Grok and AI data centre operations—surged 250%, driven by commercial demand from customers such as Anthropic, Google and Reflection AI.
The company said it expects to achieve an annualised revenue run rate of $100 billion by the end of 2026, supported by further Starlink expansion and AI growth. Over the next year, SpaceX plans to deploy at least 1,000 next-generation V3 Starlink satellites and broaden its mobile phone connectivity services.
Yet the earnings report also highlighted the scale of the company’s spending ambitions. Capital expenditure climbed to $18 billion, with a significant portion directed toward AI infrastructure, data centres and computing capacity.
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That investment strategy has become a key point of concern for investors. While Starlink is generating substantial cash flows, questions remain over whether the business can continue financing SpaceX’s growing commitments to AI development, next-generation rocket programmes and large-scale data centre projects.
The market’s reaction reflected those concerns. Despite stronger-than-expected results and narrowing losses, SpaceX shares fell about 7.5% in after-hours trading as investors focused on the company’s elevated spending levels rather than its revenue growth.
The earnings underscore a broader transition underway at SpaceX. The company is no longer being valued solely as a space exploration and launch business.
Instead, its future increasingly depends on its ability to turn Starlink and AI into sustainable profit engines while convincing investors that its massive investments today will translate into long-term returns.
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