SpaceX earnings beat undercut by $18B AI capex, stock drops

SpaceX reported its first earnings as a public company and saw its stock drop sharply as investors reacted to a sharp rise in capital spending aimed at artificial intelligence infrastructure. Revenue reached 7.8 billion dollars in the quarter ending June, nearly double the level from a year earlier, yet capital expenditures climbed to 18.4 billion dollars, more than six times the prior year's amount. Most of the increase went toward data centers and computing capacity intended for AI workloads.

The company recorded a quarterly net loss of 143 million dollars and a loss of roughly 2 billion dollars for the first half of the year. Starlink, its satellite internet service, remained the main profit contributor and generated 1.6 billion dollars in the period. Executives said they expect Starlink revenue to expand rapidly and eventually supply most of the world's internet access. They also projected that the new AI compute business, already serving customers including Google and Anthropic, would scale from 1.4 gigawatts of capacity today to at least 10 gigawatts by next year.

Investors responded by sending shares down nearly 12 percent in premarket trading and as much as 11 percent in after-hours action. The decline occurred even though revenue exceeded analyst forecasts and the company narrowed its losses relative to earlier periods. Several Wall Street observers noted that the market is applying the same scrutiny to SpaceX that it has applied to other technology firms announcing large AI-related outlays without clear near-term returns.

Chief Financial Officer Bret Johnsen told analysts that the company structures its AI investments for payback periods of less than one year. Chief Executive Elon Musk argued during the call that data-center construction poses fewer technical challenges than reusable rocket development, the firm's original core activity. Musk also raised the company's long-term revenue target to 1 trillion dollars annually by 2030.

Separately, a Falcon 9 second stage launched in January 2025 drifted for more than 18 months before striking the Moon near Einstein Crater at roughly 5,400 miles per hour. The four-ton object created a new impact crater and provided researchers with fresh data on high-speed lunar collisions. SpaceX described the trajectory as unintentional yet unavoidable given the stage's remaining fuel and orbital dynamics.

During the earnings discussion, company leaders also outlined plans to expand Starlink's direct-to-device service into a full terrestrial mobile network by using spectrum acquired from EchoStar. They said the addition of ground-based infrastructure would allow competition with established wireless carriers. The spectrum holdings remain far smaller than those of the largest U.S. operators, so the company indicated it would rely on efficient deployment methods such as small cells mounted on existing Starlink hardware.

Market participants continue to weigh whether the combination of satellite communications, reusable launch vehicles, and large-scale AI computing can generate sustained profits sufficient to justify current valuations. The stock closed below its initial public offering price of 135 dollars and well below the peak reached shortly after listing.