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

SpaceX shares dropped sharply after the company reported its first earnings as a public firm, with investors reacting to a massive increase in spending on artificial intelligence infrastructure. The stock fell as much as 12 percent in premarket trading Wednesday following Tuesday's results, which showed quarterly revenue nearly doubling to 7.8 billion dollars but capital expenditures jumping sixfold to 18.4 billion dollars.

The bulk of that outlay went toward data centers and computing power for AI projects, a move that has drawn comparisons to similar heavy investments by other tech firms. SpaceX posted a net loss of 143 million dollars for the quarter and 2 billion dollars for the first half of the year. Executives, including Elon Musk, defended the spending as essential for long-term growth in both AI compute sales and the Starlink satellite business, which generated 1.6 billion dollars in revenue during the period.

Musk told investors that Starlink could eventually handle most of the world's internet traffic and projected the company reaching 1 trillion dollars in annual revenue by 2030. The firm has also begun renting out AI computing capacity to companies including Google and Anthropic, with plans to expand capacity from 1.4 gigawatts to at least 10 gigawatts next year. Still, analysts noted that such aggressive capital deployment carries clear risks, especially as the company works to prove returns on investments that already exceed Wall Street forecasts.

The earnings release coincided with reports that a four-tonne piece of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket had struck the Moon near Einstein Crater early Wednesday. The second stage, left in orbit after a January 2025 lunar lander mission, traveled at roughly 5,400 miles per hour before impact. SpaceX described the collision as unintentional, the result of gravitational forces and solar activity that altered the object's path over 18 months. Scientists expect the event to offer data on crater formation, though no immediate images were available from lunar orbiters.

Separately, SpaceX president Gwynne Shotwell outlined plans during the earnings call to build a terrestrial mobile network using spectrum acquired from EchoStar. The company aims to compete directly with major U.S. carriers by combining satellite coverage with ground-based base stations, potentially mounted on existing Starlink equipment. Shotwell described the service as eventually far more capable than current direct-to-device offerings.

The combination of heavy AI outlays, ongoing losses, and expanding ambitions across space and communications has left some observers questioning the pace of expansion. While revenue from Starlink continues to rise, the company's overall financial picture remains shaped by upfront costs that have yet to translate into consistent profits.