SpaceX reported a better-than-expected third quarter, with revenue rising from $5.58 billion a year earlier to $14.58 billion—an increase of 161 percent—and comfortably above the analyst consensus of $12.9 billion. Operating income turned positive at $2.79 billion compared with a $273 million operating loss in the prior-year quarter, and net income swung from a $1.05 billion loss to a $4.40 billion profit. Diluted earnings per share improved from −$0.36 to $0.35.
Super Intelligence becomes the largest revenue contributor
The fastest-growing segment was the Super Intelligence AI unit, whose revenue jumped nearly 830 percent to $7.56 billion, surpassing Starlink and accounting for more than half of group revenue. Growth was supported by new cloud service contracts, the acquisition of Cursor, and wider deployment of Grok. The AI division generated $431 million of operating profit, turning positive at that level.
SpaceX is increasingly leasing compute capacity to other AI firms; customers now include Anthropic and Google. Elon Musk said available capacity could be leased multiple times over, and management expects to split infrastructure roughly half for internal use and half for external customers.
Starlink and Connectivity results
The Connectivity business, which includes the satellite-internet service Starlink, grew revenue 69 percent to $5.25 billion and nearly doubled operating profit to $2.37 billion—about 85 percent of the group's operating profit. Consumer and smaller-business Starlink subscriptions rose from 12.0 million at the end of June to 13.6 million at quarter-end. Average revenue per user (ARPU) was $69 per month, compared with $66 in the prior quarter and $83 a year ago. Enterprise and government revenue climbed 91 percent to $2.13 billion. Aviation expansion continued, with Starlink operating on more than 3,800 aircraft by the end of September.
Traditional space business and Starship milestone
The conventional space segment posted modest growth—revenue rose roughly 6 percent to about $1.8 billion—and recorded a $7 million operating loss. A notable technical milestone was Starship's first revenue-generating mission: the rocket deployed 26 next-generation Starlink satellites, which SpaceX says provided roughly ten times the download capacity of a Falcon 9 Starlink launch. The increased launch capacity could support further expansion of the satellite business.
Heavy investment and cash-flow dynamics
SpaceX invested $19.6 billion in the quarter, of which $16.4 billion was spent in the AI business. Chief Financial Officer Bret Johnsen said that at current prices the new compute investments could pay back within about a year. For the next quarter, the company forecasts $35–40 billion of capital expenditures—roughly double Wall Street's expectation of about $20 billion. Nominal compute infrastructure capacity could rise to 2.5–3 gigawatts by year-end.
Operating cash flow currently covers only a fraction of the investment program: in the first nine months, operating cash flow was $13.1 billion versus $48.1 billion of capital spending. A key investor question is how long the current return profile can be sustained; elevated rental rates are possible while capacity is scarce, but prices could fall if supply expands or AI demand disappoints.
Potential Tesla tie-up under review; market reaction
On the earnings call, Elon Musk confirmed that SpaceX and Tesla have set up separate committees to examine a potential merger. He expressed support for exploring the idea but stressed there is no agreement and the transaction is not assured. Potential collaboration areas he cited include AI software, chip design, robotics and communications services. Due to conflict of interest, Musk is not participating in the committees' deliberations.
Following the results and the disclosure, SpaceX shares rose about 8 percent in after-hours trading.
This article does not constitute investment advice or a recommendation.
