SpaceX revenue nearly doubles as AI spending surges in first earnings report

SpaceX’s first quarterly report as a public company showed revenue rising 92% in the April-June period, but Wall Street quickly turned to the scale of its spending. Elon Musk told analysts people were “underestimating” his company as investors weighed whether Starlink cash flow can cover a fast-expanding bill for AI and space projects.

The numbers were striking. SpaceX said capital expenditures tied to xAI, the unit that runs Grok, reached $15.8 billion in the second quarter, more than double the first quarter. Total capital expenditures came to about $20.7 billion, and the company lost nearly $5 billion in 2025 as spending on AI and infrastructure accelerated. That spending profile is what made the debut results less of a victory lap than a stress test for the business model.

Revenue growth came from two engines that are now central to Musk’s pitch: Starlink satellite internet and AI-related businesses. The company’s soaring topline gave some support to its valuation after a record-breaking June 2026 IPO, but it did not quiet concerns about how much of the new cash flow is being recycled into long-duration bets. Investors had already pushed the stock up sharply after the offering, then watched it slide back, with shares falling below the IPO price for the first time on July 15.

That drop sharpened the focus on whether SpaceX is still being valued as a launch company or as something broader. Some market attention has also been amplified by the fact that insiders remain restricted from selling shares, which leaves public trading as one of the few visible measures of investor confidence in the company’s early life as a listed stock.

Reuters said SpaceX’s first earnings report would be an early gauge of whether Starlink profits can sustain the company’s rapidly growing AI and space spending. The answer is not yet in the stock price. For now, the market is asking whether Musk’s investment cycle is reckless post-IPO spending or a deliberate effort to build a company with multiple profit pools, from broadband to artificial intelligence to Mars-scale infrastructure.