SpaceX's first quarterly results as a public company beat expectations, but AI costs hit stock

SpaceX reported its first quarterly results as a public company, revealing a significant increase in revenue. The rocket company's revenue for the April-June period was US$7.8 billion, more than double the US$4.1 billion generated in the same period last year. This growth was driven by the booming Starlink satellite communications business and the AI sector.

However, executives noted that the spending required to fuel these ambitious ventures continues. SpaceX's CEO, Elon Musk, projected a US$100 billion revenue run-rate by December and anticipated a payback period of less than a year on new capital deployments for AI compute. The company also aimed to launch at least 1,000 next-generation V3 Starlink satellites within a year.

Despite the company's AI unit showing signs of commercial success, management emphasized the enormous capital expenditure necessary to build it. Elon Musk expressed confidence in the AI unit's ability to generate revenue, stating that they are building AI compute capacity faster than any other company and significantly improving their AI models.

SpaceX's shares experienced mixed trading after the earnings release, falling 7.5% in after-hours trading while initially rising 9.4% during the day. The company's stock has declined by 8% since its record-breaking IPO in June. Critics argue that using Starlink's profits to fund the AI business and Starship launch operations until they can stand on their own may not be sustainable.

However, SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell remains optimistic about the Starlink business, predicting that it will attract customers from mobile phone providers like T-Mobile, AT&T, and Verizon. The company also aims to expand its ground-based infrastructure to complement its satellite network. SpaceX expects to have built more than two gigawatts of computing capacity this year and will reach close to 10 gigawatts by the end of the next year.