SpaceX's first-ever earnings show higher revenues and huge spending
Elon Musk said during a call with financial analysts that people were "underestimating" his company.
SpaceX has released its first quarterly earnings report, revealing a significant increase in revenue and a staggering rise in spending. The company, founded by Elon Musk, specializes in space rocket manufacturing and Starlink internet satellites, and recently acquired the social media platform X. Following its debut on the US stock market in June, SpaceX reported a 92% growth in revenue to $7.8bn compared to the previous year, but its spending surged by more than 550% to $18.3bn, despite a net loss of $2bn during the first half of the year.
During a call with financial analysts and investors, Musk expressed that people seemed to underestimate SpaceX, attributing its success primarily to Starlink, which generated $1.6bn in revenue during the second quarter. Musk anticipates exponential growth for this profitable segment in the coming years. He also discussed the rapid expansion of SpaceX's AI-focused business, which currently includes collaborations with Google and Anthropic.
Although SpaceX currently possesses 1.4 gigawatts of compute power for AI projects, Musk expects this to increase to at least 10 gigawatts within the next year.
Musk expressed confidence in SpaceX's future, stating that the company could reach $1tn in revenue by 2030, a timeline he revised up from six weeks ago. However, SpaceX's shares experienced a nearly 9% decrease in after-hours trading following the report, erasing the gains made throughout the day. Analysts are still grappling with the company's evolving business model, with some, like Bret Johnson, suggesting that SpaceX may evolve into an AI infrastructure company with a substantial space segment attached.
Matt Britzman, a senior equity analyst, notes that while Starlink is currently the only SpaceX business unit generating operating profits, the AI sector is heavily investing but remains in the red. Fabien Yip from IG and Wendy Souvannarath from Carré Partners agree that SpaceX's investment in AI is a significant risk, but they remain optimistic about the company's overall prospects.
Nevertheless, the challenges caused by Musk's political controversies and the fluctuation in investor enthusiasm continue to pose a risk to SpaceX's continued success.
Written by urgent.news from BBC Business's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — it may contain errors, so check the original before relying on it.
