SpaceX quarterly revenue jumps, beats estimates as AI business surges

SpaceX reported a significant third-quarter profit on October 20, more than doubling its revenue to $14.58 billion. The surge was primarily driven by its thriving AI business, which generated $7.6 billion in revenue, more than nine times its previous level. CEO Elon Musk highlighted that the company is at an inflection point across launch, connectivity, and superintelligence ventures. However, SpaceX's AI software, including xAI's Grok, has yet to surpass competitors like OpenAI and Google's AI offerings.

The AI unit accounted for $16.4 billion of SpaceX's $19.6 billion in capital spending, and investors are closely watching whether the company can maintain this growth while improving the economics of its network. Starlink, SpaceX's satellite-internet service, added 13.6 million subscribers in the quarter, surpassing analyst expectations.

However, average revenue per subscriber has decreased from $99 in 2023 to $69, reflecting the company's expansion into new markets with more affordable plans. SpaceX is developing its Starship reusable rocket system, which could enable higher-bandwidth Starlink satellites and orbital AI-computing infrastructure. Despite robust Falcon launch activity, the company's financial performance remains contingent on the success of its Starship development and the mix of internal and external customer missions.