Is SpaceX Stock a Buy Right Now?

SpaceX, the aerospace company, reported impressive Q3 2026 earnings after the market closed on Tuesday. Revenue surged by 161% year-over-year to $14.6 billion, while net income turned positive at $4.4 billion, a stark contrast to a $1.1 billion loss the previous year. The company's AI segment, rebranded as super intelligence (SI), was the biggest business, with revenue skyrocketing 830% year-over-year to $7.6 billion, making up 52% of total revenue.

This growth is further bolstered by a $920 million monthly payment from Alphabet's Google for compute services. SpaceX's connectivity segment, Starlink, also showed stellar performance with 69% year-over-year revenue growth to $5.2 billion and operating income up 99% to $2.4 billion. Starlink's subscriber base expanded from 12 million to 13.6 million, and the average revenue per user increased from $66 to $69.

However, SpaceX's AI growth comes with a hefty price tag, as it requires significant capital expenditures, amounting to $16.4 billion of the company's $19.6 billion total capital expenditures in Q3. Management anticipates capex to potentially double in Q4, with guidance of $35 billion to $40 billion. Despite these high costs, the company's valuation remains concerning, trading at around 67 times trailing sales, which is still considered quite expensive even when annualizing its Q3 revenue.

This multiple is significantly higher than most tech stocks, suggesting that much of SpaceX's growth potential is already priced in. While SpaceX's share price has been volatile, it has recently hovered between $150 and $160, close to its IPO price of $150. Strong earnings may not provide a significant boost to the stock price due to its already high valuation.

The author recommends viewing SpaceX as a company with potential, but suggests being patient for more favorable buying opportunities.