SpaceX Q3 revenue jumps 161% to $14.58bn as AI and Starlink beat forecasts
SpaceX posted Q3 revenue of $14.58bn, up 161% year on year, and a $4.4bn net profit in its second earnings report since the June IPO, with Starlink up 69% and AI its largest revenue driver.
SpaceX reported third-quarter revenue of $14.58 billion, up 161% on a year earlier, in its second earnings report since listing in June — beating the $12.72 billion LSEG estimate cited by Reuters. FactSet consensus sat around $12.87–12.89 billion, per Financier News and MarketWatch.
Net profit was $4.4 billion versus $1.57 billion expected — a swing from the $541 million net loss of the second quarter on $7.81 billion of revenue, per Reuters.
The connectivity business, centred on Starlink, delivered revenue of $5.2 billion, up 69% on a year earlier, while income from operations essentially doubled to $2.4 billion, MarketWatch reported. Starlink had 13.6 million consumer subscribers at 30 September, up from 12 million a quarter earlier.
Growth was AI-driven: SpaceX mainly earns money renting data-centre capacity to developers including Anthropic, Google and Reflection AI, per Reuters. The AI business — spanning Grok, X and data-centre operations — is the company’s largest investment area, though its operating losses are large and sustained investment is needed.
Just 35 launches fell short of the 41 target, while capex of $19.59 billion ran above quarterly revenue (Financier News). Investors also watched Starship after Flight 14 on 28 September, while talk of a Tesla tie-up — aired by Wall Street analysts including Barclays and Wedbush’s Dan Ives — remains unconfirmed.
Context: presidential defence-technology adviser Serhii Beskrestnov said Ukrainian Starshield terminals were hit with an unannounced 160 kph speed cap this month, disrupting drone missions; Musk said the US government controls Starshield, while President Trump denied ordering the limit (The Hindu/AP).
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