SpaceX, the rocket and satellite company led by Elon Musk, posted a 92 percent jump in revenue for the second quarter of 2026 in its first earnings report since going public, beating analyst expectations by roughly $1 billion. Revenue rose to $7.8 billion from $4.1 billion in the same period a year earlier, well above the $6.8–6.9 billion forecast by Wall Street analysts. The company, which is headquartered in Starbase, Texas, also narrowed its net loss to $541 million — less than half of what analysts had anticipated and a significant improvement from the $1 billion loss recorded a year earlier.

The results were driven by two fast-growing divisions. Starlink, SpaceX's satellite internet service, accounted for just over half of total revenue at $4.3 billion — a 66 percent increase year on year — and remained the only profitable segment of the business. Subscribers doubled to 12 million over the past year, bolstered by a broad expansion into consumer, enterprise, aviation, maritime and government markets. Airlines including American Airlines, Southwest, Virgin Atlantic, Iberia and Aer Lingus have signed connectivity agreements with the company. The AI division, which encompasses the Grok chatbot, the social network X and a rapidly expanding network of data centres, tripled its revenue to around $2.5–2.6 billion, though it posted an operating loss of approximately $1.2–1.3 billion. SpaceX has signed compute-leasing deals with Anthropic and Google, and expects these and similar contracts to generate an additional $6.7 billion over the six months from October. Traditional rocket launches, once the heart of the business, now account for just 10 percent of revenue and remain unprofitable.

Capital expenditure ballooned to more than $18 billion in the quarter — more than six times the $2.83 billion spent a year earlier — with over 86 percent directed at AI infrastructure. Chief Financial Officer Bret Johnsen said spending at a similar level was expected for at least the next two quarters. The company ended June with $100 billion in cash. It also announced $6 billion in new US government contracts for Starshield, its national security satellite system, and completed two successful launches of its next-generation Starship V3 rocket. Musk said SpaceX aims to reach a $100 billion annual revenue run-rate by December and plans to launch at least 1,000 V3 Starlink satellites within a year.

SpaceX listed on the Nasdaq exchange in June 2026 in what was described as the largest stock market debut in history. Its shares rose 9.4 percent during Tuesday's trading session following the earnings release, but fell around 7–8 percent in after-hours trading. The stock has declined roughly 8 percent since its IPO. Investors face additional uncertainty later this week when a post-IPO lock-up period expires on Thursday, potentially more than doubling the number of shares in circulation. Analysts noted that while the underlying business showed genuine momentum, some investors remain cautious. "Everyone knows that will take time," said Gadjo Sevilla of Emarketer. "They want to see how the value can be turned around as quickly as possible." The central challenge for SpaceX is whether Starlink's profits can sustainably fund its expensive ambitions in AI, data infrastructure and deep-space exploration until those businesses reach maturity.