SpaceX Posts $4.4 Billion Q3 Profit as AI Business Brings in $7.56 Billion

SpaceX has published results for the third quarter, which ended Sept. 30, and it turns out that AI, not rockets, now generates the largest share of its revenue. According to Reuters, revenue rose 161% year over year to $14.58 billion, and the company reported net income of $4.4 billion.

According to Reuters, it is SpaceX's first profit as a public company. Adjusted earnings per share came in at 45 cents against an average forecast of 13 cents, based on IBES data. The AI unit also turned a profit after a loss a year earlier.

Where the AI revenue comes from

The AI segment includes Grok, the X platform and a fast-growing data center business. Its revenue grew almost tenfold to $7.56 billion, more than half of the company's total. Daniel Newman of the Futurum Group called AI the company's biggest business line. Most of that figure comes from renting out compute capacity rather than from its own models.

Reuters lists Anthropic, Google (Alphabet) and Reflection AI among the data center customers. That means SpaceX earns part of its money from competitors of its own Grok by supplying them with infrastructure.

The infrastructure bill

Capital expenditures reached $19.6 billion, nearly tripling, and $16.4 billion of that went to AI. Chief financial officer Bret Johnsen pointed to $35-40 billion in capital spending in the fourth quarter. He also reiterated the expectation of annual recurring revenue of about $100 billion by the end of 2026.

Reuters points to risks: Starship has not yet entered commercial service, and developing the rocket brings high costs and uncertainty. The company itself has cautioned that it needs sustained investment before profits become consistent, and the AI unit's operating losses have been large.

Starlink and Musk's projections

Starlink had 13.6 million subscribers, above the 12.19 million expected. Average monthly revenue per subscriber fell from $99 in 2023 to $69 as cheaper plans spread abroad.

“We are in an inflection moment for SpaceX across launch, connectivity and superintelligence,” Mr. Musk said on the call. - Elon Musk, head of SpaceX

According to Reuters, Musk ended his prepared remarks with a seemingly off-script comment, saying annual recurring revenue could reach between $500 billion and $1 trillion by the end of 2027. That is the chief executive's projection, not a verified result.

Tesla merger talks

On the investor call, Musk said a merger with Tesla would be a good idea, but that the decision is up to the special committees of both companies. He added that he is a conflicted party and does not take part in those discussions. Any deal would need shareholder approval. Reuters describes this as the first official confirmation of formal talks, and SpaceX shares rose 4.9% in extended trading.

For Polish companies and AI teams, the result signals that demand for compute is large enough that even a rocket maker earns money renting data center capacity to leading labs. At the same time, the scale of spending shows that the profitability of this model depends on keeping orders coming in amid record capital outlays.