SpaceX posted sharply higher second-quarter revenue, driven by strong growth in its Starlink satellite internet business and expanding artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure operations, even as the company continued to invest heavily in its Starship rocket programme.
The company reported second-quarter revenue of US$7.81 billion, exceeding analysts’ expectations of US$6.81 billion by nearly 15 per cent. Adjusted loss per share narrowed to nine cents from 34 cents in the same period last year.
Speaking during the company’s post-earnings call on Tuesday, Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk said SpaceX remained on course to become a US$1 trillion revenue company by 2030, a year earlier than previously projected. He also announced plans to begin deploying data centres in space from 2027 as part of the company’s long-term AI strategy.
Despite the stronger-than-expected financial performance, SpaceX shares fell about eight per cent in after-market trading as investors focused on the company’s substantial AI infrastructure spending, continued net losses and the absence of financial guidance. Analysts also expressed concern that heavy capital expenditure could weigh on short-term returns.
The company said AI capital expenditure reached US$15.8 billion during the quarter and US$23.6 billion in the first half of 2026 as it accelerated investment in computing infrastructure. Musk said SpaceX aims to expand its computing capacity to at least 20 gigawatts by the end of 2027 while significantly increasing the frequency of rocket launches.
SpaceX also disclosed that it had secured US$14.1 billion in contracted AI cloud services sales and more than US$6 billion in multi-year contracts with the United States government for its Starshield satellite network, reflecting growing demand for its connectivity and national security services.
The Connectivity division, led by the Starlink satellite broadband network, remained the company’s largest source of revenue. The segment generated US$4.3 billion in the quarter, representing a 66 per cent year-on-year increase as Starlink subscribers doubled to 12 million. Operating income in the division rose 79 per cent to US$1.7 billion, supported by growth in enterprise and government customers.
The AI business recorded the fastest expansion, with revenue rising 247 per cent to US$2.6 billion. SpaceX attributed the performance to new cloud service agreements, including major contracts with Anthropic and Alphabet, which contributed US$1.6 billion in AI infrastructure revenue during the quarter. The company’s compute capacity also expanded to 1.4 gigawatts.
Founded by Elon Musk in 2002, SpaceX has become the world’s leading commercial launch provider while establishing Starlink as one of the largest satellite broadband networks globally. The company completed a landmark initial public offering (IPO) in June, positioning itself not only as a space and connectivity company but also as an emerging AI infrastructure provider.
SpaceX priced its IPO at US$135 per share, with the stock climbing above US$225 shortly after listing before retreating in recent weeks, erasing more than US$1 trillion in market value from its peak.
The company operates through three core business segments—Space, Connectivity and AI—with Starlink continuing to underpin its commercial performance across residential, enterprise and government markets.
In a further demonstration of its AI ambitions, SpaceX separately announced a partnership with NVIDIA to develop the Starmind AI1 satellite compute payload. Each Starmind satellite will incorporate NVIDIA Rubin graphics processing units (GPUs) and Vera central processing units (CPUs), enabling data centre-class computing capabilities in orbit and supporting the company’s vision of space-based AI infrastructure.
