SpaceX posted third-quarter sales of $14.6 billion, a 161% jump from a year earlier and above LSEG expectations of $12.72 billion. Operating income landed at $2.8 billion and net income was $4.4 billion, versus a $1.05 billion net loss in the same quarter last year.
The stock climbed Wednesday following the print and Musk's comments. A market quote showed Space Exploration Technologies Corp at 161.67, up 13.88 or 9.39% at 10:43 AM EDT. Peer names moved too, with Rocket Lab, Intuitive Machines, and AST SpaceMobile also higher. The company listed on Nasdaq in June in the largest initial public offering on record.
On the call, Musk said he is considering combining SpaceX and Tesla, calling it potentially the largest merger ever, and noted that both companies' boards have formed committees to explore a consolidation. "I do think there's a lot of merit to combining the companies as we are pretty much in the superintelligence singularity, and there's a lot to be gained from cooperating," he said. Tesla plans to post its third quarter numbers after markets close Wednesday.
CFO Bret Johnsen highlighted what is driving the top line: "We delivered another strong quarter in Q3. Revenue grew an impressive 161% year-over-year, fueled by continued momentum in Connectivity and a clear inflection in our Super Intelligence business." He credited recurring revenue from Starlink and major expansion of Super Intelligence, or SI, infrastructure. SpaceX pushed into artificial intelligence this year under the SI banner, which is now its largest unit by revenue. SI revenue rose about nine times to $7.56 billion from $813 million a year ago.
When company news can change investor views quickly, sign up for the free Market Briefs newsletter for five-minute daily context.
For the first quarter of 2027, SpaceX projected revenue in a range of $33 billion to $37 billion, surpassing the LSEG average estimate of $22.2 billion. Johnsen said the quarter's strength came from Connectivity and the SI inflection, with Starlink's recurring sales and SI buildout doing the heavy lifting.
Truist Securities wrote that commentary on computing from the call supported "continued pricing power and shorter payback periods" for AI cloud providers. Despite recent worries about financing, the firm added, "we believe SpaceX's third-quarter 2026 represents the first data point during the earnings season to support the bull case for AI cloud providers." They described demand as "insatiable," noting SpaceX said it could rent out its capacity multiple times over, and pointed to Coreweave and Nebius as potential beneficiaries because "pricing power will more than offset higher rates." In early Wednesday trading, shares of Nebius and Coreweave were slightly lower, while Iren and Applied Digital rose.
The quarter shows where SpaceX is making money now - Starlink subscriptions and the fast-scaling SI unit - and where it expects momentum ahead, with a first-quarter 2027 outlook well above the Street. If you hold names tied to AI infrastructure or space connectivity, the mix of stronger pricing, heavy demand, and fresh guidance is the signal to watch.
Because big corporate decisions often raise questions for everyday investors, get the free Market Briefs newsletter in your inbox each morning.
