SpaceX Revenue Jumps 161% to $14.6 Billion as AI Business Overtakes Starlink

SpaceX reported a 161 per cent year-on-year increase in third-quarter revenue to $14.6 billion, with its Super Intelligence business emerging as its largest revenue contributor, ahead of Starlink-led connectivity services.

The Elon Musk-led company posted net income of $4.4 billion for July–September, reversing a $1.1 billion loss a year earlier. Revenue in the corresponding quarter last year was $5.6 billion.

Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation rose 306 per cent to $8.8 billion, according to the company’s results.

AI BUSINESS LEADS GROWTH

The Super Intelligence segment, which includes computing infrastructure, models and software applications, generated $7.6 billion in revenue, up 830 per cent from $813 million a year earlier.

SpaceX attributed the growth to new cloud services agreements, its acquisition of AI coding platform Cursor and increased adoption of Grok among businesses and consumers.

The division accounted for more than half of quarterly revenue, highlighting the growing weight of artificial intelligence in the company’s operations. Independent reporting also confirmed that AI had become SpaceX’s largest business by revenue.

STARLINK SUBSCRIBERS REACH 13.6 MILLION

Revenue from the Connectivity segment, led by Starlink, increased 69 per cent to $5.2 billion from $3.1 billion. Operating income rose 99 per cent to $2.4 billion.

Starlink had 13.6 million consumer subscribers at the end of September, compared with 7.2 million a year earlier. It added 1.6 million subscribers during the quarter.

Monthly average revenue per user increased to $69 from $66 in the preceding quarter.

SPACE REVENUE GROWS 6%

Revenue from space operations rose 6 per cent to $1.8 billion. SpaceX completed 12 customer launches during the quarter.

The company said its first orbital Starship flight delivered 26 Starlink V3 satellites, adding around 10 times the downlink capacity of a Falcon 9 Starlink launch.

COMPUTING INVESTMENT ACCELERATES

Capital expenditure reached $19.6 billion, up from $6.9 billion a year earlier, largely reflecting investment in computing infrastructure. Quarterly spending exceeded revenue, underscoring the scale of the expansion.

Computing capacity reached 1.7 gigawatts by September 30, compared with 0.6 gigawatts a year earlier.

SpaceX’s chief financial officer said the company was focused on capital efficiency, returns on invested capital and maintaining a strong balance sheet while expanding its infrastructure.

With inputs from ANI