SpaceX shares fell roughly 14% during Wednesday's trading session, extending losses from after-hours Tuesday, despite the company reporting its first earnings beat since going public last month. Investors zeroed in on surging capital expenditures rather than the strong quarterly numbers.
The Earnings Beat
SpaceX reported $7.81 billion in second-quarter revenue, up 92% year over year and well above the $6.81 billion analysts expected. Adjusted EBITDA hit $3.5 billion, nearly double Wall Street's $2 billion forecast. CEO Elon Musk, speaking on the company's first earnings call as a public company, said SpaceX now expects to reach $1 trillion in annual revenue by 2030 — a year earlier than its pre-IPO forecast. He called it an internal projection, not a promise, and noted a non-zero chance of hitting that mark in 2029.
The AI Spending Surge
Capital expenditures climbed to $18.37 billion, more than six times the same period last year. The bulk of that — $15.83 billion — went into SpaceX's AI business. That segment includes a new partnership with Nvidia, announced hours before earnings, to put Nvidia Rubin GPUs into orbit for in-space computing. The spending spooked investors, who sold off shares despite the earnings beat.
Starlink's Mixed Results
Starlink revenue rose 66% and remains SpaceX's only profitable segment. But revenue per subscriber fell, a sign that growth is coming from lower-priced plans or increased competition. The segment's profitability is a bright spot, but the declining per-user revenue raises questions about long-term pricing power.
Lockup Expiration Looms
Adding to the pressure, SpaceX faces a lockup expiration this week that could release close to a fifth of outstanding shares onto the market. That potential flood of supply is likely weighing on the stock, compounding the sell-off triggered by the capital spending concerns.
