SpaceX posts quarterly profit of $4,404 million amid heavy capital spending

Key Facts

SpaceX reported consolidated net income of $4,404 million in the third quarter of 2026, alongside capital spending that exceeded its quarterly revenue. According to the company's earnings disclosure filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, consolidated revenue totaled $14,575 million during the period, encompassing its communications and superintelligence businesses. Consolidated operating profit was $2,791 million, below the group's reported net income for the same quarter. Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization totaled $8,809 million, according to the adjusted measure in the company's financial disclosure. The results were announced on Tuesday, October 20, as the company prepared to increase capital spending again in the final quarter of the year.

Consolidated capital spending in the third quarter totaled $19,593 million, exceeding the company's total revenue for the same period, according to the disclosure. Much of that investment was concentrated in the superintelligence segment, which accounted for $16,444 million in capital spending during the quarter. Against that investment spending, the segment recorded operating profit of $431 million in the group's reported third-quarter segment results. The business had a different name in previous disclosures, with the company saying it was previously reported as "artificial intelligence." The results thus place the business's operating profit alongside its capital investment, which accounted for most of the company's consolidated spending during the period ended in September.

In the communications segment, quarterly revenue totaled $5,248 million, according to the segment data in SpaceX's third-quarter 2026 disclosure. Starlink had 13.6 million individual subscribers at the end of September, according to operating metrics the company released alongside its financial results. Average monthly revenue per individual subscriber was $69 during the third quarter, a metric the company reported alongside the size of its subscriber base. Communications revenue also included business and government services, which generated sales of $2,127 million during the same quarterly period. The reported communications business thus combined Starlink's individual subscriber base with services for corporate and government customers within the segment's total quarterly revenue.

The group's results included a contribution from Cursor, which SpaceX completed its acquisition of in August 2026, according to details in the disclosure filed with the U.S. regulator. Cursor's implied equity value at the completion of the deal was $60 billion, according to the valuation the company disclosed in its acquisition information. The period for which Cursor's contribution was included in reported revenue began on August 14, the acquisition completion date stated in the disclosure. That period ran through September 30, covering the acquired company's contribution from the deal's closing through the end of the third quarter. During that period, Cursor contributed $608 million in revenue to the group's results, according to the figures SpaceX reported for the business following the acquisition.

In the market, the Associated Press reported that "the stock rose 7.5% in after-hours trading" after SpaceX announced its results on Tuesday, October 20. The stock's move followed the release of the quarterly figures, while Elon Musk's remarks also addressed a possible merger between SpaceX and Tesla, according to the Wall Street Journal. Musk said the companies had formed special committees to examine the idea of a potential merger, according to the newspaper's coverage of the earnings call. The committees Musk described consist of independent directors, with each committee tasked with examining the idea on behalf of its company. The formation of the committees places discussion of a potential merger within the work of both companies' boards, alongside the announcement of their third-quarter financial results.

For the fourth quarter of 2026, SpaceX forecast capital spending of between $35 billion and $40 billion, according to the Associated Press, citing the company. The projected spending range represents an increase from capital spending recorded in the third quarter as the group moves into the final period of the year. Further ahead, the company is targeting its first launch from the Starbase spaceport in Louisiana in 2029, according to its plan announced alongside the quarterly results. The next financial reporting date for one of the companies involved in the merger discussions was set out by Tesla in an investor relations statement. Tesla is scheduled to publish its third-quarter 2026 financial results after the market closes on Wednesday, October 21, 2026.