SpaceX Revenue Jumps 161% to $14.6 Billion as Computing Business Expands
Key Facts
SpaceX's revenue rose to $14.6 billion in the third quarter of 2026, up 161% from a year earlier, according to the company's earnings filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The results, announced on Tuesday, October 20, came as its artificial intelligence and data center capacity rental businesses expanded, becoming a source of revenue alongside its other operations. Revenue stood at $5.6 billion in the third quarter of 2025, according to the comparison in the official filing. The quarterly total exceeded analysts' expectations of $12.72 billion, according to data compiled by the London Stock Exchange Group and cited by Reuters in its earnings coverage. SpaceX shares rose 7.5% in after-hours trading following the announcement, according to the Associated Press.
The superintelligence segment generated about $7.6 billion in revenue during the third quarter, according to the filing, accounting for more than half of the company's total revenue for the same period. The segment posted quarterly growth of 195% compared with the previous quarter, reflecting the acceleration of its business during the period covered by the results. On an annual basis, its revenue grew 830%, according to the figures SpaceX reported for the segment in its third-quarter 2026 results. The segment generated operating profit of about $431 million alongside substantial capital spending on computing operations. According to Reuters, the company earns most of its AI revenue from renting out data center capacity, with customers including Anthropic, Google and Reflection AI.
On the investment side, SpaceX's total capital expenditure reached about $19,593 million during the third quarter, according to its earnings filing with the U.S. regulator. About $16,444 million of that spending went to the superintelligence segment, which accounted for most of the company's capital investment during the period. The segment's capital expenditure exceeded its quarterly revenue, while total capital expenditure also surpassed the company's revenue for the same quarter. Alongside these investments, SpaceX's nominal computing capacity rose to 1.7 gigawatts by the end of September 2026, according to figures in the filing. Nominal capacity stood at 1.4 gigawatts at the end of June of the same year, before the increase recorded during the third quarter.
Part of the company's computing infrastructure plans involves adopting Nvidia technology, according to earlier comments by Elon Musk cited by Investing.com in its coverage of the chip purchase plans. On the August earnings call, Musk said: "We decided to build exclusively on Nvidia because we believe the Vera Rubin architecture is the best architecture." The decision Musk described involved building infrastructure exclusively using the company's technology, while praising the chip architecture he had chosen. In a report dated October 6, 2026, Reuters said SpaceX was in talks with banks and asset managers to raise $40 billion to buy AI chips from Nvidia. The targeted funding remained under negotiation as part of talks concerning purchases of chips needed for the company's operations.
The chip plans also include Terafab, a joint project between SpaceX and Tesla, whose timeline Musk discussed during the earnings call on October 20, 2026, according to Reuters. The project aims to reach volume chip production in the third quarter of 2028, according to the timeline Musk announced for the joint venture. Musk presented the date as a target within an ambitious schedule, rather than a guaranteed start date for volume production. The joint production project comes alongside talks to finance Nvidia chip purchases, representing two avenues related to chip supplies for SpaceX's operations. Musk had previously announced the company's reliance on Nvidia technology in August when discussing its choice of computing infrastructure.
In the nearer term, SpaceX forecast an increase in capital expenditure during the fourth quarter of 2026, according to the Associated Press, citing the earnings announcement. The company set its expected spending range at between $35 billion and $40 billion during that quarter. The target range exceeds the capital expenditure recorded in the third quarter, as the company continues to allocate substantial investment to superintelligence and computing operations. The plan follows an increase in nominal computing capacity during the period ended in September, with most of the business's AI revenue coming from data center rentals. The spending program for the fourth quarter of 2026 thus precedes Terafab's longer-term target of volume production in the third quarter of 2028.