SpaceX Revenue Hits $14.6 Billion, Beats Estimates Ahead of Meta and Tesla Results
Key Facts
SpaceX's revenue beat analysts' expectations in the third quarter of 2026, reaching $14.6 billion, according to Reuters, in results announced Tuesday evening ahead of earnings from Meta and Tesla. Analysts' estimates compiled by the London Stock Exchange Group had pointed to revenue of $12.72 billion. The company posted quarterly net income of $4,404 million, according to its filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The results came as its AI business expanded, generating most of its revenue from renting data center capacity to developers, according to Reuters. Those developers include Anthropic, Google and Reflection AI.
Revenue in the superintelligence segment reached $7,560 million, according to SpaceX's quarterly filing. That compares with revenue of $2,561 million in the previous quarter and $813 million in the same quarter a year earlier. The segment posted an operating profit of $431 million, swinging from an operating loss of $1,257 million in the previous quarter. It had recorded an operating loss of $1,722 million a year earlier. The company cited cloud services agreements and the acquisition of Cursor among the business's growth drivers. In the connectivity segment, revenue rose to $5,248 million, compared with $4,291 million in the previous quarter and $3,097 million a year earlier.
SpaceX's business expansion was accompanied by a rise in quarterly capital spending to $19,593 million, according to the company's filing. Spending had totaled $18,369 million in the previous quarter. It stood at $6,880 million in the same period a year earlier. Meta, in its second-quarter filing, forecast capital spending of between $130 billion and $145 billion during 2026. It said the spending was intended to support AI and its core businesses. Meta's second-quarter capital spending, including principal payments on finance lease obligations, totaled $31.08 billion.
On the relationship between SpaceX and Tesla, Elon Musk said the companies had formed special committees of independent board members to discuss a potential merger, according to the Associated Press. But he rejected the idea that completion of the merger was certain. He described that view by saying: "I think that would be an overstatement." The discussions come as Tesla prepares to report results for a quarter in which it produced 464,391 vehicles, according to the company's investor relations statement. Deliveries during the same period totaled 486,532 vehicles. The company also deployed 13.7 gigawatt-hours of energy storage products during the quarter.
In response to Tuesday evening's earnings announcement, SpaceX shares rose 7.5% in after-hours trading, according to the Associated Press. The gain followed pressure on AI-related stocks ahead of earnings week, according to a preview published by Reuters. That pressure extended to semiconductor stocks and hardware makers, including Dell. Reuters linked the moves to concerns about financing the expansion of AI infrastructure. It quoted Kevin Shea, an equity analyst at BNY Wealth, as saying that one of the key tests was "whether the profitability of major cloud infrastructure companies can grow faster than their capital spending."
Attention turns on Wednesday, October 21, 2026, to Meta and Tesla's results, due after the market close, according to an Investing.com preview. The preview cited expectations for Meta earnings per share of $6.58. It also pointed to expected third-quarter revenue of $63.34 billion for the company. For Tesla, the average analyst estimate compiled by the company for adjusted earnings per share was $0.45. The average estimate under U.S. accounting principles was $0.23 per share. Tesla scheduled its earnings call for 5:30 p.m. U.S. Eastern time the same day, according to its investor relations statement.