Nasdaq rises 0.67% at open, buoyed by SpaceX and Supermicro disclosures
Key Facts
U.S. stock indexes rose at the opening of trading on October 21, 2026, with the Nasdaq Composite leading gains, up 0.67%, according to Reuters, as disclosures from SpaceX and Supermicro supported AI-related stocks. The broader S&P index gained 0.31% at the start of the session as the market responded to the companies' financial performance announcements. The Dow Jones rose 0.30%, with gains spanning the major indexes at varying rates. The Nasdaq's outperformance coincided with SpaceX's announcement of a return to profitability and Supermicro's increase in its quarterly revenue estimates. The announcements combined growth in SpaceX's business with increased demand for Supermicro's AI platforms, which the company cited as the reason for revising its estimates.
According to SpaceX's filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the company's revenue reached $14,575 million in the third quarter of 2026 as revenue from its operations expanded. Revenue stood at $5,576 million in the third quarter of 2025, the year-earlier comparison for the reported quarterly performance. On the bottom line, the company posted a quarterly net profit of $4.4 billion after a net loss of $1.1 billion in the corresponding period. The company said in its statement: "Net profit was $4.4 billion, compared with a net loss of $1.1 billion." The swing from loss to profit coincided with higher revenue, combining business growth with an improved bottom line compared with the year-earlier quarter.
By business segment, SpaceX's superintelligence division generated revenue of $7,560 million in the third quarter of 2026, making it the company's largest segment by revenue, according to the disclosure. The connectivity segment posted operating profit of $2,367 million over the same period, leading the company's segments by operating profit. Revenue and operating profit leadership were thus split between the superintelligence and connectivity segments, each occupying a different position in the quarterly performance. Alongside business growth, the company's capital expenditure reached $19,593 million, compared with $6,880 million in the third quarter of 2025. Capital expenditure exceeded quarterly revenue, while both increased from the corresponding period, pairing the reported profitability with a substantial expansion in capital spending.
In a separate announcement, Supermicro estimated revenue for its fiscal first quarter of 2027, which ended in September 2026, at between $18.5 billion and $19.5 billion, according to its preliminary business update. The company had guided for revenue of between $14.5 billion and $15.5 billion for the same quarter when it announced results for its previous fiscal quarter and fiscal year 2026. The bottom of the new range exceeded the top of the previous guidance, reflecting an increase in estimates across the announced range. The revision concerns performance in the same fiscal period, which ended in September, rather than revenue guidance for a subsequent quarter. The company presented the figures as preliminary, unaudited estimates subject to adjustment ahead of the release of its full quarterly results.
Supermicro attributed the increase in its revenue estimates to "higher demand for AI platforms," according to the wording of its update, identifying the driver behind its decision to raise the expected sales range. The preliminary update also covered gross margin, which the company estimated would reach between 12.0% and 12.5% in the fiscal first quarter of 2027. The company attributed the margin improvement to "customer and product mix," alongside its separate explanation that platform demand drove higher revenue. It thus linked revenue growth to strong demand, while tying improved gross profitability to the mix of business it delivered to customers during the period. The update combines revenue and gross margin estimates for the quarter ended in September 2026, with the announcement remaining preliminary ahead of the release of full results.
The rise at Wall Street's open did not extend to all stocks, as Netflix shares fell after a forecast disappointed investors, according to Reuters. The stock's decline coincided with gains in the major indexes as investors responded differently to corporate disclosures and forecasts at the start of the session. In Supermicro's case, the preliminary business update precedes its upcoming earnings call, whose date the company announced in its statement. The company will hold the call on November 3, 2026, at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time, according to the officially announced schedule. The call follows the release of revenue and gross margin estimates for the fiscal first quarter, which remain subject to adjustment until the quarterly results are finalized.