SpaceX Revenue Jumps 161% to $14.6 Billion, Led by AI
Key Facts
SpaceX revenue jumped to $14.6 billion in the third quarter of 2026, up 161% from a year earlier, according to Associated Press coverage of the company's results, with superintelligence generating the most revenue among its segments. The company posted net income of $4.4 billion for the period, according to the agency, while its businesses' contributions to revenue differed from their contributions to operating profit. Quarterly earnings per share were 35 cents, according to figures the Associated Press cited from the company's results. At the operating level, SpaceX's filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission showed group operating profit of $2,791 million for the quarter. Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization reached $8.8 billion, up 306% from a year earlier, according to the earnings call transcript published on Investing.com.
In a breakdown of the business that led revenue, the superintelligence segment posted third-quarter revenue of $7.6 billion, according to the company's official SEC filing. Segment revenue rose 195% from the previous quarter, with sequential growth adding to the expansion recorded on an annual basis. Compared with the corresponding period a year earlier, the business's revenue increased 830%, according to the same filing. The company named "cloud services agreements and the acquisition of Cursor" among its growth drivers, combining expansion in services with the acquired company's contribution. Cursor contributed $608 million in revenue to consolidated results for the period from the acquisition's closing through September 30, 2026, according to SpaceX's filing.
The communications segment posted revenue of $5,248 million in the third quarter of 2026, according to the segment tables in SpaceX's filing. The business generated operating profit of $2,367 million for the period, leading the two segments' contributions on this measure despite superintelligence's higher revenue. By comparison, superintelligence operating profit was $431 million, according to figures the company reported for the same quarter. In the Starlink business, average monthly revenue per consumer subscriber was $69, according to the official filing, among details of the communications business's performance during the period. Capital spending was concentrated in superintelligence, which spent $16,444 million during the quarter, combining the revenue lead with investment exceeding its operating profit.
The earnings announcement coincided with discussions of potential arrangements between SpaceX and Tesla, according to the Associated Press, citing Elon Musk. Musk said the companies had formed "special committees" to discuss a potential merger, in a step concerning the future relationship between the two companies. The committees comprise independent members of both boards, according to the agency, to handle discussions about potentially combining the companies. But Musk cautioned against treating a merger as certain and played down the likelihood of an imminent agreement. In the stock market, SpaceX shares rose 7.8% during the Wednesday, October 21, 2026 session following the earnings announcement, according to separate Associated Press coverage of market moves.
On expansion plans, group capital spending totaled $19.6 billion in the third quarter of 2026, according to Associated Press coverage of the results. The company expects capital spending to rise to between $35 billion and $40 billion in the fourth quarter of 2026, according to the agency. That projected range puts next quarter's spending above the level recorded in the third quarter, alongside expansion in superintelligence and cloud services. Management's revenue outlook extends to the first quarter of 2027, according to the earnings call transcript published on Investing.com. Management said during the call: "We now expect total company revenue to range between $33 billion and $37 billion for the first quarter of 2027."