SpaceX Superintelligence Spending Jumps to $16.444 Billion in Third Quarter
Key Facts
SpaceX reported capital spending of $16.444 billion for its superintelligence segment in the third quarter of 2026, compared with $4.760 billion in the same period a year earlier, while the company’s total capital spending reached $19.593 billion. The figures show a rapid investment expansion alongside a surge in segment revenue and the company’s return to profitability. The company said in its disclosure that the superintelligence segment added $6.7 billion to solutions and infrastructure revenue year over year. It linked the increase to cloud services agreements, the acquisition of Cursor, and growth in its models and software applications, including Grok Bot. The company’s nominal computing capacity stood at 1.7 gigawatts on September 30, 2026.
Revenue from the superintelligence segment reached $7.560 billion in the third quarter, up from $813 million a year earlier. The growth was tied to higher solutions and infrastructure revenue, which the company said came from cloud services, the acquisition of Cursor, and the expansion of its models and applications. According to The Associated Press, the artificial intelligence business became SpaceX’s largest segment by revenue during the quarter, while Starlink remained the company’s biggest source of profit. The comparison reflects the different positions of the two businesses: superintelligence leads in revenue, while the satellite connectivity service remains the largest contributor to profits. Connectivity segment revenue was $5.2 billion in the quarter, up 69% year over year and 22% from the previous quarter.
Revenue growth was accompanied by a sharp improvement in the company’s net results: SpaceX reported net income of $4.4 billion in the third quarter, following a net loss of $1.1 billion in the same quarter of 2025. The company said the swing represented a $5.5 billion year-over-year improvement. In the connectivity segment, revenue rose 69% annually and operating income increased 99%, according to the earnings disclosure. The figures offer a picture of the company’s sources of growth and profitability: rapid expansion in the superintelligence business alongside growth in connectivity and increases in its revenue and operating income. Starlink had 13.6 million consumer subscribers at the end of September, compared with 7.2 million a year earlier, tracking the revenue growth recorded by the connectivity business.
For the nine months ended September 30, capital spending by the superintelligence segment totaled $39.995 billion, compared with $8.077 billion in the same period of 2025. The disclosure said the $34.223 billion increase in capital spending over the nine months was tied to the construction of data centers and their infrastructure, as well as launch facilities and related infrastructure. That places third-quarter spending within a broader investment expansion covering computing infrastructure and company facilities, with marked growth from a year earlier. The company forecast capital spending of between $35 billion and $40 billion in the fourth quarter, according to The Associated Press. That range puts expected spending in the coming period above the $19.593 billion in total capital spending recorded in the third quarter.
SpaceX said it would release its third-quarter results and host a webcast to discuss them after the market close on Tuesday, October 20, 2026. After the results were announced, the stock rose 7.5% in after-hours trading that day, according to The Associated Press. EL7 data showed the stock closed at $147.49 on October 23, 2026. The share move followed quarterly earnings that included a swing to net profit and rapid growth in superintelligence revenue, alongside a large capital spending plan for the next period. The company’s fourth-quarter forecast of $35 billion to $40 billion in capital spending remains the key forward-looking figure in the disclosure and coverage accompanying the results.