SpaceX posts loss in first report as a public company but less than
expected
[August 05, 2026] By
BERNARD CONDON
NEW YORK (AP) — SpaceX reported a smaller loss than Wall Street expected
along with a surge in revenue in its first quarterly report as a public
company as it sharply boosted spending, particularly on artificial
intelligence.
The company run by Elon Musk posted a loss of $541 million, or 9 cents
per share, in the three months through June, less than half what
financial analysts had forecast. Revenue jumped to $7.8 billion, up more
than 90% from the year-earlier period.
A standout in the quarter was the company's big cash source, its
“connectivity” business, with revenue jumping 66% from a year earlier as
the number of subscribers to its Starlink satellite communications
service doubled to 12 million.
“It's not out of the question that at some point, Starlink will deliver
a majority of the world’s internet," Musk said in call with analysts.
SpaceX stock rose 9% in regular trading Tuesday, but gave most of the
gain back after hours. The rocket, satellite and AI company's stock has
fallen by roughly half since peaking in June shortly after an initial
public offering that briefly made Musk the world’s first trillionaire.
Investors are worried Musk has oversold them on the company's future
prospects for space travel and its AI chatbot Grok. They’re also bracing
for volatile trading as some company insiders get the opportunity to
sell shares after the expiration of what’s known as a lockup provision
later in the week.
Another area of concern is SpaceX spending on infrastructure and R&D,
which jumped to $18 billion from less than $3 billion a year ago. The
company's chief financial officer, Bret Johnsen, said to expect similar
capital expenditures for the next two quarters.
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 Musk defended the outlays, a concern
also weighing on many other technology companies spending heavily on
AI, saying the resulting supercharged growth meant the company would
reach a trillion dollars in revenue a year faster now, 2030 rather
than 2031.
Shares jumped 19% on their first day of trading in
June, making Musk the first-ever trillionaire. The subsequent drop,
as well as a decline in the shares of Musk’s electric vehicle
company Tesla, have knocked his wealth down to $783 billion,
according to Forbes.
Musk was asked several times about the prospects for the gigantic
Starship rocket that is key to SpaceX realizing his ambitions.
Starship successfully deployed satellites in space during a test
late last month.
Musk said he expected SpaceX will attempt to test the reusability of
Starship at the end of the month when it will attempt to grab the
spacecraft and its booster with mechanical arms upon their return to
their base. NASA hopes to use Starship to put astronauts on the moon
again in the near future.
“We want to put boots on the ground — boots on the moon — in 2028,”
said SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell.
SpaceX shares could see continued volatility. Some insiders have
been barred from selling in the public offering but that prohibition
begins to ease on Thursday when more than 900 million shares are
released for trading, more than doubling the amount currently
available. The lockup release is the first of several tranches of
stock that will be freed to trade over the next several months.
The company also runs the social media platform X, formerly Twitter.
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