Shares of SpaceX Corp (NASDAQ:SPCX) rose nearly 3% after hours after the Elon Musk-led company reported a sharp rise in profit, driven by an 830% increase in revenue from its artificial intelligence business.
Third-quarter revenue more than doubled from a year earlier to $14.6 billion, while net income rose to $4.4 billion, compared to a loss of $541 million in the previous quarter.
A standout was SpaceX’s artificial intelligence division, whose revenue jumped to $7.6 billion following the February acquisition of Musk’s xAI business.
The unit, recently renamed SpaceX Super Intelligence, includes revenue from chatbot Grok and leasing data center capacity to other artificial intelligence companies.
Starlink subscriber growth increases
SpaceX’s connectivity business, which includes Starlink, generated quarterly revenue of $5.2 billion, up nearly 70% from the previous year.
The number of Starlink subscribers increased 88.9% to 13.6 million, highlighting the rapid expansion of the satellite Internet network.
Revenue from SpaceX’s traditional space operations increased 6% to $1.8 billion.
Capital spending also accelerated sharply, reaching $19.6 billion for the quarter, up from $6.9 billion a year earlier, as SpaceX increased spending on artificial intelligence, satellites and launch infrastructure.
SpaceX listed in June at $135 per share and initially jumped above $225 before falling back below its IPO price.
The stock has since rallied to around US$148, giving the company a valuation of around US$2 trillion before the latest earnings release.
Ukrainian restrictions put Starlink in the spotlight
The findings come as SpaceX faces scrutiny over restrictions on Starlink services used by Ukraine.
THE Wall Street Journal reported that Musk had ordered a slowdown in a military version of Starlink that Ukrainian forces rely on, citing U.S. officials and people familiar with the matter.
The restrictions reportedly reduced the connection speeds of some Ukrainian hardware, limiting the effectiveness of some offensive and interceptor drones.
The report also said Musk and U.S. President Donald Trump discussed the Starlink decision as the restrictions became public, putting more emphasis on the increasingly strategic role of SpaceX’s satellite network.
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