SpaceX narrows loss as Starlink subscribers double to 12 million — The Debate
The rocket and satellite company beat analyst forecasts while ramping up AI spending and preparing a critical Starship reusability test.
SpaceX reported a smaller quarterly loss than analysts forecast while revenue surged, driven by rapid growth in its Starlink satellite internet service. The company posted a loss of $541 million (€469mn), or 9 cents a share, in the three months to the end of June, less than half what Wall Street had expected. Revenue jumped more than 90% year-on-year to $7.8 billion (€6.8bn).
The standout performer was the connectivity business, where revenue rose 66% as Starlink subscribers doubled to 12 million. The service now operates across most European Union member states, providing broadband to rural and underserved areas where fibre rollout lags. "It's not out of the question that at some point, Starlink will deliver a majority of the world's internet," Elon Musk told analysts on a call.
Shares rose 9% in regular trading on Tuesday but surrendered most of the gain after hours. The stock has fallen roughly by half since peaking in June, shortly after an initial public offering that briefly made Musk the world's first trillionaire. Investors are concerned he may have oversold the company's prospects in space travel and its Grok AI chatbot. Markets are also braced for volatile trading later this week, when a lockup provision preventing some insiders from selling shares begins to expire.
Capital expenditure jumped to $18 billion (€15.6bn) from less than $3 billion (€2.6bn) a year earlier. Chief financial officer Bret Johnsen said similarly high outlay should be expected over the next two quarters. Musk defended the spending, an issue also facing other technology companies pouring money into AI, and said the growth it fuels means SpaceX could reach $1 trillion (€870bn) in annual revenue by 2030, a year earlier than planned.
Musk faced repeated questions about Starship, the giant rocket central to his long-term ambitions. It successfully deployed satellites during a test late last month. SpaceX plans to test Starship's reusability at the end of the month, attempting to catch the spacecraft and its booster with mechanical arms on their return to base. NASA hopes to use Starship to return astronauts to the Moon. "We want to put boots on the ground, boots on the Moon, in 2028," SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell said. The timeline matters for European Space Agency partners planning their own lunar payloads.
More than 900 million shares are due to be released for trading on Thursday, more than doubling the amount currently available, as the first of several lockup tranches expires over the coming months. The subsequent slide, combined with a drop in shares of Musk's electric carmaker Tesla, has pulled his fortune down to $783 billion (€679bn), according to Forbes. SpaceX also owns the social media platform X, formerly Twitter.