SpaceX posts $14.6 billion third-quarter revenue as AI division surges

SpaceX reported $14.6 billion in revenue for the third quarter of 2026, marking a 161% increase from a year earlier and easily surpassing Wall Street expectations as artificial intelligence operations expanded rapidly across the company's network, according to data cited by Cryptobriefing.

The financial results highlighted a significant turnaround from previous periods. SpaceX posted net income of $4.4 billion, a sharp contrast to a $1.1 billion loss recorded in the same period a year earlier. Adjusted EBITDA climbed 306% to $8.8 billion, while revenue outpaced analyst consensus estimates of approximately $12.72 billion, according to Reuters data cited in the reporting.

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Growth was spearheaded by the company's Super Intelligence division, which generated $7.56 billion in quarterly revenue. This represented an 830% surge from $813 million a year earlier, lifting the AI business above all other segments to become the company's largest revenue driver. SpaceX attributed the expansion to newly inked cloud services agreements, broader adoption of Grok models, and the acquisition of AI coding platform Cursor.

The Cursor acquisition was completed on August 14 at an implied equity valuation of $60 billion. Between the closing date and September 30, the newly integrated platform contributed $608 million in revenue. To support this growth, SpaceX increased its nameplate computing capacity to 1.7 gigawatts, up from 0.6 gigawatts a year earlier, as development continued on the Colossus II data center infrastructure.

Operating performance within the AI segment also improved markedly. The division recorded $431 million in operating income, reversing a $1.72 billion operating loss from the corresponding quarter in the previous year. However, this operational scaling required heavy financial outlays. SpaceX spent $16.4 billion on capital expenditures within the Super Intelligence division alone during the quarter, making up the vast majority of its total $19.6 billion capital spending bill.

Meanwhile, the Connectivity business—which includes the Starlink satellite network—continued steady expansion alongside the AI push. Connectivity revenue rose 69% year-over-year to $5.25 billion. Starlink reached 13.6 million consumer subscribers by the end of September, compared with 7.2 million a year earlier. Operating income for the segment climbed 99% to $2.37 billion.

The quarterly performance follows a volatile period for the company's publicly traded equity following its public listing on Nasdaq earlier in the year. Following the earnings release, SpaceX shares surged 2% in after-hours trading, reaching nearly $151. Tokenized versions of the company's stock traded close to the underlying share price across digital platforms, including Kraken’s xStocks (SPCXx), Binance (SPCXB), and Ondo Finance (SPCXon).

The intense capital expenditure required to fund these infrastructure builds has previously drawn scrutiny from market analysts. Following second-quarter results reported by Fortune and Tikr, where capital spending hit $18.4 billion, investors questioned how rapidly massive AI outlays would translate into sustainable profitability. Additional context on broader tech sector valuations, cash burn, and corporate spending can be found through TechStock².

Market watchers will be monitoring whether the heavy capital commitments into AI data centers and next-generation satellite deployments will continue to be offset by surging cloud agreements and subscriber growth as upcoming financial disclosures approach.