SpaceX shows strong growth in its first earnings report since going public
SpaceX on Tuesday reported booming revenue and shrinking losses in its first quarterly earnings report as a publicly traded company, offering a window into its performance after executing the biggest ever initial public offering in June.
Elon Musk's rocket, satellite and AI provider reported second-quarter revenue of $7.8 billion and a net loss of $541 million, improving on a loss of $1 billion in the year-ago period. Analysts had forecast revenue of $6.8 billion for the quarter, according to FactSet.
"All three of the main business units reported revenue ahead of the consensus, including Space, Connectivity and AI," market analyst Adam Crisafulli, head of Vital Knowledge, said in a research note.
Analysts were closely watching subscriber growth for Starlink, given that the satellite division is the company's largest revenue segment. Total revenues in the connectivity unit were $4.3 billion for the quarter, surpassing FactSet analysts' estimate of $3.8 billion as Starlink's subscribers doubled to 12 million, from 6 million in the year-ago quarter.
Musk touted Starlink's rapid growth in a call with Wall Street analysts to discuss SpaceX's financial results.
"It's not out of the question that at some point, Starlink will deliver the majority of the world's internet," he said.
The company's Starship division reported $962 million in revenue for the quarter, while its AI unit booked $2.6 billion.
Musk said during the call that SpaceX expects to deliver "well over 1 million tons to orbit per year," while noting the figure could eventually rise to 10 million tons.
"And this is a big number by normal standards," he said. "The rest of the world, I think, delivers around 300 tons."
SpaceX's IPO made Musk, the company's founder and CEO, into the world's first trillionaire on paper.
SpaceX shares could use a boost
SpaceX shares have slumped since the company's blockbuster IPO, with the stock losing almost 50% of its value after hitting an intraday high of $225.64 on June 16.
Despite its rapid revenue growth, investors appeared unconvinced by SpaceX's maiden quarterly readout, with the stock sinking 7% to $116.40 in after-hours trading, below the IPO offer price of $135 per share.
"I don't think people want to hear promises about the next five years or a mission to Mars," Emarketer Senior Analyst Gadjo Sevilla told AFP. "Everyone knows that will take time. They want to see how the value can be turned around as quickly as possible."
Wall Street analysts and retail investors were looking to the quarterly earnings report for clues on whether SpaceX can deliver on Musk's vision for the company, which includes putting solar-powered data centers in space and eventually sending spaceships to Mars.
"In many ways, SpaceX presents a track record of building toward solutions which many industry experts had previously viewed to be implausible," noted Goldman Sachs analyst Eric Sheridan in a July research report.
The company booked $18.7 billion in revenue last year, but reported a net loss of more than $4.9 billion, according to a regulatory filing.
SpaceX, which launched its 13th Starship rocket in late July, is targeting a landing on the moon in 2028. For now, however, no Starship has been put into Earth orbit.
