SpaceX Stock Drops 9% as AI Spending Raises Investor Concerns
In Focus
- SpaceX’s capital spending stood at $18.4 billion in Q2 2026
- Starlink is currently SpaceX’s main revenue earner
- Musk expects the company’s AI compute to grow rapidly over the next one year
SpaceX stock fell 9% on August 4 after the company’s first earnings report since it went public revealed a significant increase in AI spending. Although the quarterly revenue for the Elon Musk-led firm rose 92% year-on-year to $7.8 billion, its spending rose to $18.3 billion, over six times what it was a year ago.
What Did Elon Musk Say During SpaceX Earnings Call?
SpaceX reported a net loss of $541 million in the April-June quarter, with the 2026 half-year loss standing at $2 billion. During the earnings call with investors, Elon Musk said that people appear to be underestimating SpaceX.
The company runs Starlink, a satellite internet service that offers high-speed broadband even in remote and rural areas. Musk said that this business unit makes a profit, generating $1.6 billion in Q2 of 2026. The SpaceX CEO added that he expects Starlink to grow exponentially over the coming years.
“It’s not out of the question that, at some point, Starlink will operate most of the world’s internet,” Musk said as cited by the BBC.
The company also builds rockets and owns the social media platform, X. SpaceX started trading publicly in June this year. Its stock soared 20% above the IPO price on the first day of trading. Over the last few months, SpaceX stock has dropped steadily after hitting an all-time high of $176 in June.
What Opportunities Does SpaceX See in AI Compute?
Although SpaceX’s core business is making rockets, the company is increasingly expanding its influence in AI compute. Musk informed investors that he expected the company to experience rapid growth in this new line of business. Recently, the company signed a deal with Anthropic to supply AI compute power from its Colossus 1 data center.
The company has also inked a similar deal with Google. Currently, SpaceX has 1.4 gigawatts of AI compute power ready. Elon Musk forecasted that this capacity could reach 10 gigawatts over the next year as the company completes its ongoing data center projects.
In a bid to reassure investors, Musk said SpaceX expects to achieve $1 trillion in annual revenue by 2030, one year earlier than its previous 2031 forecast.
AI Unit Still Makes Losses
SpaceX’s Q2 earnings report showed that the AI unit lost $1.2 billion with revenue standing at $2.5 billion. With Musk appearing to be more focused on AI, analysts are struggling to figure out what the business could look like.
Senior equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown Matt Britzman said SpaceX might “soon resemble an AI infrastructure company with an extraordinary space business attached“.
According to Britzman, AI will drive SpaceX’s revenue in the foreseeable future. “Starship and the next generations of Starlink remain critical to the post-2030 vision, but the financial engine over the next few years will increasingly be AI,” he added.
