SpaceX, under the management of Elon Musk, exceeded investors’ expectations with the revenue and profitability it generated from its artificial intelligence activities in the third quarter. While the company’s total revenue reached 14.6 billion dollars, the share of the artificial intelligence-focused business line in this amount increased to 52 percent. The company, which grew with the contribution of data centers, Grok artificial intelligence assistant and software development tools, announced a net profit of 4.4 billion dollars after the loss in the same period last year. However, SpaceX continues its high investments to expand its artificial intelligence infrastructure and develop the Starship program. The announced results show that artificial intelligence is gaining more and more weight in the income distribution of the company, known for its space transportation and satellite internet services.
According to SpaceX’s financial statement published on Tuesday, revenue growth was recorded in all lines of business in the third quarter. The highest contribution came from the artificial intelligence unit, which the company renamed “Super Intelligence”. The division generated $7.5 billion in revenue thanks to the recently acquired Cursor coding tool, Grok chat bot, and cloud-based AI infrastructure. The company’s data center activities, especially those providing artificial intelligence processing power and called neocloud, were decisive in growth. SpaceX’s total processing infrastructure capacity in this area has reached 1.7 gigawatts.
The profit of the artificial intelligence department in the third quarter was announced as 431 million dollars. However, a one-time $1.2 billion share-based compensation expense associated with the Cursor acquisition limited profitability. It is stated that if this expense was not present, the operating result of the department would be higher. On the other hand, the company announced another net income item of $1.025 billion, which was included in the net profit account separately from revenue. It was stated that this amount was due to the recovery in Bitcoin prices and related party transactions, the details of which were not disclosed. Although it was stated that related party revenues may depend on SpaceX’s investment in another company, the details of the transaction in question were not shared.
SpaceX increases investments for Colossus II data center and Starship
SpaceX’s growth in the field of artificial intelligence also brings with it very high infrastructure expenses. The company’s total capital expenditures in the third quarter reached $19.6 billion. A significant portion of these investments is allocated to the second data center project Colossus II, built in Memphis, Tennessee. In addition, SpaceX continues to invest in the Starship rocket, which it plans to use to carry the next generation Starlink satellites into orbit and establish data centers in orbit in the future. Chief Financial Officer Bret Johnsen announced that new capital investments are expected to be between $35 billion and $40 billion in the fourth quarter.
Speaking at the financial evaluation meeting held with investors and broadcast live, Musk said that he spent four days a week in Memphis, where the Colossus II data center is located. According to Musk, the main obstacle to the widespread use of advanced artificial intelligence systems is no longer just processor supply. Electricity production, cooling capacity and the physical infrastructure that supports them also directly affect the growth rate of data centers. It was stated that the company assigned a team of SpaceX engineers to solve these problems. Musk argued that by using the team’s engineering know-how, the energy and cooling infrastructure could be installed much faster than competitors.
One concrete example of this approach is seen in the production of turbines that provide electricity to data centers. According to the information provided by Musk, turbine manufacturers face delays ranging from 12 to 18 months to supply the metals used in blades and steering components. SpaceX, on the other hand, uses the metal casting technologies it developed during rocket production in the manufacturing of these parts. Thus, it is aimed to shorten the turbine supply time and make data centers operational faster. However, detailed financial data regarding how much cost advantage this approach will provide on a large scale has not been shared.
The company’s space activities also maintain their weight in the investment program. Musk announced that the recovery of both the first stage booster and the second stage will be attempted in the next Starship test flight, which is expected to take place in November. The successful return of both sections will provide a technical advance in terms of rocket reusability. But according to Musk, the main goal is that both recovered stages can be flown again in subsequent missions. The development of this capability will be decisive in terms of Starship’s ability to be used more frequently in satellite transportation and the implementation of the orbital data center projects planned by the company.
The number of subscribers in SpaceX’s Starlink satellite internet service continued to increase. According to the announced data, the number of individual users of Starlink reached 13.6 million. Musk thinks that the demand for internet connection will increase as the use of artificial intelligence agents becomes widespread. In particular, artificial intelligence systems that constantly work online and exchange data with remote servers may increase the need for connection infrastructure. However, the extent to which this growth will be reflected in Starlink’s revenues will also depend on factors such as revenue per user and service costs.
Overall, the financial results show that SpaceX has returned to profitability. While the company announced a net loss of $1 billion in the third quarter of last year, it made a net profit of $4.4 billion in the same period this year. However, the total financial result for the first nine months of the year still indicates a net loss of $413 million. Therefore, despite the strong performance in the third quarter, it is not yet certain that the company will close the year with profit. The high investment budget and one-time income items announced especially for the fourth quarter are among the factors that should be taken into account in financial comparisons between periods.
Musk also shared a very ambitious prediction about the future revenue potential of artificial intelligence activities. He suggested that the company’s annual recurring revenue by the end of 2027 could be between $500 billion and $1 trillion. However, this prediction is well above the current income level announced and its realization depends on the demand for artificial intelligence services and the commercial equivalent of infrastructure investments. Bret Johnsen’s closer-term forecast is that total revenue will be in the range of $33 billion to $37 billion in the first quarter of 2027. While current data reveals that SpaceX has achieved strong revenue growth in its artificial intelligence activities, the company’s sustainable profitability will be determined by the balance between high investment expenses and growing service revenues.
Correction, October 21, 2026: It was clarified that other net income items of $1.025 billion were entered into the net profit account separately from revenue.