SpaceX nearly doubles revenue in first post-IPO quarter as AI capex jumps

SpaceX reported April-June revenue of $7.8 billion, up from $4.1 billion a year earlier and above Wall Street expectations, Reuters reported in the rocket company's first earnings release since going public. Starlink accounted for over half of revenue and rose 66%. Revenue from SpaceX AI operations surged about 250%. The company said it expected a $100 billion revenue run-rate by December, a less than one-year payback on new capital deployments for AI compute, and at least 1,000 next-generation V3 Starlink satellites launched within a year. Capital expenditure rose to more than $18 billion from $2.83 billion a year earlier, including $15.83 billion of AI-related spending in the second quarter versus $749 million a year earlier. Finance chief Bret Johnsen said he expected similar capital spending for the next couple of quarters. Reuters framed the results as an early test of the investment case behind SpaceX's $1.75 trillion valuation, with satellite profits helping fund AI, data centers, and next-generation rockets.