Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (NASDAQ:SPCX) continues to expand across launch, satellite connectivity and artificial intelligence infrastructure, with its latest quarter showing strong growth across all three businesses.
SpaceX posted stronger-than-expected third-quarter results, with revenue of $14.58 billion topping the $12.74 billion estimate and earnings of 35 cents per share beating the 12-cent consensus.
Revenue jumped 161% year over year, driven by rapid growth in the Super Intelligence and Connectivity businesses. Space revenue rose 6% to $1.8 billion, Connectivity climbed 69% to $5.2 billion and SI revenue surged 830% to $7.6 billion.
SpaceX completed 12 customer launches during the quarter, including its first revenue-generating Starship mission, while Starlink subscribers reached 13.6 million.
Munster Sees Compute Demand Staying Early
Deepwater Asset Management Managing Partner Gene Munster told CNBC on Wednesday that SpaceX’s latest commentary reinforces his view that AI compute demand remains far from peaking.
He expects personalized AI agents and future physical-AI applications to keep compute requirements rising for several more years. Munster also said investors appear willing to support aggressive infrastructure spending because they believe SpaceX can monetize the additional capacity.
Munster said a potential merger between Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) and SpaceX could create the “most unique company in the world” by combining SpaceX’s AI infrastructure, computing power and orbital data centers with Tesla’s self-driving technology and Optimus humanoid robots.
He said the deal could win overwhelming shareholder support and bring Elon Musk’s broader AI vision under one roof.
Zhu Says AI Revenue Ramp Is Tracking Expectations
MoffettNathanson analyst Julie Zhu told CNBC on Wednesday that SpaceX beat consensus across the board, particularly in AI.
She said the quarter confirmed the expected revenue ramp from infrastructure-as-a-service agreements, with Anthropic contributing this quarter and Google plus two additional unnamed deals expected to add revenue in subsequent periods.
Zhu said investors will watch whether SpaceX can sustain or raise its $100 billion annual recurring revenue target for December and sign incremental deals.
She also highlighted Starlink broadband ARPU of $69, above the $67 Street expectation, although subscriber growth came in slightly below expectations.
Evercore Sees Meaningful 2027 Upside
Evercore ISI analyst Kutgun Maral told CNBC on Tuesday that SpaceX should continue growing meaningfully in 2027 as Starship, mobile connectivity and terrestrial compute reach key milestones.
He expects near-term compute capacity to exceed Street estimates and sees significant upside if management can provide credible evidence supporting Elon Musk’s ambition to reach 5 to 10 gigawatts in 2027.
Maral identified compute capacity, pricing, free-cash-flow conversion and capital spending as the key financial variables to watch.
He also highlighted Starship’s recent orbital progress and deployment of V3 Starlink satellites as proof points that could help validate reusability sooner than investors expect.
SPCX Price Action: SpaceX shares were up 7.81% at $159.32 during premarket trading on Wednesday, according to Benzinga Pro data.
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