- Company name
- SpaceX
- Sector
- Space launch, satellite internet & AI
- About
- SpaceX designs, makes and launches rockets and spacecraft, and it runs Starlink, a satellite internet network. It reports three segments. Space sells Falcon 9, Falcon Heavy, Dragon and Starship launches to NASA, the U.S. military and companies, and it had revenue of $1.8 billion in Q3 2026. Connectivity sells Starlink internet to homes, companies, aircraft, ships and governments, and it had revenue of $5.2 billion and 13.6 million consumer subscribers at September 30, 2026. Super Intelligence (SI) holds the former xAI, with the Grok models, the X social network and the Cursor coding tools, and it sells computing capacity under cloud services agreements. SI had revenue of $7.6 billion in Q3 2026. SpaceX bought xAI on February 2, 2026, and its Class A shares started to trade on Nasdaq on June 12, 2026. Elon Musk is CEO, and he controls the votes through Class B shares with ten votes each.
- Thesis
- SpaceX trades at a premium because investors pay for growth far in the future from Starlink, Starship and AI computing in the SI segment. Starlink grows fast and earns most of the profit, and reusable rockets give SpaceX a low launch cost. But the cash cost of this growth is very large. Capital spending was $48.1 billion in the first nine months of 2026, of which $40.0 billion was for SI computing, while operating cash flow was $13.1 billion. SpaceX also agreed on October 24, 2026 to lease GPU equipment with about $40 billion of principal payments from 2027. The SI segment made an operating profit for the first time in Q3 2026, and much of its revenue comes from new cloud services agreements and from Cursor, which SpaceX bought on August 14, 2026. Elon Musk controls the votes, and SpaceX does business with Tesla and other companies that he leads. Investors have only two quarterly reports since the June 2026 listing. For the premium to be earned, four things must be true. Connectivity revenue must keep growing fast with higher margins. SI must stay profitable as more computing comes online, and its cloud customers must renew. Starship must fly often enough to launch Starlink V3 satellites in large numbers. SpaceX must fund its spending without large new share issues beyond those it already agreed. The Q4 2026 report, expected in late January 2027, is the next test. The full evidence comes over several years. If SI growth slows or the spending needs large new share issues, the premium can get smaller.
- Risks
- SpaceX spends much more cash than it makes. Capital spending was $48.1 billion in the first nine months of 2026, against operating cash flow of $13.1 billion. The planned GPU lease adds about $40 billion of payments from 2027. If AI demand slows, the computing assets can earn less than their cost.
Elon Musk controls the votes through Class B shares with ten votes each, and holders of Class B shares elect most of the board. He is also CEO of Tesla. SpaceX buys Megapack batteries from Tesla, and Tesla invested $2.0 billion in SpaceX shares. Public shareholders have little say in these decisions.
The SI segment is new and competes with many large AI companies. SI made an operating loss of $3.3 billion in the first nine months of 2026, and its Q3 profit depends on a few new cloud services agreements and on Cursor.
Starship is still in development. Delays or failed flights can slow the launch of Starlink V3 satellites and raise costs.
SpaceX faces many lawsuits about Grok's image tools, and the European Commission investigates X under the Digital Services Act. Fines or new rules can raise costs.
New shares add dilution: about 261.8 million Class A shares go to EchoStar at the spectrum closing, and Cursor employees received equity awards worth $23.4 billion.
- Balance sheet
- Cash: $89.9B
Debt: $39.0B
Net cash: $50.9B
Undrawn credit line: $1.5B, to February 2030
Debt due within 12 months: $2.7B
Last debt due: 2056
SpaceX had more cash than debt at September 30, 2026, because of its June 2026 IPO. Cash and cash equivalents were $51.3 billion and marketable securities were $38.6 billion. Debt principal was $38.0 billion and finance leases were $1.0 billion; the debt figure below includes the leases. Of this, $2.7 billion is due within 12 months. The debt includes $25.0 billion of senior unsecured notes issued in June 2026, due from July 2031 to July 2056, and $13.0 billion of other financings, mostly sale and leaseback deals for SI equipment that count as debt. The $1.5 billion revolving credit facility to February 2030 was not drawn. In the first nine months of 2026, operating cash flow was $13.1 billion and capital spending was $48.1 billion. Interest expense was $2.0 billion and interest income was $1.4 billion. Three large commitments are not debt yet: about $40 billion of GPU lease principal from 2027, up to $8.5 billion of cash for the EchoStar spectrum at the closing, and about $0.8 billion of EchoStar debt service in 2027.
As of 2026-09-30.
- Checkpoints
- Jan 20, 2027 (estimate): Q4 2026 results: Starlink growth and SI profit. Pending. Watch: Connectivity revenue growth of 50% or more from a year earlier and a second quarter of SI operating profit pass; an SI operating loss or slower Starlink subscriber growth fails.
2027 (estimate): Starship launch rate. Pending. Watch: Regular Starship flights that launch Starlink V3 satellites through 2027 pass; long pauses after failed flights fail.
- Recent events
- 2026-10-24: SpaceX signed a binding commitment for a master finance lease with an entity that Apollo Global Management manages. The lessor will buy GPU pods and related equipment and lease them to SpaceX for about five years per part. SpaceX expects principal payments of about $40 billion in total. It expects the lease to close before the end of 2026 and the first leases to start in the first half of 2027.
2026-10-20: SpaceX reported Q3 2026 results. Revenue was $14.6 billion, up 161%, and net income was $4.4 billion, after a loss a year earlier. Adjusted EBITDA was $8.8 billion. Connectivity revenue grew 69% to $5.2 billion, and SI revenue grew to $7.6 billion from $0.8 billion, with Cursor and new cloud services agreements. SI had an operating profit of $431 million. Capital spending was $19.6 billion in the quarter, and computing capacity reached 1.7 GW.
2026-10-08: SpaceX agreed to buy a nationwide set of 800 MHz spectrum licenses, with up to 14 MHz of paired spectrum, for its Starlink Mobile service. It expects the deal to close in the first half of 2027, after regulatory approvals.
2026-09-28: Starship Flight 14 reached orbit for the first time and put 26 Starlink V3 satellites in orbit. SpaceX called it its first revenue-generating Starship mission. Each such launch adds about ten times the downlink capacity of a Falcon 9 Starlink launch.
2026-08-14: SpaceX completed its purchase of Cursor (Anysphere) at an implied equity value of $60 billion. The purchase price under accounting rules was $42.5 billion, and equity awards for future service of Cursor employees are worth $23.4 billion.
2026-08-04: SpaceX reported Q2 2026 results, its first as a public company. Revenue was $7.8 billion, and the operating loss was $143 million.
2026-06-22: SpaceX sold $25.0 billion of senior unsecured notes in five parts due from 2031 to 2056, with a weighted interest rate of 5.855%. It used the money to repay its $20 billion bridge loan.
2026-06-16: SpaceX agreed to buy Cursor, the maker of an AI coding tool.
2026-06-12: SpaceX completed its initial public offering on Nasdaq. It sold 638.9 million Class A shares at $135.00 per share, with net proceeds of $85.7 billion. All preferred shares became common shares.
2026-05-22: After FCC approval on May 12, 2026, EchoStar moved its AWS-4, H-Block and AWS-3 spectrum licenses to a trust for SpaceX. SpaceX will pay about $19.6 billion: about 261.8 million Class A shares worth $11.1 billion and up to $8.5 billion to repay EchoStar debt. It expects the final closing on November 30, 2027.
2026-03-02: SpaceX used a $20 billion bridge loan to repay the term loans and 12.5% notes of X and xAI. It paid prepayment penalties and recorded a loss of $1.5 billion on the repayment.
2026-02-02: SpaceX completed its purchase of xAI, which owned the X social network and the Grok AI models. xAI became a wholly owned subsidiary.