SpaceX Swings to a Profit, as A.I. Business Grows

Since Elon Musk took SpaceX public in June, he has increasingly made the rocket company the center of his business empire.

Mr. Musk recently weighed in on the war in Ukraine when SpaceX limited its satellite internet service in the country. He has used hundreds of millions of dollars, fueled partly by his fortune from SpaceX, to fund Republican groups ahead of the midterm elections. And on Monday, he pledged one share of SpaceX to “every kid in America” next year through a government-operated savings account program championed by President Trump.

On Tuesday, SpaceX showed why it continues to be a source of Mr. Musk’s influence: The company’s quarterly sales soared, driven by a fast-growing artificial intelligence business. The tech billionaire also said SpaceX and Tesla, his electric car company, were exploring a merger, which would consolidate his empire.

In its second earnings report as a public company, SpaceX said revenue for the three months that ended Sept. 30 was $14.5 billion, more than 2.5 times as much as the $5.6 billion from a year earlier. Profit totaled $4.4 billion, or 37 cents per share, compared with a net loss of $1.05 billion last year. The numbers surpassed Wall Street projections of $13 billion in revenue and profit of 16 cents a share.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/10/20/technology/spacex-earnings-elon-musk.html