SpaceX Stock Falls 10% as AI Spending Overshadows Revenue Growth

SpaceX stock fell sharply on Wednesday as investors assessed its first quarterly results since the public listing.

SPCX traded near $112.69 during the session, placing the stock about 10% lower. The shares had already fallen 7% in after-hours trading following Tuesday’s earnings release.

The decline came despite stronger-than-expected revenue and a narrower quarterly loss.

Investors instead focused on SpaceX’s $18.37 billion in capital expenditure. Most of that spending supported the company’s expanding artificial intelligence infrastructure.

Q2 Revenue Growth Failed to Ease Loss Concerns

SpaceX reported second-quarter revenue of $7.81 billion, up 92% from $4.07 billion one year earlier.

The result exceeded Wall Street’s consensus estimate of approximately $6.9 billion. SpaceX also reported a loss of 9 cents per share, compared with the expected 26-cent loss.

Adjusted EBITDA increased 191% to $3.54 billion. The company also narrowed its net loss from $1.01 billion to $541 million.

However, operating expenses and non-cash charges kept SpaceX in the red.

Depreciation and amortization reached $2.85 billion, while share-based compensation totaled $831 million. SpaceX also recorded $289 million in net interest expenses, $86 million in other expenses and $23 million in taxes.

Capital expenditure reached $18.37 billion, up from $10.11 billion during the first quarter.

Artificial intelligence infrastructure accounted for $15.83 billion of the quarterly total.

SpaceX therefore spent over twice its quarterly revenue on computing capacity, equipment and other capital projects.

SpaceX Stock Drops as Traders Reprice Spending

SPCX stock opened near $112.69 and traded 11.9% lower during the morning session. The stock had already fallen 7.6% in after-hours trading following the earnings release. It also moved below its $135 initial public offering price and remained far below its June record of $225.64.

The market reaction focused on the gap between adjusted EBITDA and capital expenditure. SpaceX generated $3.54 billion in adjusted EBITDA but spent $18.37 billion on capital projects. That left a quarterly gap of about $14.83 billion before other financing needs.

Management guided similar spending during the third and fourth quarters. If that plan holds, full-year capital expenditure could approach $65 billion. Investors now face a longer wait for free cash flow from the AI business, even as revenue and customer growth move higher.

Starlink Provides the Main Source of Profit

SpaceX’s Connectivity segment, which includes Starlink, produced the strongest operating performance. The unit generated $4.29 billion in revenue and $1.66 billion in operating income. Adjusted EBITDA reached $2.60 billion, while capital expenditure stood at $1.37 billion.

That performance gave Connectivity a quarterly cash surplus of roughly $1.23 billion before corporate costs. Starlink subscribers doubled to 12 million, and the company added more than 1.7 million users during the quarter. Enterprise and government revenue also rose sharply.

At the same time, average revenue per user fell 22.4% to $66 per month from $85. Lower customer spending could limit future margin gains, even with subscriber growth. The Space and AI segments also posted operating losses of $542 million and $1.26 billion, respectively.

AI Expansion and Share Unlock Add Pressure

SpaceX plans to expand its AI capacity through new computing projects and cloud agreements. The AI segment reported its first positive adjusted EBITDA quarter at $1.15 billion. However, the unit still generated less EBITDA than its current depreciation charge of $1.89 billion.

The company also faces a large share unlock on August 6. Up to 911.5 million shares could become eligible for trading, equal to about 6.9% of total shares outstanding. That amount exceeds the current tradeable float and could increase market supply if early investors sell.

SpaceX ended the quarter with $100 billion in cash and marketable securities against $39.4 billion in debt. That balance gives management room to fund expansion, raise more capital, or slow spending.