SpaceX posted a 92% surge in second-quarter revenue, reaching $7.8 billion and easily surpassing Wall Street's consensus estimate of approximately $6.9 billion. The report marks the rocket-and-connectivity company's first earnings release since its June 12 debut on the Nasdaq, giving investors their first detailed quarterly look at a business that had been privately held since Elon Musk founded it in 2002.

The company reported a net loss of $541 million, or 9 cents per share — a significant improvement from the $1 billion loss recorded in the same period a year earlier. The result came in ahead of the analyst estimate range, which spanned from a loss of $1.26 per share to a gain of 33 cents. Adjusted EBITDA nearly tripled to $3.5 billion.

Despite the better-than-expected top-line results, SpaceX shares fell roughly 5% in after-hours trading on Tuesday following the earnings release.

The earnings arrive at a critical juncture for the company. SpaceX's stock has declined approximately 50% from its post-IPO peak of $211, reached just days after its June 12 public listing. Broader investor concerns over elevated capital expenditures and slow returns on heavy spending had pressured technology stocks in the weeks leading up to the report, though markets staged a rally on Tuesday.

Capital spending is expected to be a central focus for investors. SpaceX's capex reached $18.4 billion in the second quarter alone, with $15.8 billion attributable to its AI segment. The quarterly run rate annualizes to $73.5 billion, far exceeding the $48.7 billion consensus analysts had projected heading into the quarter. To put that figure in perspective, the annualized spend dwarfs the total revenue of most legacy aerospace and defense contractors. Investors have so far shown limited tolerance for escalating spending without corresponding revenue acceleration and strong free cash flow.

Still, the second-quarter results showcased several growth drivers. SpaceX delivered a roughly $1 billion top-line beat, Starlink's subscriber base doubled year-over-year, and a wave of new cloud-computing contracts pushed the AI segment into positive adjusted EBITDA territory for the first time.

The earnings release will also trigger the opening of a lockup provision, enabling pre-IPO shareholders to sell a portion of their holdings — a move that could add further downward pressure on the stock. A substantially larger unlock is expected after third-quarter results, when approximately 900 million additional shares become available, a block exceeding the entire IPO issuance.

SpaceX currently holds a $100 billion cash reserve and raised an additional $25 billion through a bond offering, providing substantial financial runway. However, investors are likely to scrutinize how quickly that capital deployment translates into revenue growth, and upcoming quarterly reports will be closely watched for signals on whether Starlink's margins and AI segment traction can justify the spending trajectory.

Starlink Segment

Starlink generated $4.29 billion in quarterly revenue, up 66% year-over-year, cementing its position as SpaceX's primary revenue engine. Operating the largest commercial satellite constellation in orbit, the segment posted an operating margin of 38.6%, exceeding the 35.9% analysts had anticipated. Starlink closed the quarter with 12 million subscribers, double the year-ago figure and up 1.7 million from the first quarter. Average revenue per user remained stable at $66 per month.

Enterprise and government revenue within the Starlink business grew 108% year-over-year to $1.8 billion. The segment's partnerships include American Airlines, Southwest, and Virgin Atlantic, along with more than $6 billion in contracts with the U.S. Space Force.

AI Segment

AI revenue climbed 247% year-over-year to $2.6 billion, driven by $14.1 billion in new cloud services agreements. Compute capacity expanded to 1.4 gigawatts, up from 0.4 gigawatts a year earlier. The AI segment nonetheless posted a $1.26 billion operating loss, an improvement from the $2.47 billion loss recorded in the first quarter. The segment's push into cloud computing represents a notable diversification beyond SpaceX's core launch and satellite-connectivity businesses, positioning the company to compete for hyperscale infrastructure demand alongside established cloud providers.

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com.