SpaceX Q2 revenue exceeded Wall Street expectations, but investors focused on the company’s aggressive capital spending plans, sending shares sharply lower after earnings. Space Exploration Technologies Corporation (SPCX) gained more than 9% in regular trading on August 4, then fell more than 7% in after-hours trading as investors concentrated on elevated capital expenditure and the approaching August 6 share release.

SpaceX reported second-quarter revenue of $7.8 billion, up 92% year over year and above analysts’ expectations of about $6.8 billion. Net loss narrowed to $541 million from more than $1 billion a year earlier, while adjusted EBITDA rose 191% to $3.5 billion. The results pointed to continued operating progress, even as the company faces pressure to improve profitability amid heavy investment across multiple business lines and a market that is weighing growth against cash usage.

Starlink generated $4.29 billion in revenue during the quarter as subscribers doubled to 12 million. The subscriber total was slightly below the 12.19 million expected by analysts, but demand for satellite internet service remained strong. Revenue from artificial intelligence grew 247% to $2.56 billion, although the segment still recorded an operating loss of $1.26 billion as investments accelerated.

SpaceX also said the value of its digital assets linked to the 18,712 Bitcoin disclosed in its IPO filing declined to $1.10 billion at the end of the quarter, down about 33% from the end of 2025. Although SPCX briefly rallied after earnings, the stock remains below its $135 IPO price, leaving early investors in the red.

Rising Capital Spending Overshadows Earnings Beat

Despite the earnings beat, investors paid close attention to SpaceX’s unusually large capital expenditure. Quarterly capex totaled $18.37 billion, including $15.83 billion for artificial intelligence infrastructure. Management said spending would remain at similar levels through the rest of 2026, reinforcing expectations that near-term earnings will remain under pressure even as revenue expands across key business segments.

Analysts generally view the higher investment as supportive of SpaceX’s long-term competitive position, especially in artificial intelligence and space-based computing. Still, markets often respond negatively when spending outpaces improvements in profitability. The August 6 lock-up expiration adds another layer of uncertainty, since additional shares becoming eligible for trading could increase supply and add to short-term volatility.

Strategic Expansion Broadens the Long-Term Outlook

Beyond the financial results, SpaceX announced several strategic moves aimed at supporting future growth. The company partnered with Nvidia to develop the Starmind AI1 satellite computing platform using Rubin GPUs and Vera CPUs. It also agreed to acquire AI coding startup Cursor for $60 billion, released Grok 4.5, secured more than $6 billion in Starshield government contracts, and signed $14.1 billion in cloud services agreements, including deals with Alphabet and Anthropic.

NEWS: SpaceX's AI revenue is exploding and the segment just turned profitable on an adjusted basis for the first time. AI revenue hit $2.6 billion, up 247% from a year ago and more than triple last quarter. Adjusted EBITDA came in at a positive $1.1 billion, a first for the… pic.twitter.com/6is4AA9YTi — Muskonomy (@muskonomy) August 4, 2026

These developments underscore SpaceX’s push beyond launch services into artificial intelligence, cloud computing, satellite communications, and government technology contracts. With the company broadening its revenue base, the next focus for investors is less on the earnings beat itself than on whether spending, subscriber growth, and new partnerships can keep translating into measurable operating improvement. While the quarter showed strong momentum, investors are likely to keep watching capital spending, AI profitability, the August 6 share unlock, and execution on new partnerships when assessing the company’s valuation.