SpaceX’s massive bets on Starlink, AI fuel – Business News
SpaceX isn’t simply a rocket company anymore — and its wide-ranging bets on every little thing from satellites to artificial intelligence have sparked a combination of enthusiasm and nervousness throughout Wall Street.
On one hand, Elon Musk’s company is minting money from Starlink, the satellite tv for pc operator that beams web entry to properties, companies and governments worldwide. On the opposite hand, SpaceX not too long ago ingested a money-losing AI division that homes the social media app X and xAI, recognized for its snarky Grok chatbot.
While traders are wagering on Musk’s grandiose plans to fly humanity back to the Moon and finally to Mars, not everyone seems to be satisfied. SpaceX disclosed $4.9 billion in losses final 12 months forward of its IPO. That has led skeptics together with famed short-seller Jim Chanos to argue its valuation is much too high.
Elon Musk spoke forward of the IPO through video convention. AP
Here’s a rundown of SpaceX’s companies, together with these which are making money — in addition to those whose losses are nonetheless churning stomachs on Wall Street.
Starlink
Musk’s satellite tv for pc community is the golden goose at SpaceX, with an present community of more than 10,000 satellites in orbit and more than 10 million subscribers all over the world.
Starlink had an working revenue of $1.19 billion within the first quarter of this 12 months and a few analysts project that its annual income may hit $20 billion in income in 2026 alone – making it SpaceX’s largest division by far.
Starlink accounted for about 60% of SpaceX’s general income final 12 months, which got here in at $18.7 billion – up 33% year-over-year.
Musk has teed up plans to triple the quantity of satellites operated by Starlink within the years forward.
SpaceX executives have fun on the company’s IPO on Friday. Getty Images
SpaceX rocket launches
On Musk’s watch, SpaceX has ramped up its tempo of reusable rocket launches whereas working intently with NASA and the Pentagon. The firm carried out 170 launches final 12 months alone – up from simply 27 in 2020.
“SpaceX’s cost advantage is driven by its reusable launch architecture, particularly the ability to repeatedly reuse boosters, thereby significantly lowering per-launch costs,” analysts at Morningstar stated in a notice to purchasers on June 1.
The space division generated $4.09 billion in income in fiscal 2025, in line with SEC filings. That was an increase of 7.6% year-over-year – nevertheless it nonetheless posted an working loss of $657 million.
SpaceX is presently developing a massive next-generation rocket known as Starship, which is the important thing to Musk’s imaginative and prescient of establishing a everlasting Mars colony.
SpaceX has stepped up the tempo of its rocket launches. ZUMAPRESS.com
Artificial intelligence division
The AI division together with each xAI and X, the social media platform previously referred to as Twitter. In February SpaceX formally merged with xAI, which had beforehand operated as a separate entity and is now thought of a wholly owned subsidiary.
So far, xAI has struggled to keep tempo with more established companies likes OpenAI and Anthropic, which have taken a giant chunk of the company market.
Currently, AI is the largest drag on SpaceX’s stability sheet. The phase produced simply $3.2 billion in income. The phase alone accounted for a $6.36 billion working loss in 2025, which was enough to push your entire company into the purple.
In what many analysts noticed as a bid to bolster SpaceX’s stability sheet forward of the IPO, Musk introduced two main offers — an settlement to rent its Colossus 1 AI information heart to Anthropic for $1.25 billion a month, and a comparable $920 million deal with Google, a main SpaceX shareholder.
SpaceX’s IPO was the most important in historical past. John Angelillo/UPI/Shutterstock
Huge spending
The proceeds from SpaceX’s IPO can be needed as Musk ramps up his AI investments. SpaceX’s capital expenditures hit $20.7 billion in 2025 alone, with a lot of that money devoted towards the development of Grok and the massive Colossus and Colossus II information facilities.
SpaceX spent $7.7 billion on AI investments within the first quarter of 2026 alone – which equates to roughly $31 billion for the complete 12 months if the tempo continues.
“In our newly acquired AI segment, we plan to prioritize growth and investment to capture significant opportunities in AI applications and compute infrastructure,” SpaceX wrote in its S-1 submitting.
