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# SpaceX's third-quarter results: $4.4 billion net income, with AI now its largest segment
- URL: https://theainewsfiles.com/spacex-q3-2026-results-net-income-ai-segment/
- Published: 2026-10-21T18:48:04.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-26T08:27:13.000Z
- Description: SpaceX reported $14.6 billion in third-quarter revenue and $4.4 billion in net income, with its AI segment, now called Super Intelligence, the largest by revenue. Musk also discussed a possible Tesla merger.
- Author: J E Cowie
- Tags: News

SpaceX published its third-quarter 2026 results on 20 October. Its own filing puts revenue at $14.6 billion, up 161% on the same quarter a year earlier, and net income at $4.4 billion. The company's AI business, which it now calls Super Intelligence (SI), brought in more revenue than any other segment. On the earnings call, Elon Musk also spoke about a possible merger with Tesla.

Most of the figures below come from SpaceX's own earnings release, filed with the SEC. They are the company's reported numbers. Forecasts and targets made on the call are the executives' statements, not results.

## The headline numbers

Revenue was $14,575 million against $5,576 million a year earlier. Income from operations was $2,791 million, compared with an operating loss of $273 million in the same quarter of 2025\. Net income was $4,404 million, against a net loss of $1,054 million. Adjusted EBITDA, a non-GAAP measure that SpaceX defines in its release, was $8,809 million, up 306% from $2,169 million.

CNBC reported that revenue of $14.58 billion compared with $12.72 billion expected by analysts, according to LSEG, and that adjusted earnings per share of 45 cents compared with 13 cents expected. The Wall Street Journal described the quarter as SpaceX's first profitable one as a public company.

Net income came in well above operating income, so some of the profit came from below the operating line. The statement of operations shows other income of $1,025 million, interest income of $873 million, interest expense of $675 million and an income-tax benefit of $390 million. Over the first nine months of 2026, SpaceX still reported a net loss of $413 million.

## AI is now the biggest segment

SI revenue was $7,560 million, up 830% from $813 million a year earlier. SpaceX attributed the rise primarily to new cloud services agreements, the acquisition of Cursor and increased Grok adoption among enterprise customers and consumers. That is more than half of the group's $14,575 million, and more than the $5,248 million from Connectivity.

The segment's income from operations was $431 million, against a loss of $1,722 million a year earlier. SpaceX said that figure includes $1.2 billion of share-based compensation from the Cursor acquisition. Cursor's purchase closed on 14 August 2026 at an implied equity value of $60 billion, and SpaceX says the company contributed $608 million of revenue from closing to 30 September.

The segment is also where most of the money is going. SI capital spending was $16,444 million of the group's $19,593 million for the quarter, which was $6,880 million a year earlier. Nameplate compute reached 1.7 GW at 30 September, up from 0.6 GW a year earlier, as SpaceX continued building out COLOSSUS II.

On the call, according to TechCrunch, CFO Bret Johnsen said the company would spend $35 billion to $40 billion on capital investment in the fourth quarter. TechCrunch also reported Musk's prediction that annual recurring revenue would reach "somewhere between $500 billion and $1 trillion" by the end of 2027\. That is a forecast from the company's chief executive, not a reported result. Johnsen said first-quarter 2027 revenue would be $33 billion to $37 billion, which CNBC set against an analyst average of $22.2 billion.

## Starlink and launch

Connectivity, which is mainly Starlink, earned $5,248 million, up 69%, with income from operations of $2,367 million. SpaceX reported 13.6 million Starlink consumer subscribers at 30 September, up from 12.0 million at the end of June and 7.2 million a year earlier. Monthly revenue per consumer user was $69, against $66 in the previous quarter and $83 a year before.

Space revenue was $1,767 million, up 6%, with a $7 million operating loss. SpaceX says it completed Starship Flight 14, its first orbital Starship flight, which delivered 26 Starlink V3 satellites. It says that represents about ten times the downlink capacity a Falcon 9 Starlink launch adds. TechCrunch reported Musk as saying the next Starship test flight, expected in November, would attempt to recover both the booster and the second stage. CNBC quoted him saying SpaceX will attempt to "catch both the booster and the ship".

## The Tesla merger question

![Portrait of Elon Musk](https://theainewsfiles.com/content/images/2026/10/shot3_portrait-of-elon-musk.jpg)

Elon Musk.

An investor question submitted ahead of the call that got a lot of upvotes, CNBC reported, was about the timing of a possible merger with Tesla. Musk said the boards of SpaceX and Tesla have each formed [special committees of independent directors](https://theainewsfiles.com/spacex-tesla-special-committees-merger-no-deal/), at shareholders' request, to review a possible merger. He said he cannot take part in their discussions, calling himself a "conflicted party". TechCrunch reported that he said the committees had not agreed terms on any transaction.

Musk said he thought a combination would be a good idea, in his words "Do I think it would be a good idea? Yes", as CNBC quoted him. He also cautioned against assuming it was settled. TechCrunch quoted him: "I think some people out there assume that a SpaceX and Tesla Motor is a certainty, and I think that would be overstating it." CNBC quoted him adding: "But at the end of the day, the shareholders have to be supportive of this." He said Tesla would need a vote of 50% of all its shares, not just those voting, which he called a high hurdle.

The market reaction was reported at different moments. CNBC said SpaceX shares climbed about 8% in extended trading on Tuesday, and the Wall Street Journal said they rose 6%.

## What to take from it

The results release is a company document, but the reported figures are about as firm as this story gets. The claims to weigh are the forward-looking ones: the recurring-revenue prediction, the revenue guidance and any merger. They are statements of intent on an earnings call, and none has yet been tested by results or a deal.

## Sources

CNBC (2026) 'Musk says Tesla and SpaceX formed special committees to discuss merger: Live updates', CNBC, 20 October 2026, available at: [https://www.cnbc.com/2026/10/20/spacex-spcx-earnings-live-updates-q3-2026html.html](https://www.cnbc.com/2026/10/20/spacex-spcx-earnings-live-updates-q3-2026html.html?ref=theainewsfiles.com) (Accessed: 21 October 2026).

Fernholz, T. (2026) 'SpaceX's AI business is beating expectations', TechCrunch, 20 October 2026, available at: [https://techcrunch.com/2026/10/20/spacexs-ai-business-is-beating-expectations/](https://techcrunch.com/2026/10/20/spacexs-ai-business-is-beating-expectations/?ref=theainewsfiles.com) (Accessed: 21 October 2026).

Korosec, K. (2026) 'SpaceX and Tesla boards form special committees to review merger', TechCrunch, 20 October 2026, available at: [https://techcrunch.com/2026/10/20/spacex-and-tesla-boards-form-special-committees-to-review-merger/](https://techcrunch.com/2026/10/20/spacex-and-tesla-boards-form-special-committees-to-review-merger/?ref=theainewsfiles.com) (Accessed: 21 October 2026).

Peterson, B. and Berwick, A. (2026) 'SpaceX Earnings News, October 20, 2026: SpaceX Stock Rises After Revenue Doubles', The Wall Street Journal, updated 20 October 2026, available at: [https://www.wsj.com/livecoverage/stock-market-today-dow-sp-500-nasdaq-10-20-2026](https://www.wsj.com/livecoverage/stock-market-today-dow-sp-500-nasdaq-10-20-2026?ref=theainewsfiles.com) (Accessed: 21 October 2026).

Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (2026) 'SpaceX Reports Third Quarter 2026 Results' (Form 8-K earnings release), Last10K.com, 20 October 2026, available at: [https://last10k.com/sec-filings/spcx/0001628280-26-066482.htm](https://last10k.com/sec-filings/spcx/0001628280-26-066482.htm?ref=theainewsfiles.com) (Accessed: 21 October 2026).

## Picture credits

- Top picture: SpaceX's Starbase site in Texas, where Starship Flight 14 launched on 28 September 2026\. Image: NOAA / NODD (public domain) ([source](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:SpaceX%5FStarbase%5FLaunch%5FSite%5FEarly%5F2026.jpg?ref=theainewsfiles.com))
- Elon Musk. Elon Musk, photo by Steve Jurvetson ([CC BY 2.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/?ref=theainewsfiles.com)) ([source](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Elon%5FMusk%5F2015.jpg?ref=theainewsfiles.com))