Topline<\/p>\n
SpaceX\u2019s stock once again took a hit on Wednesday after the rocket maker posted its first-ever earnings report, which seemingly spooked investors and analysts after the Elon Musk-led firm announced a sixfold increase in quarterly spending.<\/p>\n
Elon Musk\u2019s rocket maker said its quarterly spending surged sixfold. <\/p>\n
NurPhoto via Getty ImagesKey Facts<\/p>\n
Shares of SpaceX fell 9% to around $114 shortly after trading opened Wednesday, paring back earlier losses to as steep as $109.23 as the stock approached an all-time low of $104.<\/p>\n
SpaceX on Tuesday reported quarterly revenue of $7.81 billion and a loss per share of $0.09, beating Wall Street estimates of $6.9 billion and a loss of $0.26, respectively, according to FactSet, as the firm\u2019s net loss narrowed to $541 million from $1 billion.<\/p>\n
The rocket maker said it spent $18.3 billion in its second quarter, $15.8 billion of which went toward AI, exceeding estimates of $13.2 billion, as SpaceX\u2019s capital expenditures totaled $28.5 billion in the first half of this year\u2014that marks a sixfold increase over last year\u2019s nearly $7 billion.<\/p>\n
Both Musk and Bret Johnsen, SpaceX\u2019s chief financial officer, tried to cool concerns about the ramp-up in spending during an earnings call: Johnsen said \u201call capex is not the same,\u201d especially when it comes to AI, to which Musk announced to shareholders SpaceX planned to build AI data centers in space using Nvidia chips exclusively. <\/p>\n
Musk also said SpaceX now expects revenue to top $1 trillion by 2030 and potentially by 2029, down from his earlier projection for 2031.<\/p>\n
how did economists react to spacex earnings?<\/p>\n
Some brokerages appeared optimistic about SpaceX\u2019s quarterly earnings: JPMorgan analysts, who lifted their price target for shares to $240 from $225, wrote SpaceX is benefiting from \u201cextreme vertical integration\u201d while noting its \u201cpace of change in AI is incredibly fast,\u201d and that a step-up in AI infrastructure and higher monetization could push SpaceX\u2019s AI revenue to $100 billion in 2027. Wells Fargo analysts cut their price target for SpaceX shares to $215 from $230 amid broader caution about its AI spending, noting that SpaceX was \u201coff to an ambitious start\u201d and that revenue projections for 2027 and 2028 were higher than expected, but so were capital expenditure estimates. Kathleen Brooks, research director at the brokerage XTB, told<\/a> The Wall Street Journal, \u201cThe concern for investors is how fast expenditure growth is outpacing revenue growth.\u201d<\/p>\n what to watch for<\/p>\n A stray piece of a SpaceX rocket that floated in space over the last year likely crashed into the moon early on Wednesday, the BBC reported<\/a>, though images of the collision have yet to be processed. The rocket is believed to have crashed near the Einstein Crater, located on the other side of the moon from the Apollo 11 landing site in an area that receives daylight and is visible from Earth.<\/p>\n surprising fact<\/p>\n If SpaceX shares fall below $100, that would imply investors saw no value from the rocket maker\u2019s AI business, Morgan Stanley analysts wrote last month. Some already see \u201czero or negative value\u201d as SpaceX ramps up its spending on space and connectivity amid \u201clargely uncertain economics,\u201d the analysts said.<\/p>\n forbes valuation<\/p>\n Musk\u2019s net worth was cut by $64 billion to $719.2 billion in SpaceX\u2019s decline, according to Forbes\u2019 estimates<\/a>. His fortune swelled by more than $57 billion ahead of SpaceX\u2019s earnings report on Tuesday, and a reduction on Wednesday still has his net worth well above that of Google co-founders Larry Page ($309 billion) and Sergey Brin ($284.9 billion), who rank as the second- and third-richest people in the world, respectively.<\/p>\n key background<\/p>\n The earnings report marks the first quarterly financial update from SpaceX since its historic trading debut in June. SpaceX shares have lost more than half their value since hitting an all-time high above $220 by June 16, when Musk\u2019s fortune topped $1.45 trillion, even as analysts still appeared bullish about the company\u2019s business prospects. Not much has pushed SpaceX shares toward the green, even after a successful Starship test launch last month that later resulted in the stock stumbling by nearly 5%. <\/p>\n