SpaceX shares rise after earnings beat as Musk discusses possible Tesla combination
SpaceX reported sharply higher third-quarter revenue and profit. Its shares climbed before Wednesday’s open as Elon Musk said the companies’ boards had formed committees to discuss a combination.
SpaceX shares rose before the US market opened on October 21 after the company reported third-quarter revenue above analysts’ estimates the previous day. The results gave investors new figures for its fast-growing artificial intelligence business, while Elon Musk said SpaceX and Tesla were discussing a possible combination, according to CNBC.
CNBC reported that SpaceX shares were up 8.5% in premarket trading. Fortune recorded an 8.86% rise in overnight post-market trading and said Nasdaq futures were up 0.43% before the New York open. The share figures describe different trading windows.
SpaceX revenue and profit in the third quarter
SpaceX reported revenue of $14.6 billion, a 161% increase from a year earlier and above the $12.72 billion consensus estimate from LSEG cited by CNBC. Operating income was $2.8 billion, while net income reached $4.4 billion, compared with a net loss of $1.05 billion in the same quarter last year.
The company’s Super Intelligence business brought in $7.56 billion, up from $813 million a year earlier, CNBC reported. Chief Financial Officer Bret Johnson attributed the broader revenue growth to momentum in Connectivity and Super Intelligence, including recurring revenue from the Starlink satellite internet business and expansion of the company’s computing infrastructure, according to an earnings release quoted by CNBC.
SpaceX forecast first-quarter 2027 revenue of $33 billion to $37 billion. CNBC said that range exceeded the $22.2 billion average analyst estimate from LSEG. The figures put the company’s expanding computing business alongside its satellite operations at the centre of its growth outlook.
What Musk said about a Tesla combination
Musk said on the earnings call that he was considering combining SpaceX with Tesla and that the boards of both companies had formed committees to discuss a consolidation, CNBC reported. He said he saw merit in closer cooperation as the companies worked on superintelligence. The discussions do not establish that the companies have agreed to merge.
Tesla shares were up about 1.4% in premarket trading, according to CNBC. Tesla was due to report its own third-quarter earnings after Wednesday’s closing bell, leaving investors with another company update to assess after Musk’s comments.
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Sources and context
- Tech futures rise in premarket trading as SpaceX stock rockets overnight—and Wells Fargo’s ‘buy’ signal is triggeredFortune
- SpaceX up over 8% in premarket after earnings beat and Musk hints at Tesla tie-upCNBC
AI-assisted article checked against the listed sources. NewsJaws did not conduct interviews or attend the reported events.