SpaceX Q2 2026 capex reaches $18.4 billion, with AI data center operations driving majority of spending.
SpaceX beat revenue forecasts in its first results as a public company, but surging AI expenditure and another quarterly loss left investors unimpressed.
For the quarter ended June 30, total revenue reached $7.8 billion, up from $4.7 billion in the previous quarter. The two main segments both showed significant growth: Connectivity revenue increased from $3.3 billion to $4.3 billion, while AI revenue jumped from $818 million to $2.6 billion.
Capital expenditure surged dramatically, jumping from $10.1 billion in the first quarter to $18.4 billion in the second quarter, with AI infrastructure accounting for $15.8 billion of that increase.
Connectivity, which includes Starlink, remained SpaceX's only profitable operating segment. AI operations posted a loss of $1.3 billion for the quarter, though this represented significant improvement from the $2.5 billion loss in the previous quarter.
During an investor call, CEO Elon Musk made ambitious claims about Starlink's future, stating: "It's not out of the question that at some point Starlink will deliver a majority of the world's internet, at least in countries where we're allowed to operate." Chief Operating Officer Gwynne Shotwell offered a more measured qualification, saying: "We expect Starlink will represent a significant portion of internet traffic."
Shotwell struck a similarly ambitious but measured tone regarding Starship development and lunar exploration, saying: "We want to put boots on the ground – boots on the Moon – in 2028."
Musk told investors that the next Starship flight would be the first to deploy Starlink satellites into orbit, and that there was a chance the company might catch a returning Starship upper stage. Flight 13's Starship made a controlled splashdown in the Indian Ocean and was the first vehicle of the V3 design to remain intact through the maneuver. Musk said the company would attempt to catch both the Super Heavy booster and Starship upper stage this year. However, both recent V3 Starship flights have ended with booster problems and faster-than-planned descents into the Gulf of Mexico, and it has been some time since SpaceX last successfully caught the booster.
SpaceX is far from the only tech company spending vast sums on AI technology, but with Starlink being the only profitable segment and capital expenditure rising sharply, investors appear rattled. SpaceX shares fell about 10 percent to $110.95 in pre-market trading, well below their $135 IPO price and less than half their $225.64 peak.
In appropriately-timed space news, a discarded SpaceX rocket body is believed to have struck the Moon.