SpaceX stock jumps 10% as revenue surges 161% to $14.6 billion and Elon Musk weighs Tesla merger
SpaceX shares jumped 10.4% in premarket trading on Wednesday after the company reported strong revenue growth for the third quarter of 2026. The stock also gained attention after billionaire Elon Musk said he was considering a possible merger between SpaceX and Tesla.
SpaceX reported revenue of $14.6 billion in the third quarter, marking a 161% increase from the same period last year. The company also beat analysts’ expectations, as LSEG had estimated revenue of $12.72 billion.
SpaceX revenue and profit jump
The company reported operating income of $2.8 billion and net income of $4.4 billion for the quarter. This marked a major improvement from the same period a year earlier, when SpaceX reported a net loss of $1.05 billion, according to CNBC.
SpaceX and Tesla merger plans
Musk is considering a possible merger between SpaceX and Tesla. During the earnings call, he said the boards of both companies had created special committees to discuss bringing the two companies together. If completed, the deal would be the largest merger in history.
Also read: SpaceX stock may stay flat through 2027 despite 92% revenue growth and AI expansion
Musk said there were strong reasons to combine the two companies, particularly because of their work in advanced artificial intelligence (AI). He said closer cooperation could create major benefits as the companies move further into what he described as the “superintelligence singularity,” according to CNBC.
Tesla shares also rose 2.1% in premarket trading on Wednesday following Musk’s comments about the possible merger. Tesla was scheduled to report its third-quarter earnings after the US stock market closed on Wednesday.
SpaceX revenue forecast for 2027
SpaceX also gave a strong revenue forecast for the first quarter of 2027. The company expects revenue to reach between $33 billion and $37 billion, well above the average analyst estimate of $22.2 billion, according to LSEG data.
Starlink and AI drive SpaceX growth
SpaceX’s satellite internet business, Starlink, helped drive its revenue growth. Chief Financial Officer Bret Johnson said recurring revenue from Starlink and the expansion of the company’s superintelligence infrastructure supported the strong quarterly results.
Johnson said SpaceX had delivered another strong quarter, with revenue increasing 161% year over year. He also pointed to continued growth in the company’s connectivity business and a major improvement in its superintelligence business, according to the company’s earnings release.
SpaceX AI business revenue rises ninefold
SpaceX’s superintelligence business recorded a ninefold increase in revenue. Revenue from the unit reached $7.56 billion in the third quarter, compared with $813 million in the same quarter last year. The company has expanded its AI operations this year and now refers to the segment as superintelligence, or SI, according to CNBC.
The superintelligence unit has become SpaceX’s largest business segment. Its rapid growth highlights the company’s increasing focus on AI infrastructure alongside its existing satellite internet operations.
AI cloud companies could benefit
Analysts said SpaceX’s results support the positive outlook for AI cloud companies. Truist Securities analysts said comments made during the earnings call pointed to continued pricing power and shorter payback periods for companies providing AI computing services.
The analysts said SpaceX’s third-quarter 2026 results provided an early sign of strength for AI cloud providers during the earnings season. This came despite recent market concerns about how these companies would finance their expanding AI infrastructure, according to a Truist Securities note cited by CNBC.
Demand for AI computing capacity appears to be extremely strong. The Truist Securities analysts said SpaceX indicated that customers could rent its available computing capacity several times over, suggesting that demand was higher than the supply it could currently provide.
The analysts also said AI cloud companies such as CoreWeave and Nebius could benefit from this demand. They expect the ability to charge higher prices for computing services to help these companies offset higher financing costs, according to CNBC.
Other space-related stocks also moved higher before the market opened. Shares of Rocket Lab, Intuitive Machines and AST SpaceMobile rose in premarket trading on Wednesday following SpaceX’s results and Musk’s comments about a possible merger with Tesla.
Shares of AI cloud and infrastructure companies also gained. Nebius, CoreWeave, IREN and Applied Digital all rose more than 3% in premarket trading on Wednesday, according to CNBC.