Some data more than expected on Wall Street. At the close of the session, SpaceX reported this Tuesday a 92% increase in its revenues during the second quarter (April-June), in its first results since its IPO last June. This increase was driven by the strong growth of Starlink, its satellite internet business, and its activities related to artificial intelligence.
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The company recorded revenues of 7.8 billion dollars, compared to 4.1 billion obtained in the same period last year. This result is also above the 6.93 billion that analysts had projected.
The company’s shares have fallen 8% since its historic IPO, which valued SpaceX at approximately 1.75 trillion dollars. The shares have lost nine cents this quarter, a figure also much lower than the 26 cents that had been forecast.
This is because Elon Musk’s space company detailed losses of 541 million dollars in its first quarterly report as a publicly traded company, although the result was better than expected and, as indicated, revenues increased strongly. This meant reducing those losses by 46%.
However, this value could come under additional pressure starting Thursday, when the post-IPO lock-up period expires, which could lead to the sale on the market of a large volume of shares by executives and initial investors.
This was the first time Musk’s reusable rocket manufacturer faced Wall Street as a publicly traded company, and investors are uneasy.
Since it began trading at 150 dollars per share on June 12, SpaceX shares have fallen 24%, resulting in a loss of nearly 500 billion dollars in market capitalization, as of Monday’s close. Musk also lost his status as the world’s first trillionaire, although he remains the richest person on the planet.
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SpaceX recorded losses of 4.9 billion dollars last year, mainly due to the substantial investments made in infrastructure for artificial intelligence.
The company merged with xAI, also owned by Musk, in February, then stating that its goal was to build data centers in space. However, even its space launch business, which depends on significant contracts with NASA, is recording losses.
Starlink and the entirety of SpaceX’s connectivity operations remain the company’s main financial engine, supporting Musk’s strategy, its CEO, to turn the company into a business focused on artificial intelligence that goes beyond renting computing capacity to develop advanced AI models, software for consumers and businesses, and ultimately, data centers in space.
The satellite internet division has continued expanding its global subscriber base thanks to the launch of new satellites and an increasingly broad offering of services for consumers, businesses, aviation, maritime transport, and government agencies.
However, this expansion has come at a cost: the average revenue per user has decreased as SpaceX has entered new international markets and launched lower-priced plans.
Investors are closely watching whether the company will be able to maintain growth while improving the profitability of its network, especially as it is making large investments to expand coverage, increase capacity, and develop mobile services for direct connection between satellites and devices.
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