SpaceX reported revenue of $7.8 billion for the second quarter, up 92 per cent on the same period a year earlier, in its first earnings report since its June flotation. The figure was ahead of analysts’ average estimate of $6.8 billion.

The company said its net loss for the quarter narrowed to $541 million, from $1 billion a year earlier. Capital expenditure was $18.4 billion, in line with analysts’ average estimates.

Shares in the satellite, rockets and artificial intelligence company were trading down $8.49, or 6.9 per cent, at $116.77 in after-hours trading on Wall Street, valuing the business at $1.7 trillion. SpaceX floated at $135 a share in mid-June.

The stock rose in the first few days after the initial public offering, temporarily making Elon Musk the world’s first trillionaire. SpaceX has since lost more than $1 trillion in market capitalisation, and in July the shares fell below their $135 float price for the first time, leaving UK retail investors who put £271 million into the offering nursing paper losses.

The shares have come under pressure amid concern about the end of a lock-up on 6 August, when some employees and early investors will be able to sell. Investors have also been seeking more clarity on the AI business and a potential merger with Tesla, Musk’s electric vehicle company.

Starlink drives growth

Most of SpaceX’s revenue last year came from Starlink, its satellite internet service, and the company’s quarterly results statement shows the division continued to drive growth. Starlink delivered $4.3 billion in the quarter, up 66 per cent year on year.

SpaceX said it reached 12 million subscribers by the end of the second quarter, double the figure a year earlier. It also said it had been awarded more than $6 billion in US government contracts for Starshield, a version of Starlink providing a classified and encrypted signal. Government demand for the technology extends beyond the United States: the Ministry of Defence has spent £16.6 million with Starlink over four years, largely on terminals for Ukrainian forces and British personnel.

The AI business, which includes xAI, the Grok chatbot, the social media platform X and a data centre operation, has been the company’s largest area of investment. AI revenue rose 247 per cent year on year to $2.56 billion, while losses narrowed to $1.3 billion from $1.5 billion.

Space revenue grew 29 per cent year on year to $962 million, while losses in the division widened to $542 million from $369 million. The segment covers commercial launches, government missions and development of Starship. SpaceX said space revenues were supported by a “higher number of large customer launches” compared with a year earlier.

Bret Johnsen, SpaceX’s chief financial officer, said revenue growth “accelerated across all our business segments”.

From rockets to conglomerate

Musk, 55, founded SpaceX in Hawthorne, California, in 2002 as an aerospace manufacturer and space transportation company, with the stated goal of reducing launch costs to enable the colonisation of Mars. He has since built it into the world’s largest rocket business by launching thousands of Starlink satellites and developing reusable rockets.

The group disclosed its finances for the first time in May, reporting revenue of $18.7 billion for 2025 and a net loss of $4.9 billion, ahead of a listing that ranks as the largest in stock market history. Further segment data is published on the SpaceX investor relations site.

Musk has said he plans to build a city on the moon and put data centres in space.