SpaceX Revenue Jumps 161%; Musk Puts a Tesla Merger on the Table
SpaceX lifted third-quarter revenue 161% from a year earlier to $14.58B. Analysts expected $12.7B to $12.9B. Earnings per share of $0.35 more than doubled the $0.13-$0.16 forecast, and net income reached $4.4B.
AI, not rockets, drove the growth. The Super Intelligence unit brought in $7.56B, or 51.9% of total revenue, up from 14.6% a year ago. Starlink still earns most of the profit: $5.25B in revenue and about 85% of group operating income.
Shares are up 8% to 10% in premarket trading after Tuesday's $147.79 close. The company guided first-quarter 2027 revenue to $33B-$37B, against an LSEG average of $22.2B. The cost is capital spending: $19.6B in the third quarter, with $35B-$40B expected in the fourth.
The second story is a merger: Musk said both companies have formed special committees to study combining. "Both SpaceX and Tesla have formed special committees to discuss this idea at the request of shareholders." No terms have been discussed, and Tesla rose 1.7% after hours.
Netflix is moving the other way: it earned $0.87 a share against $0.82 expected, and revenue of $12.87B matched forecasts. But fourth-quarter revenue guidance of $13.44B fell short, and the 2026 ad revenue outlook was cut from $3B to $2.7B. The stock is down more than 6% premarket, near $64.50.
