SpaceX is widely recognised as a rocket company, but its first quarterly earnings statement as a public company presents a different picture.
The company's launch business generated less than $1 billion during the quarter and accounted for only slightly more than 10% of total revenue.
By comparison, Starlink, SpaceX's satellite internet service, generated $4.2 billion and was the only business segment to record an operating profit.
SpaceX's growing artificial intelligence infrastructure business also generated more revenue than its rocket operations, while attracting significantly more investment.
SpaceX by the Numbers
$4.2bn
Starlink quarterly revenue
The satellite internet business generated $4.2 billion during the quarter and was SpaceX's only profitable operating segment.
Less Than $1bn
Revenue from space operations
The company's rocket and space division contributed only slightly more than 10% of total quarterly revenue.
$15.8bn
AI-related spending
SpaceX spent $15.8 billion on artificial intelligence infrastructure during the second quarter.
About $1bn Each
Space and connectivity spending
The company spent slightly more than $1 billion each on its space and connectivity divisions, significantly less than its AI expenditure.
$65bn
Projected AI infrastructure spending
Analyst Alexander Potter expects spending on SpaceX's cloud computing and data centre business to reach $65 billion next year.
10%
Compute reserved for Grok
Elon Musk said only 10% of the computing capacity developed by SpaceX would be used by Grok, the AI model operated by xAI.
$100bn
Targeted annualised revenue run rate
SpaceX Chief Financial Officer Bret Johnsen said agreements with AI companies could put the business on track to reach a $100 billion annualised revenue run rate.
What SpaceX's Revenue Shows
The company's financial results indicate that Starlink currently forms the strongest part of SpaceX's business.
Its space division remains strategically important, particularly because SpaceX launches many of its own Starlink satellites. However, the company remains one of its launch division's biggest customers, limiting the amount of external revenue generated by rocket operations.
Meanwhile, its AI infrastructure division is becoming one of its largest areas of investment.
SpaceX leases data centre capacity to artificial intelligence companies, placing it in competition with cloud infrastructure businesses such as CoreWeave and Nebius.
The company has secured agreements with Google, Anthropic, Reflection AI and Cursor.
From Rocket Company to Infrastructure Business
SpaceX increasingly operates across three major areas:
Space launches: Rocket launches and satellite deployment.
Connectivity: Starlink satellite internet and planned telecommunications services.
AI infrastructure: Data centres and computing capacity leased to artificial intelligence companies.
The numbers suggest that SpaceX's commercial future may depend less on selling rocket launches and more on providing internet access and computing infrastructure.
The Bigger Picture
Musk has proposed building orbital data centres using as many as one million satellites, although the proposal currently lacks detailed information about satellite size, deployment schedules and implementation.
SpaceX has also outlined plans involving large-scale chip manufacturing, robotics and infrastructure on the Moon.
For now, however, its financial results show a company primarily supported by Starlink and increasingly focused on the capital-intensive artificial intelligence infrastructure market.
SpaceX may still be defined publicly by rockets, but its revenue increasingly comes from what those rockets enable: satellite connectivity and digital infrastructure.
