Instant View: SpaceX's first quarterly results as a public company beat expectations, but AI costs hit stock

SpaceX has posted its first quarterly results as a public company, revealing a significant 92% surge in revenue to $7.8 billion for the second quarter, surpassing the $6.9 billion consensus estimate. The company also outperformed analyst expectations on losses, reporting a 9-cent loss per share against an expected 26-cent loss.

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The two things that stood out to me are the doubling of Starlink subscriptions from 6 million to 12 million...and then the actual AI revenue was up 350 percent. ... Those two numbers were absolutely the biggest outperforming data points.

The strong financial performance was largely driven by robust growth in its Starlink satellite-internet service and burgeoning AI businesses. Brian Mulberry, Chief Market Strategist at Zacks Investment Management, highlighted that Starlink subscriptions doubled from 6 million to 12 million. He also noted an impressive 350% increase in AI revenue, stating, "AI is already monetizing itself. They're not relying on Starlink to fund operations there. I think that's a huge part of the story."

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I think that's a tremendous upside surprise today alone is the fact that AI is already monetizing itself. They're not relying on Starlink to fund operations there. I think that's a huge part of the story.

Despite the positive revenue figures and growth in key sectors, SpaceX shares experienced a 4% drop in late trading. This decline followed a 9.4% rise during regular trading hours. Concerns linger on Wall Street regarding the high costs associated with AI development and the impending unlock of 911 million restricted shares. This unlock event is anticipated to add significant pressure on the stock, which has yet to recover to its June IPO price of $135 per share.

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If they can continue to build on this number and continue to monetize AI directly, then it really does soften our concerns about the capex being a little bit too heavy. I think that this is one of those types of results that will change our thinking and might move up our scale in terms of when we want to take a position.

Adam Sarhan, CEO of 50 Park Investments, commented on the stock's volatility, noting that fluctuations are normal for highly anticipated IPOs within their first few years. He emphasized SpaceX's long-term mission, stating, "Elon's mission is a long-term mission... it's perfectly normal to see fluctuations around highly anticipated IPOs within the first year, if not the first two years, of coming out and starting to trade."

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They made it very clear this is not a quarter-by-quarter play. Elon's mission is a long-term mission... it's perfectly normal to see fluctuations around highly anticipated IPOs within the first year, if not the first two years, of coming out and starting to trade.