SpaceX revenue rose 161 percent to $14.6 billion in the third quarter. Super Intelligence out-earned Starlink, and capex still topped the quarter's sales.
SpaceX revenue rose 161 percent to $14.6 billion in the third quarter.
Super Intelligence out-earned Starlink, and capex still topped the quarter's sales.
SpaceX did not just report a Starlink quarter. Space Exploration Technologies posted revenue of $14.6 billion for the three months ended 30 September 2026, up 161 percent from $5.6 billion. The exhibit is tighter than the headline: $14,575 million against $5,576 million. Divide the $8,999 million increase by $5,576 million and the result is 161.4 percent, which the release rounds to 161 percent. It is not 159 percent. The miss in the coverage is the mix. Super Intelligence, the segment previously reported as artificial intelligence, produced $7,560 million. Connectivity, which holds Starlink, produced $5,248 million. Launch, reported as Space, produced $1,767 million. Compute out-earned Starlink and did not cover its own build. Super Intelligence capital expenditure was $16,444 million. Company capital expenditure was $19,593 million, $5,018 million more than total revenue. Operating income of $2,791 million still came mostly from Connectivity, at $2,367 million.
Net income was $4,404 million, against a net loss of $1,054 million a year earlier. Income from operations was $2,791 million, against a loss of $273 million. Same exhibit, 20 October 2026.
Segment revenue was Super Intelligence $7,560 million, Connectivity $5,248 million and Space $1,767 million. Super Intelligence capital expenditure was $16,444 million of company capital expenditure of $19,593 million. Same exhibit.
Cash and cash equivalents were $51,294 million and marketable securities were $38,561 million. Nine-month equipment purchases were $48,069 million. Nine-month operating cash flow was $13,097 million. Same exhibit.
What just happened, and why the obvious reading is wrong
The obvious reading is that a 161 percent jump is a Starlink story with a rocket company attached. The exhibit says otherwise. Super Intelligence was 51.9 percent of the $14,575 million. Connectivity was 36.0 percent. Space was 12.1 percent. A year earlier those lines were $813 million, $3,097 million and $1,666 million. Starlink’s segment grew 69 percent, which the release states, and it was still passed on revenue.
The flip is new even against the prior quarter in the same table. For the three months ended 30 June 2026, revenue was $7,814 million, Connectivity was $4,291 million and Super Intelligence was $2,561 million. Connectivity was about 55 percent of that quarter. FinanceFeeds wrote in August that Starlink accounted for the majority of revenue when the company reported about $7.8 billion. That sentence was right for June. It is not right for September.
Spending has to be read the same way. June capital expenditure was $18,369 million, so spending beat revenue by $10,555 million. In September the excess was $5,018 million. The gap narrowed and did not close. Super Intelligence capital expenditure barely moved, from $15,828 million to $16,444 million, while its revenue went from $2,561 million to $7,560 million. Capex was 6.2 times segment revenue in June and 2.2 times in September. The compute business still spends more than it books in the same quarter.
Averytin News Financial update.