Investors Spooked as SpaceX’s $18B AI Capex Causes Stock to Plummet
Despite a blockbuster first earnings report as a public company, Elon Musk’s SpaceX (NASDAQ: SPCX) failed to impress Wall Street. The space and AI giant reported a Q2 2026 revenue of $7.81 billion, a remarkable 92% year-over-year increase that surpassed analyst expectations of $6.93 billion. The company also managed to reduce its net loss to $541 million, a significant decrease from $1 billion the previous year.
However, the figure that unsettled investors was the company’s capital expenditure for the quarter: a whopping $18.37 billion. This was more than six times higher than the previous year, with a staggering $15.83 billion allocated to its unprofitable AI segment. The total capex figure surpassed the $13.22 billion average analyst estimate, according to FactSet.
Following a lockup expiration on August 6, shares worth approximately $101 billion became eligible for trading, causing the stock to tumble over 14%. Since its record IPO debut on June 12, the company has lost over $1 trillion in market value and now trades well below its opening price of $150. Despite this, Starlink’s Connectivity unit remained the company’s profit engine, reaching 12 million users and generating $4.29 billion in revenue, a 66% increase.
“The stock’s negative reaction is less a rejection of the fundamentals than a reflection of the enormous price of growth,” commented Luke Lango, technology analyst at Innovation Investor.
Source: CNBC – SpaceX Q2 2026 Earnings Live Updates | CNN Business