SpaceX Shares Slide as $18.4 Billion Capex Plan Overtakes Q2 Revenue Growth
Massive capital expenditure target spooks investors during company's maiden post-IPO earnings call despite revenue nearly doubling.
SpaceX shares plummeted 10.8% in overnight trading after the rocket and connectivity company disclosed an $18.4 billion capital expenditure projection during its first post-IPO earnings call, overshadowing second-quarter revenue that nearly doubled. The overnight drop reversed a 9.43% surge achieved during regular trading hours prior to the announcement.
The company’s planned capital spending significantly exceeded Wall Street estimates of $13.2 billion. For the second quarter, SpaceX generated $7.8 billion in revenue, beating consensus expectations of $6.9 billion, while its net loss narrowed by nearly half to $541 million.
Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk raised the company’s long-term financial guidance during the call, pulling forward SpaceX’s internal timeline for reaching $1 trillion in annual revenue to 2030 from 2031. Musk stated there is a “non-zero chance” the business hits that milestone by 2029.
Addressing future operational goals, Musk detailed plans to deploy manufacturing robots on the moon to construct a solar-powered mass accelerator. While acknowledging the initiative “sounds super sci-fi right now” and “totally nuts,” he emphasized that the project remains central to the firm’s roadmap. “It’s really a ridiculously profound difference,” Musk said. “But that is our plan, and I think we will achieve that plan.”
Manufacturing efficiency remains key to supporting SpaceX’s expansion pace. Production of heat-shield tiles for its Starship craft has been automated to one tile every 13 seconds, enabling full tile replacements in two weeks—compared to legacy systems like NASA’s Space Shuttle, which required thousands of hours of manual labor per flight.
