SpaceX Earnings & AI Spending: Bloomberg TV Analysis

You can also read the accompanying Bloomberg TV Bulgaria coverage of the interview.

Strong Earnings, but AI Spending Changed the Debate

SpaceX beat expectations across its three main business segments, with quarterly revenue reaching approximately $7.8 billion.

However, investors focused on capital expenditure rather than the earnings beat.

The company invested more than $18 billion during the quarter, with around 86% directed towards AI infrastructure. AI-related revenue reached approximately $2.6 billion, so the business is clearly scaling. The key question is whether the returns will justify this extraordinary level of spending.

Management expects its investment in AI infrastructure to pay back in roughly one year.

During the Bloomberg interview, Chaushev explained why he believes that assumption is aggressive.

That does not necessarily make the investment unattractive. It means investors need to look beyond revenue growth and focus more closely on utilisation, margins and return on invested capital.

This is becoming increasingly important across the entire AI trade. Companies are committing tens of billions of dollars to GPUs, data centres, networking and power infrastructure. The market now wants evidence that this spending can be monetised at attractive returns.

Starlink Remains the Strongest Part of the Story

Away from AI, Starlink continues to perform exceptionally well.

The service now has more than 12 million subscribers after adding approximately 1.4 million during the latest quarter.

The next generation of Starlink satellites should materially increase network capacity, allowing SpaceX to monetise more bandwidth across broadband and direct-to-device connectivity.

This is where the comparison with a mobile operator becomes relevant.

SpaceX already controls the satellites, launch capacity and much of the infrastructure required to compete more directly with traditional telecommunications companies. This does not mean SpaceX will suddenly replace established mobile operators, but direct-to-device connectivity gives it another way to monetise infrastructure it is already building.

The longer-term opportunity is therefore not limited to selling additional Starlink terminals. It is about expanding the number of services that can be delivered through the same satellite network.

The Other Risk Is Share Supply

There is also an important distinction between SpaceX as a business and SPCX as a stock.

Post-IPO lock-up restrictions are beginning to expire. Around 20% of previously restricted shares are becoming eligible for sale, with further unlocks expected over the coming months.

This does not mean those shareholders will necessarily sell.

It does mean additional supply can enter the market, creating a technical overhang independently of the company’s underlying performance.

This is one reason the post-earnings decline should not be interpreted purely as a fundamental signal. Strong businesses can still experience weak price action when positioning, valuation and share supply move against them.

What Investors Should Watch Next

For Chaushev, the SpaceX investment case now comes down to four main questions:

• Can AI-related revenue continue growing quickly?
• Can SpaceX achieve anything close to its expected one-year payback on AI infrastructure?
• Can Starlink maintain subscriber growth while improving monetisation?
• How successfully will the market absorb the post-IPO share unlocks?

The earnings were strong. The question is no longer whether SpaceX can grow aggressively—it clearly can.

The more important question is how much capital that growth requires and what return SpaceX can ultimately earn on it.

Watch the full discussion above or read the original Bloomberg TV Bulgaria interview and coverage.

This article is for educational purposes only and is not financial advice.