When Elon Musk-led SpaceX made its debut as a publicly traded company on U.S. stock exchanges in June, it capped off months of anticipation and even briefly soared past legacy corporate giants including Microsoft and Amazon to claim one of the largest market valuations in global history. But just two months after that historic listing, the aerospace and technology firm’s first public quarterly financial report has painted a far more mixed picture of its current performance, sparking immediate investor backlash.
The report, released this week, reveals that SpaceX’s top-line revenue grew an impressive 92% year-over-year to hit $7.8 billion (£5.8 billion) in the latest quarter. The company’s core business lines — manufacturing next-generation launch rockets, producing its low-orbit Starlink internet satellites, and operating its social media platform X — all contributed to that strong revenue growth, which outpaces many mature public technology firms.
However, that revenue surge is far overshadowed by an extraordinary spike in operating costs, which have jumped 550% year-over-year to reach $18.3 billion. Over the first half of 2026 alone, the firm posted a net loss of $2 billion, a figure that has alarmed market watchers and shareholders alike.
In the immediate aftermath of the report’s release, SpaceX’s stock dropped nearly 9% during after-hours trading, erasing all of the gains it had posted during regular trading hours earlier that day. This decline marks the latest chapter in a steady downward trend for the company’s share price, which peaked at $176 on its first day of public trading in June. For the past several weeks, SpaceX’s stock has traded below its $135 initial public offering price, as initial investor hype around the listing has faded amid growing concerns about the company’s aggressive spending and unprofitable trajectory.
Market analysts note that SpaceX has long poured billions into research and development for long-term projects, including next-generation Starship rockets for deep space exploration and NASA missions, as well as the expansion of the Starlink satellite internet network. Even so, the scale of the recent spending increase has left many investors questioning how long the company can sustain its current growth trajectory without turning a profit.