SpaceX Q3 revenue surges 161 pc to $14.58 billion; Musk eyes $1 trillion mark by 2028

New Delhi, October 21 (IANS) Elon Musk-backed SpaceX has reported quarterly results, powered by explosive growth in its artificial intelligence business and rising demand for data-centre capacity with revenue rising 161 per cent to $14.58 billion year-on-year in the third quarter.Following the earnings, the company's shares jumped more than 8 per cent in extended trading.The company's AI unit -- now branded as Super Intelligence -- generated $7.56 billion in revenue during the quarter, nearly 10 times higher than a year ago.The business has emerged as a major provider of compute infrastructure and data-centre capacity to AI developers including Anthropic, Alphabet's Google and Reflection AI.Moreover, capital expenditure nearly tripled from a year ago to $19.6 billion as the company continued expanding its computing capacity.Chief Financial Officer Bret Johnsen said fourth-quarter capital spending is expected to range between $35 billion and $40 billion.Johnsen also said the company expects first-quarter 2027 revenue of between $33 billion and $37 billion, significantly above analysts' average estimate of $22.2 billion, citing improved visibility into its growing pipeline of compute contracts.Meanwhile, the company reported net income of $4.4 billion compared with a loss of about $1.1 billion a year earlier.The AI business also turned profitable during the quarter as xAI reported net income of $431 million, compared with a loss of $1.7 billion in the year-earlier period.SpaceX's connectivity segment remained a key contributor to performance. Revenue from the division, which includes Starlink, rose 69 per cent from a year ago to $5.25 billion.In addition, Starlink subscribers increased to 13.6 million from 12 million a year earlier, highlighting continued demand for the satellite internet service.During the earnings call, Musk also said a merger between SpaceX and electric-vehicle maker Tesla would be a good idea and confirmed that special committees at both companies had been formed to evaluate the proposal.Musk also said that he expects annual recurring revenue to reach between $500 billion and $1 trillion as demand for AI-related infrastructure accelerates."As crazy as this sounds, $1T in SpaceX revenue in 2028 is no longer impossible," he wrote in a post on X.SpaceX shares closed regular trading at $147.79 on Tuesday before rising more than 8 per cent after the results. The after-hours rally also lifted Nasdaq futures, reflecting the stock's growing weight in the technology-heavy index.