SpaceX stock is reacting to a third quarter that cleared the bar our preview set. Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SPCX) reported revenue of $14.58 billion for the quarter ended September 30, up 161% from $5.58 billion a year earlier, in a release filed with the SEC ahead of its October 20 webcast.

That is $2.27 billion above the $12.31 billion consensus listed by Earnings Whispers, as calculated by Trend & Ticker. Our preview said SpaceX needed $4.50 billion more revenue than in the second quarter to meet that figure. It added $6.76 billion, from $7.81 billion in the second quarter, as calculated by Trend & Ticker. The shares rose in after-hours trading, according to Investing.com.

Where the growth came from

• SI, the segment formerly called AI, brought in $7.56 billion, up 830% from $813 million.
• Connectivity, the Starlink business, rose 69% to $5.25 billion.
• Space, the launch business, grew 6% to $1.77 billion.

Cursor, the coding tool SpaceX bought on August 14, contributed $608 million from the close through September 30. Without it, SI revenue would be about $6.95 billion, as calculated by Trend & Ticker. That is still more than 2.7 times the $2.56 billion the segment posted in the second quarter.

Profit replaced a loss

Net income came to $4.40 billion, or 35 cents a diluted share, against a loss of $1.05 billion a year earlier. The Earnings Whispers consensus cited in our preview was 9 cents a share. Operating income was $2.79 billion.

Adjusted EBITDA, which is earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization with some items removed, reached $8.81 billion, up 306%. The SI segment produced $4.95 billion of it, after a loss of $428 million a year ago.

Spending still runs ahead of cash

Capital spending was $19.59 billion in the quarter, and $16.44 billion of it went to SI. For the first nine months, operating cash flow of $13.10 billion trailed $48.07 billion of capital spending by about $34.97 billion, as calculated by Trend & Ticker.

Cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities totaled $89.86 billion at September 30, as calculated by Trend & Ticker from the $51.29 billion and $38.56 billion on the balance sheet. Debt and finance leases stood at $38.84 billion, which leaves net cash of about $51.0 billion, as calculated by Trend & Ticker.

Starlink and launches

Consumer Starlink subscribers reached 13.6 million, up 1.6 million in the quarter. Average revenue per consumer user fell to $69 a month from $83 a year earlier. SpaceX flew 35 launches, down from 44, and lifted 476 metric tons to orbit.

What the company did not give

The release carried no revenue or profit guidance for the fourth quarter or for 2027. That means no company number sits behind any 2027 forecast for SpaceX stock. It does describe an October 8 agreement to buy low-band spectrum licenses in the 800 MHz band, with closing expected in the first half of 2027.