SpaceX isn’t just a rocket company anymore — and its wide-ranging bets on everything from satellites to artificial intelligence have sparked a mixture of enthusiasm and anxiety across Wall Street.
On one hand, Elon Musk’s company is minting cash from Starlink, the satellite operator that beams internet access to homes, businesses and governments worldwide. On the other hand, SpaceX recently ingested a money-losing AI division that houses the social media app X and xAI, known for its snarky Grok chatbot.
While investors are wagering on Musk’s grandiose plans to fly humanity back to the Moon and eventually to Mars, not everyone is convinced. SpaceX disclosed $4.9 billion in losses last year ahead of its IPO. That has led skeptics including famed short-seller Jim Chanos to argue its valuation is far too high.
Here’s a rundown of SpaceX’s businesses, including those that are making money — as well as the ones whose losses are still churning stomachs on Wall Street.
Starlink
Musk’s satellite network is the golden goose at SpaceX, with an existing network of more than 10,000 satellites in orbit and more than 10 million subscribers around the world.
Starlink had an operating profit of $1.19 billion in the first quarter of this year and some analysts project that its annual revenue could hit $20 billion in revenue in 2026 alone – making it SpaceX’s largest division by far.
Starlink accounted for about 60% of SpaceX’s overall revenue last year, which came in at $18.7 billion – up 33% year-over-year.
Musk has teed up plans to triple the number of satellites operated by Starlink in the years ahead.
SpaceX rocket launches
On Musk’s watch, SpaceX has ramped up its pace of reusable rocket launches while working closely with NASA and the Pentagon. The firm conducted 170 launches last year alone – up from just 27 in 2020.
“SpaceX’s cost advantage is driven by its reusable launch architecture, particularly the ability to repeatedly reuse boosters, thereby significantly lowering per-launch costs,” analysts at Morningstar said in a note to clients on June 1.
The space division generated $4.09 billion in revenue in fiscal 2025, according to SEC filings. That was an increase of 7.6% year-over-year – but it still posted an operating loss of $657 million.
SpaceX is currently developing a massive next-generation rocket called Starship, which is the key to Musk’s vision of establishing a permanent Mars colony.
Artificial intelligence division
The AI division including both xAI and X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter. In February SpaceX officially merged with xAI, which had previously operated as a separate entity and is now considered a wholly owned subsidiary.
So far, xAI has struggled to keep pace with more established firms likes OpenAI and Anthropic, which have taken a large chunk of the corporate market.
Currently, AI is the biggest drag on SpaceX’s balance sheet. The segment produced just $3.2 billion in revenue. The segment alone accounted for a $6.36 billion operating loss in 2025, which was enough to push the entire company into the red.
In what many analysts saw as a bid to bolster SpaceX’s balance sheet ahead of the IPO, Musk announced two major deals — an agreement to rent its Colossus 1 AI data center to Anthropic for $1.25 billion a month, and a similar $920 million deal with Google, a major SpaceX shareholder.
Huge spending
The proceeds from SpaceX’s IPO will be needed as Musk ramps up his AI investments. SpaceX’s capital expenditures hit $20.7 billion in 2025 alone, with much of that money dedicated toward the development of Grok and the massive Colossus and Colossus II data centers.
SpaceX spent $7.7 billion on AI investments in the first quarter of 2026 alone – which equates to roughly $31 billion for the full year if the pace continues.
“In our newly acquired AI segment, we plan to prioritize growth and investment to capture significant opportunities in AI applications and compute infrastructure,” SpaceX wrote in its S-1 filing.
