SpaceX (NASDAQ:SPCX) has become two companies wearing one jersey. One is a satellite internet business that keeps signing up customers at a pace most telecoms would envy. The other is an AI build-out that swallowed $15.83 billion of capital spending in a single quarter.
Most people know SpaceX for rockets. But most of the money now comes from Starlink, its satellite broadband service sold to households, airlines, ships, and governments. A large AI segment that sells computing infrastructure and advertising now adds to that, helping explain why SpaceX ranks on the list of 10 Stocks That Will Go to the Moon According to Reddit. At 200 times forward earnings, however, the stock isn’t priced as a rocket company or a broadband provider. Whether that price makes sense comes down to one question: can Starlink’s cash keep funding an AI bet before investors run out of patience?
Starlink Is the Engine Room
SpaceX’s edge starts with something rivals can’t easily copy. It owns the rockets that carry its satellites to orbit, so it can build out its network faster than competitors can.
The subscriber numbers show that advantage turning into customers. Starlink had 12.0 million subscribers at the end of fiscal Q2 2026, up from 10.3 million at the end of Q1 and 6.0 million a year earlier. Average revenue per user (what each subscriber pays monthly) came in at $66. Connectivity revenue reached $4.30 billion in the quarter: $2.49 billion from consumers and $1.81 billion from enterprise and government customers. That kind of scale puts real pressure on other satellite broadband players trying to catch up, especially as tech giants like Amazon accelerate capital spending on competing satellite-internet infrastructure.
Launch is now the smallest piece, with the Space segment bringing in $962 million. Of 38 missions in Q2, only 10 flew for paying customers.
The AI Segment Arrives Fast
Total revenue for fiscal Q2 2026 came in at $7.81 billion, compared with $4.07 billion a year earlier. The AI segment contributed $2.56 billion of that: $2.19 billion from AI solutions and infrastructure and $367 million from advertising.
Profitability is improving, though it isn’t here yet. The operating loss narrowed to $143 million from $970 million a year earlier, and the net loss shrank to $541 million from $1.01 billion. Adjusted EBITDA jumped to $3.54 billion from $1.21 billion. That’s a non-GAAP measure that leaves out costs like depreciation and interest. The GAAP losses matter more here, because depreciation on all that new hardware is a real cost.
The company also reported $14.1 billion in contracted sales from new cloud services agreements. And it agreed to buy AI coding company Cursor in a $60 billion deal. That’s a bet aimed squarely at the AI software boom, not just the hardware layer, which we detailed earlier in our list for 8 Best AI Software Stocks to Buy According to Hedge Funds.
Is the AI Spending Getting Out of Hand?
This worry has followed the stock since its first earnings report as a public company. CNBC reported that shares fell 13% the day after that report. Investors were rattled by the surge in AI spending and by upcoming share unlocks, the dates when early holders become free to sell.
The numbers explain the nerves. Of $18.37 billion in capital spending in fiscal Q2 2026, $15.83 billion went to AI. Over the first six months of the year, SpaceX generated $3.47billion in operating cash flow against $2.48 billion in total capital spending. The business generates real cash, but nowhere near enough to fund this pace on its own.
The $14.1 billion in contracted cloud sales suggests some of that spending already has customers waiting. But contracts aren’t cash, and the gap between spending and cash is the stock’s biggest open question.
Paying Up for the Future
SpaceX trades at 200 times forward earnings, as of October 9, against a sector P/E of 12.29. Put simply, investors are paying around $200 for every $1 of profit the company is expected to earn next year. For most companies, that would be absurd.
SpaceX isn’t most companies, but the multiple still assumes a lot goes right. Starlink has to keep adding millions of subscribers, and the AI segment has to turn contracts into lasting profit. Capital spending also has to slow enough to leave free cash flow. Few market opportunities carry that level of expectation, leaving the stock priced at a premium even relative to Wall Street’s favorite picks among the 10 Best Aggressive Growth Stocks to Buy According to Wall Street Analysts.
The growth is visible today; the profits mostly aren’t. A valuation this rich leaves little cushion if the AI payoff arrives late. Short sellers aren’t piling in, though. Short interest sits at 2.43% of the float, a relatively limited level of bearish positioning. Hedge funds have arrived in force, with 119 holding the stock in the most recent quarter, up from none in the prior one.
Where This Leaves Investors
The evidence points to a business that’s strong underneath but priced as if its riskiest bet has already paid off. Starlink’s growth looks durable, and the AI segment is already producing real revenue. The setup suits long-term investors who can handle volatility and years of heavy spending, since it offers a stake in two large markets at once. More cautious investors may want to see AI capital spending start to slow while revenue keeps climbing. What would change the picture most is a stall in Starlink subscriber growth, the company’s cash engine.
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