SpaceX Q3 2026: net income of $4.40B, while capex of $19.59B was about twice operating cash flow

SpaceX launches rockets, sells Starlink satellite internet to households, airlines and governments, and runs a third business it now calls Super Intelligence: Grok models, Cursor, advertising, and data-centre compute sold to third-party customers under cloud services agreements. In Q2, its first quarter as a listed company, Starlink was the only one of the three segments that made money, and capital spending ran at 2.4 times revenue (our arithmetic).

Comparing this quarter with Q2 takes two adjustments. Cursor, acquired on August 14, arrived mid-quarter with its own revenue and a large stock-compensation charge, so SI growth is part organic and part acquired. And the share count behind EPS is more than four times the year-ago figure (our arithmetic), mostly because the preferred stock converted into common shares at the IPO. The sections below separate what the business did from what those two changes did, and then follow the cash.

SpaceX Q3 2026 results at a glance

$ millions, except per share	Q3 2026	Q2 2026	Q3 2025
Revenue	14,575	7,814	5,576
Space	1,767	962	1,666
Connectivity	5,248	4,291	3,097
Super Intelligence (SI)	7,560	2,561	813
Income (loss) from operations	2,791	(143)	(273)
Net income (loss)	4,404	(541)	(1,054)
Diluted EPS	$0.35	$(0.09)	$(0.36)
Adjusted EBITDA	8,809	3,538	2,169
Capital expenditure	19,593	18,369	6,880

SI is the segment the release calls Super Intelligence. The release says it is the same reportable segment previously reported as Artificial Intelligence (AI), so the Q2 and year-ago columns compare like with like. The three segment lines sum to the reported revenue, and the segment operating results sum to the reported $2,791 million.

Did SpaceX issue guidance for Q3 2026?

No. Neither the second-quarter release (Form 8-K filed Aug. 4, 2026) nor the third-quarter release contains a revenue or earnings outlook, and the third-quarter release gives no outlook for Q4. Against the year-ago quarter, revenue rose 161% to $14,575 million from $5,576 million, the result swung from a net loss of $1,054 million to net income of $4,404 million, and diluted EPS moved to $0.35 from $(0.36).

How $2.79B of operating profit became $4.40B

Net income was $1,613 million larger than operating income (our arithmetic). Three lines below operating income account for it:

• Interest income of $873 million against $675 million of interest expense. With the cash raised in June on the balance sheet, interest income compares with $155 million a year earlier.
• Other income, net, of $1,025 million, of which the release labels $561 million as related party. The release does not break the line down further.
• An income tax benefit of $390 million, against a $562 million provision a year earlier.

So about 30% of the quarter’s pre-tax income of $4,014 million came from interest and other income rather than from operations (our arithmetic). Operating income of $2,791 million is the cleaner measure of the business, and it is still a large swing from the $(143) million of Q2.

Per-share figures need one warning. Diluted weighted shares were 12,475 million, against 5,864 million in Q2 and 2,941 million a year earlier. Most of that increase is the Preferred Conversion described in the IPO prospectus: just before the offering, all preferred stock converted into 3,448,110,450 Class A and 3,274,452,900 Class B shares, about 6.72 billion in total (our arithmetic). The IPO itself added 638,888,888 shares and the Cursor deal about 391 million (our arithmetic, from the Aug. 14 Form 8-K). EPS comparisons across those quarters mix very different share counts.

SI tripled revenue, and Cursor is part of it

SI revenue rose 195% from Q2 to $7,560 million, as the release puts it. Almost all of it is SI solutions and infrastructure revenue, $7,022 million against $2,194 million in Q2; advertising was $538 million. The release names three drivers: new cloud services agreements coming online, the Cursor acquisition and Grok adoption.

Cursor matters for comparability. SpaceX completed the acquisition on August 14, 2026, at an implied equity value of $60 billion, per the Aug. 14 Form 8-K. Cursor’s common and preferred stockholders received 389,289,254 Class A shares, and holders of vested Cursor restricted stock units a further 1,752,426; unvested units and options were converted into SpaceX awards. Cursor contributed $608 million of revenue in the six and a half weeks to September 30. Without it, consolidated revenue would have been about $13,967 million, still up about 79% from Q2 (our arithmetic). The release does not split Cursor out by segment or say how much of the remaining SI growth came from the cloud contracts versus Grok.

The deal also changes the cost lines. The GAAP purchase consideration was $42.5 billion, and equity awards worth $23.4 billion, subject to future forfeitures, are tied to post-acquisition service, so they will be expensed over time. SI’s $431 million operating profit is after $1,217 million of Cursor-related stock compensation, $821 million of other stock compensation and $2,473 million of depreciation and amortization, plus $8 million of acquisition costs and $3 million of restructuring charges. Adjusted EBITDA adds all of those back, which is how the same segment shows $4,953 million of SI Adjusted EBITDA. Goodwill rose to $48.4 billion from $11.6 billion at June 30.

Connectivity margin widened to 45%

Connectivity	Q3 2026	Q2 2026	Q3 2025
Revenue ($M)	5,248	4,291	3,097
Consumer revenues ($M)	3,121	2,485	1,986
Enterprise & government ($M)	2,127	1,806	1,111
Income from operations ($M)	2,367	1,656	1,190
Starlink consumer subscribers (M)	13.6	12.0	7.2
Starlink consumer ARPU ($/month)	$69	$66	$83

The release puts Connectivity segment revenue growth at 69% from a year earlier and segment operating income growth at 99%. The operating margin was about 45.1%, against about 38.6% in Q2 and 38.4% a year earlier (our arithmetic). Consumer subscribers rose by 1.6 million in the quarter, which the release attributes to growth in developed markets, and the release says monthly ARPU improved 5% from Q2 to $69. It is still below the $83 of a year earlier. The release also renamed the metric: “Starlink consumer subscribers” is what it previously called Starlink subscribers, and it excludes managed enterprise and government customers.

After the quarter closed, on October 8, SpaceX agreed to buy a nationwide portfolio of up to 14 MHz of paired 800 MHz spectrum for its Starlink Mobile plans. The release expects that deal to close in the first half of 2027 and gives no price.

Space nearly broke even

Space revenue was $1,767 million, which the release puts at 84% above Q2 and 6% above a year earlier. The segment’s operating loss shrank to $7 million from $542 million in Q2; a year earlier, Space made an operating profit of $259 million. Launch services revenue was $1,130 million, with 12 customer launches out of 35 in total. Research and development stayed high at $1,225 million, against $849 million a year earlier, as Starship spending continued. Flight 14, the first orbital Starship flight and, per the release, its first revenue-generating Starship mission, carried 26 Starlink V3 satellites. The release puts their added downlink capacity at about 10 times a Falcon 9 Starlink launch.

Year to date, the image-only highlights page of the release shows 113 launches and 1,517 metric tons to orbit. It also shows 11.1K satellites in orbit under a new definition that counts de-orbit-approved satellites. The release says about 400 of those would not have counted under the old definition.

$19.59B of capex against $9.63B of operating cash

Cash and capex, $ millions	Q3 2026	Nine months 2026
Net cash from operating activities	≈9,631	13,097
Capital expenditure	19,593	48,069
Operating cash less capex	≈−9,962	≈−34,972

≈ marks our arithmetic.

The release reports cash flow only for nine months. Subtracting the six-month operating cash flow of $3,466 million from the Q2 release gives about $9.6 billion for Q3 alone (our arithmetic). That is a large improvement on the first half. Deferred revenue, current and non-current combined, rose to $17,520 million at September 30 from $14,286 million at June 30, an increase of about $3.2 billion in the quarter (our arithmetic); the release does not say how much of that came with Cursor.

Capex still ran at about twice operating cash flow (our arithmetic). It rose about 7% from Q2 and about 185% from a year earlier (our arithmetic), and $16,444 million, or 84%, went to SI (our arithmetic) as SpaceX continued building COLOSSUS II; nameplate compute reached 1.7 GW, from 1.4 GW at June 30. Revenue grew faster than capex, so capex fell to about 1.3 times revenue from 2.4 times in Q2 (our arithmetic). The absolute gap did not close.

Cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities were about $89.9 billion at September 30 (our arithmetic: $51,294 million of cash plus $38,561 million of securities), against the $100 billion the Q2 release reported for June 30. Debt and finance leases were $38,844 million, against $39,364 million at June 30 (our arithmetic: current plus non-current at each date). Depreciation and amortization rose to $3,644 million from $2,848 million in Q2 as earlier capex started to flow through.

What to watch in Q4

• Operating cash vs capex. The Q3 gap of about $10.0 billion compares with about $25.0 billion for the whole first half, or about $12.5 billion a quarter on average (our arithmetic). Whether it keeps narrowing is the cash test for the SI buildout.
• SI without the one-offs. Q4 will include a full quarter of Cursor and more acquisition-related stock compensation from the $23.4 billion of awards. Watch SI operating income alongside SI Adjusted EBITDA.
• Other income and tax. $1,025 million of other income and a $390 million tax benefit lifted Q3 net income. The Form 10-Q should explain the other income line.
• Starlink ARPU. The release says it improved 5% from Q2, but it is about 17% below a year earlier (our arithmetic). Whether the new 800 MHz spectrum and Starlink Mobile change that is a 2027 question.
• Starship cadence. The release calls Flight 14 its first revenue-generating Starship mission. Space R&D of $1.2 billion a quarter needs more of those.
• Share count. The IPO prospectus’s lock-up schedule makes up to 1.3 billion Class A shares (28% of the shares under the 180-day lock-up) eligible for sale on the second full trading day after this release, which by our count is October 22, 2026; up to 328.4 million more on October 24 (the 135th day after the prospectus); and on December 8 either up to 328.4 million or up to 797.6 million, depending on whether an additional early release took effect after the first earnings report.

Quick answers

Did SpaceX make a profit in Q3 2026?

Yes. Net income was $4,404 million, or $0.35 per diluted share, against a net loss of $1,054 million a year earlier and $541 million in Q2. Income from operations was $2,791 million; interest income, other income and a $390 million tax benefit made up the rest.

What was SpaceX’s revenue in Q3 2026?

Revenue was $14,575 million, up 161% from $5,576 million a year earlier. Super Intelligence contributed $7,560 million, Connectivity (Starlink) $5,248 million and Space $1,767 million. Cursor, acquired on August 14, added $608 million.

How much did SpaceX spend on capex in Q3 2026?

Capital expenditure was $19,593 million, up from $18,369 million in Q2 and $6,880 million a year earlier. Of that, $16,444 million went to the Super Intelligence segment. Nine-month capex was $48,069 million against $13,097 million of operating cash flow.

---

Sources and method. Every company figure is SpaceX’s own disclosure, read directly from SEC EDGAR and linked above. Third-quarter, second-quarter and year-ago revenue, segment revenue, operating income, Adjusted EBITDA and capex, segment operating data (launches, subscribers, ARPU, nameplate compute), the income statement, the Adjusted EBITDA reconciliation, the Cursor acquisition terms and revenue contribution, the 800 MHz spectrum agreement, the September 30 balance sheet and the nine-month cash flow come from Exhibit 99.1 to the Form 8-K filed 2026-10-20 (accession 0001628280-26-066482) for the quarter ended 2026-09-30. Year-to-date launches, mass to orbit and satellites in orbit are read from the image-only business highlights page in the same filing. The second-quarter net loss, EPS, weighted shares and D&A, the June 30 balance sheet and the six-month operating cash flow come from the second-quarter release (Form 8-K, Exhibit 99.1, filed 2026-08-04, accession 0001628280-26-052515). The Cursor share consideration is from the Form 8-K filed 2026-08-14 (accession 0001628280-26-056945), and the Preferred Conversion share counts and the lock-up schedule are from the Form 424B4 prospectus filed 2026-06-12 (accession 0001628280-26-042639). The results were filed with the SEC at 4:00 pm ET on 2026-10-20 (Form 8-K acceptance time on the EDGAR filing index), after the US market closed; the release scheduled its webcast for 4:30 p.m. ET the same day.

No consensus estimate is included, so this piece makes no claim that the quarter beat or missed expectations. Neither the second-quarter release (accession 0001628280-26-052515) nor the third-quarter release contains quarterly guidance; the release says management would discuss its business outlook on the webcast, but the webcast is not a filing and is not used here. The quarter is therefore judged against the year-ago quarter. This piece makes no claim about the share-price reaction.

Our arithmetic, labelled as such: the 87% revenue growth from Q2; revenue without Cursor ($13,967 million, about 79% above Q2); Q3 operating cash flow (nine-month $13,097 million less six-month $3,466 million = $9,631 million) and operating cash less capex for Q3 (about −$9,962 million) and nine months (about −$34,972 million); the first-half gap of about $25.0 billion ($3,466 million of six-month operating cash less $28,476 million of first-half capex, which is nine-month capex of $48,069 million less Q3’s $19,593 million), about $12.5 billion a quarter on average; capex at about 2.0 times operating cash flow, 1.3 times revenue (2.4 times in Q2), about 7% above Q2 and about 185% above a year earlier; SI’s 84% share of capex; the $1,613 million gap between net income and operating income and the roughly 30% share of pre-tax income from net interest and other income ($1,223 million of $4,014 million); Connectivity operating margins of 45.1%, 38.6% and 38.4%; subscriber growth of 89% and the 17% ARPU decline from a year earlier; cash and marketable securities of about $89.9 billion at September 30 (the sum of the two balance-sheet lines); total deferred revenue of $17,520 million and $14,286 million and the ~$3.2 billion quarterly increase; debt and finance leases of $38,844 million and $39,364 million; the ~6.72 billion shares from the Preferred Conversion (3,448,110,450 + 3,274,452,900) and the ~391 million Cursor shares (389,289,254 + 1,752,426); diluted weighted shares at more than four times the year-ago count (12,475 million against 2,941 million); the SI reconciliation ($431 million + $2,473 million + $821 million + $1,217 million + $8 million + $3 million = $4,953 million); and October 22, 2026 as the second full trading day after the October 20 after-close release. These are approximations, not reported numbers. The 69%, 99%, 84%, 6%, 195% and 5% growth rates are as printed in the release, not our arithmetic. The interpretation (that operating profit arrived while the cash gap remains, and that Cursor and non-operating items flatter the quarter-on-quarter comparison) is our analysis, not a company statement or a forecast.

Related: SpaceX Q2 2026, the prior quarter; Rocket Lab Q2 2026 and AST SpaceMobile Q2 2026, the other space companies we cover; and CoreWeave Q2 2026 and Nebius Q2 2026, which also rent AI compute to other companies.