SpaceX up over 8% in premarket after earnings beat and Musk hints at Tesla tie-up

Key points

• SpaceX reported third-quarter revenue of $14.6 billion, up 161% from a year earlier and above LSEG consensus estimates of $12.72 billion.
• Elon Musk said he is considering a merger with Tesla and that both boards have set up committees to discuss a consolidation.
• SpaceX shares rose 8.5% in premarket trading on Wednesday, while Tesla shares were up 1.4%.

SpaceX shares climbed 8.5% in premarket trading on Wednesday after the company posted strong third-quarter results and owner Elon Musk raised the possibility of a merger with Tesla. SpaceX reported revenue of $14.6 billion for the quarter on Tuesday, up 161% from the same period a year earlier and ahead of LSEG consensus estimates of $12.72 billion.

Operating income came in at $2.8 billion, with net income of $4.4 billion, compared with a net loss of $1.05 billion a year earlier. Tesla shares were up 1.4% in premarket trading ahead of its own third-quarter earnings, due after the closing bell on Wednesday.

Musk floats Tesla combination

On the earnings call, Musk said he is weighing a combination with Tesla, which would be the largest merger in history. He said the boards of both companies have created specific committees to discuss a consolidation.

Musk said there is "a lot to be gained from cooperating" and referenced the arrival of superintelligence. SpaceX made its Nasdaq debut in June in what the article describes as the biggest IPO ever.

I do think there's a lot of merit to combining the companies as we are pretty much in the superintelligence singularity, and there's a lot to be gained from cooperating

— Elon Musk

AI business drives growth

Chief Financial Officer Bret Johnson attributed the quarter to recurring revenue from the Starlink satellite internet business and expansion of the company's Super Intelligence infrastructure. SpaceX entered AI this year, and the segment is now its largest business unit, with revenue rising ninefold to $7.56 billion from $813 million a year earlier.

SpaceX forecasts first-quarter 2027 revenue of $33 billion to $37 billion, above the average analyst estimate of $22.2 billion. Shares of space stocks Rocket Lab, Intuitive Machines and AST SpaceMobile, and cloud providers Nebius, Coreweave, Iren and Applied Digital, also rose in premarket trading.