Starlink is producing profits, but SpaceX’s artificial intelligence expansion is consuming capital on a much larger scale. The company’s first public earnings report will show how those two sides of the business are developing after its combination with xAI.
SpaceX will report second-quarter results after US markets close on August 4. Analysts project approximately $10.2 billion in AI capital spending for the quarter, compared with $1.42 billion in operating profit from Starlink. The comparison does not show that Starlink directly funds SpaceX’s AI projects, but it illustrates the size of the company’s computing investments relative to the earnings of its strongest business.
SpaceX said its earnings webcast will begin at 4:30 p.m. Eastern. The report will cover the three months that ended June 30 and will be the company’s first since its June initial public offering.
Starlink profits confront a growing AI bill
Starlink remains SpaceX’s financial anchor. Estimates compiled by Reuters project $1.42 billion in second-quarter operating profit from the connectivity segment, up from $1.19 billion in the first quarter.
Operating profit is not equivalent to cash available for AI projects. SpaceX must continue paying for satellites, customer terminals, ground infrastructure and launches.
SpaceX’s combination with xAI brought the AI company’s revenue, losses, data centers and financing obligations into its consolidated results. According to SpaceX’s IPO prospectus, the AI segment generated $3.2 billion in 2025 revenue and recorded a $6.36 billion operating loss.
AI capital expenditures reached $7.72 billion in the first quarter of 2026, up from $2.57 billion a year earlier. SpaceX attributed the increase primarily to data-center construction and expansion. Its reported plans for a large Texas AI data center could push those infrastructure requirements higher.
Outside compute deals offer an early test
SpaceX plans to use its infrastructure for xAI while selling selected capacity to other companies. That strategy could generate revenue before xAI’s products become profitable, but it carries substantial costs for chips, electricity, networking and construction.
In May, SpaceX signed cloud agreements with Anthropic covering access to approximately 325,000 Nvidia graphics processing units across its Colossus data centers. The agreements call for payments of $1.25 billion per month through May 2029, with reduced fees during the initial capacity ramp. After the first three months, either party may terminate the agreements with 90 days’ notice.
A separate agreement with Reflection AI reportedly runs through May 2029. SpaceX has also held discussions about a possible Pentagon compute contract, although no deal had been finalized when the talks were reported.
Those arrangements could create substantial recurring revenue, but their profitability remains unclear. SpaceX has not provided detailed figures for power costs, infrastructure utilization, operating margins or customer concentration.
Financing adds another claim on SpaceX’s cash flow. The company borrowed $20 billion in March to refinance several X and xAI obligations. It subsequently issued $25 billion in senior notes, using the proceeds to repay the bridge facility and cover related costs.
The August 4 report should provide an early indication of whether outside compute demand is beginning to offset xAI’s losses. SpaceX must pursue that growth while continuing to fund Starlink, launch operations and Starship development.
Read more: SpaceX’s infrastructure expansion is one part of a broader convergence across Musk’s technology companies, spanning AI models, communications, autonomous systems and robotics.