SpaceX jumps over 8% after 161% revenue surge, Elon Musk initiates Tesla merger

EspaceX surged in premarket trading Wednesday after the company reported strong third-quarter revenue growth and owner Elon Musk teased a potential SpaceX-Tesla merger.

The space company, which debuted on Nasdaq in the largest-ever IPO in June, on Tuesday reported third-quarter revenue of $14.6 billion, up 161% from a year earlier, and beating LSEG consensus estimates of $12.72 billion.

At the same time, its operating profit rose to $2.8 billion, with a net profit of $4.4 billion, after posting a net loss of $1.05 billion for the same period a year earlier.

During the earnings conference call, Musk said he was considering a tie-up with Tesla — which would mark the largest merger in history — and that the boards of directors of both companies have created specific committees to discuss a consolidation.

“I think there’s a lot of merit in combining the companies, because we’re kind of in the superintelligence singularity, and there’s a lot to be gained by cooperating,” Musk said on the call. Tesla is expected to report its third-quarter results after the closing bell on Wednesday.

Shares of SpaceX were last up 8.5% before markets opened Wednesday. Meanwhile, Tesla shares rose 1.4% in premarket trading.

Stocks of other space titles including Rocket Lab, Intuitive machinesAnd AST SpaceMobilewere all higher in pre-market trading.

SpaceX forecast first-quarter 2027 revenue of between $33 billion and $37 billion, beating the average analyst estimate of $22.2 billion, per LSEG.

“We had another strong quarter in the third quarter. Revenue grew 161% year over year, fueled by continued momentum in connectivity and a clear inflection in our Super Intelligence business,” SpaceX CFO Bret Johnson said in the earnings release.

Johnson attributed the strong results to recurring revenue from its satellite internet business, Starlink, and the significant expansion of its Super Intelligence (SI) infrastructure.

The company launched into AI this year, which it now calls SI. The segment is its largest business unit, with revenue increasing nine-fold to $7.56 billion from $813 million in the same quarter last year.

Comments on IT during the earnings conference call supported “continued pricing power and shorter payback periods” for AI cloud providers, Truist Securities analysts said in a Tuesday note.

“Despite market concerns over AI cloud provider funding last week, we believe SpaceX’s third quarter 2026 represents the first data point during earnings season to support the AI ​​cloud provider bullish argument,” they added.

They explained that demand appears “insatiable,” with SpaceX noting that it could lease its capacity multiple times. Analysts said Coreweave and Nebius are expected to benefit and capture demand, as “pricing power will more than offset rising rates.”

The actions of cloud providers, including Nebius, Basic weave, IreneAnd Applied digital also rose in pre-market trading Wednesday following Musk’s comments.

— Lora Kolodny contributed to this report