{"id":1890,"date":"2026-06-12T21:39:14","date_gmt":"2026-06-12T21:39:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=1890"},"modified":"2026-06-12T21:39:14","modified_gmt":"2026-06-12T21:39:14","slug":"what-is-spacex-exactly-heres-a-rundown-of-its-massive-bets-and-why-theyre-fueling-excitement-and-anxiety-across-wall-street","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=1890","title":{"rendered":"What is SpaceX, exactly? Here’s a rundown of its massive bets \u2014 and why they’re fueling excitement and anxiety across Wall Street"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

SpaceX isn\u2019t just a rocket company anymore \u2014 and its wide-ranging bets on everything from satellites to artificial intelligence have sparked a mixture of enthusiasm and anxiety across Wall Street. <\/p>\n

Read more Elon Musk just became world\u2019s first trillionaire\u2014 how much is a trillion dollars really?<\/a><\/p>\n

On one hand, Elon Musk\u2019s company is minting cash from Starlink, the satellite operator that beams internet access to homes, businesses and governments worldwide. On the other hand, SpaceX recently ingested a money-losing AI division that houses the social media app X and xAI, known for its snarky Grok chatbot.<\/p>\n

While investors are wagering on Musk\u2019s grandiose plans to fly humanity back to the Moon and eventually to Mars, not everyone is convinced. SpaceX disclosed $4.9 billion in losses last year\u00a0ahead of its IPO. That has led skeptics including famed short-seller Jim Chanos to argue its valuation is far too high.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s a rundown of SpaceX\u2019s businesses, including those that are making money \u2014 as well as the ones whose losses are still churning stomachs on Wall Street.<\/p>\n

Starlink<\/h2>\n

Musk\u2019s satellite network is the golden goose at SpaceX, with an existing network of more than 10,000 satellites in orbit and more than 10 million subscribers around the world. <\/p>\n

Starlink had an operating profit of $1.19 billion in the first quarter of this year and some analysts project that its annual revenue could hit $20 billion in revenue in 2026 alone \u2013 making it SpaceX\u2019s largest division by far.<\/p>\n

Starlink accounted for about 60% of SpaceX\u2019s overall revenue last year, which came in at $18.7 billion \u2013 up 33% year-over-year.<\/p>\n

Musk has teed up plans to triple the number of satellites operated by Starlink in the years ahead.<\/p>\n

SpaceX rocket launches<\/strong><\/h2>\n

On Musk\u2019s watch, SpaceX has ramped up its pace of reusable rocket launches while working closely with NASA and the Pentagon. The firm conducted 170 launches last year alone \u2013 up from just 27 in 2020.<\/p>\n

\u201cSpaceX\u2019s cost advantage is driven by its reusable launch architecture, particularly the ability to repeatedly reuse boosters, thereby significantly lowering per-launch costs,\u201d analysts at Morningstar said in a note to clients on June 1.<\/p>\n

Read more Here are the biggest SpaceX winners \u2014 from Elon Musk\u2019s bestie to a former $28-an-hour welder from Mexico<\/a><\/p>\n

The space division generated $4.09 billion in revenue in fiscal 2025, according to SEC filings. That was an increase of 7.6% year-over-year \u2013 but it still posted an operating loss of $657 million.<\/p>\n

SpaceX is currently developing a massive next-generation rocket called Starship, which is the key to Musk\u2019s vision of establishing a permanent Mars colony.<\/p>\n

Artificial intelligence division<\/h2>\n

The AI division including both xAI and X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter. In February SpaceX officially merged with xAI, which had previously operated as a separate entity and is now considered a wholly owned subsidiary.<\/p>\n

So far, xAI has struggled to keep pace with more established firms likes OpenAI and Anthropic, which have taken a large chunk of the corporate market.<\/p>\n

Currently, AI is the biggest drag on SpaceX\u2019s balance sheet. The segment produced just $3.2 billion in revenue. The segment alone accounted for a $6.36 billion operating loss in 2025, which was enough to push the entire company into the red.<\/p>\n

In what many analysts saw as a bid to bolster SpaceX\u2019s balance sheet ahead of the IPO, Musk announced two major deals \u2014\u00a0an agreement to rent its Colossus 1 AI data center to Anthropic for $1.25 billion a month, and a similar $920 million deal with Google, a major SpaceX shareholder.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

Huge spending<\/h2>\n

The proceeds from SpaceX\u2019s IPO will be needed as Musk ramps up his AI investments. SpaceX\u2019s capital expenditures hit $20.7 billion in 2025 alone, with much of that money dedicated toward the development of Grok and the massive Colossus and Colossus II data centers.<\/p>\n

SpaceX spent $7.7 billion on AI investments in the first quarter of 2026 alone \u2013 which equates to roughly $31 billion for the full year if the pace continues.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn our newly acquired AI segment, we plan to prioritize growth and investment to capture significant opportunities in AI applications and compute infrastructure,\u201d SpaceX wrote in its S-1 filing.<\/p>\n

Read more Inside the Iran deal that is \u201975-80%\u2019 there, could be done in \u2018next few days,\u2019 official says<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

SpaceX isn’t just a rocket company anymore — and its wide-ranging bets on everything from satellites to artificial intelligence have sparked a mixture of enthusiasm and anxiety across Wall Street. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1889,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1890","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business"],"yoast_head":"\nWhat is SpaceX, exactly? Here's a rundown of its massive bets \u2014 and why they're fueling excitement and anxiety across Wall Street - Metro Transit Review<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=1890\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What is SpaceX, exactly? Here's a rundown of its massive bets \u2014 and why they're fueling excitement and anxiety across Wall Street - Metro Transit Review\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"SpaceX isn't just a rocket company anymore -- and its wide-ranging bets on everything from satellites to artificial intelligence have sparked a mixture of enthusiasm and anxiety across Wall Street.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=1890\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Metro Transit Review\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-12T21:39:14+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?p=1890#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?p=1890\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/7cd7bd9683106710eed62ba5da559b14\"},\"headline\":\"What is SpaceX, exactly? Here’s a rundown of its massive bets \u2014 and why they’re fueling excitement and anxiety across Wall Street\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-12T21:39:14+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?p=1890\"},\"wordCount\":720,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?p=1890#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/7bdf3e40a84c6e6e10793186e9cc1790.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"Business\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?p=1890#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?p=1890\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?p=1890\",\"name\":\"What is SpaceX, exactly? 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