SpaceX (NASDAQ:SPCX) Shares Gap Up Following Earnings Beat

Posted by George Bondi on Oct 21st, 2026

Shares of SpaceX (NASDAQ:SPCX – Get Free Report) gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock had previously closed at $147.79, but opened at $160.55. SpaceX shares last traded at $165.5550, with a volume of 51,272,590 shares trading hands.

The company reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.10 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $14.57 billion during the quarter. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($0.36) EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 161.4% on a year-over-year basis.

SpaceX News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting SpaceX this week:

Positive Sentiment: Strong Q3 results: SpaceX reported $14.58 billion in revenue, up 161% year over year, and earnings per share of $0.35 versus the $0.10 consensus estimate. The company swung to approximately $4.4 billion in net income from a year-earlier loss. SpaceX quarterly revenue jumps, beats estimates as AI business surges
Positive Sentiment: AI and Starlink are scaling rapidly: The Super Intelligence segment generated about $7.56 billion in revenue, surpassing Starlink, while Connectivity revenue reached roughly $5.25 billion. Starlink subscribers grew to 13.6 million, reinforcing the company’s recurring-revenue base.
Positive Sentiment: Improved forward visibility: Management cited a $63 billion backlog and guided to $33 billion-$37 billion in first-quarter 2027 revenue. Analysts also raised targets, including TD Cowen to $224 with a buy rating, Needham to $250 with a buy rating and Susquehanna to $176 with a neutral rating.
Positive Sentiment: Merger speculation adds a catalyst: SpaceX and Tesla formed independent committees to evaluate a potential combination. Elon Musk called the idea attractive, although he is excluded from negotiations because of conflicts of interest. A merger could combine SpaceX’s AI and satellite infrastructure with Tesla’s vehicles, robots and data.
Neutral Sentiment: Execution remains critical: SpaceX plans approximately $35 billion-$40 billion of fourth-quarter capital expenditures to expand AI computing, Starlink and Starship. Revenue is growing faster than spending, but the scale of investment leaves little room for execution errors.
Negative Sentiment: Cash-flow and dilution concerns: Reports highlight substantial AI infrastructure spending, potential additional debt financing and a possible release of more than $180 billion in insider-held shares as lockups expire. Increased supply could pressure the stock and dilute existing holders.
Negative Sentiment: Reputational risk: Reports that Musk ordered a slowdown of Starlink service used by Ukraine’s military could increase political, regulatory and customer-related risks for SpaceX.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SPCX has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of SpaceX in a research report on Monday. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of SpaceX from $200.00 to $224.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen cut SpaceX from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 3rd. UBS Group reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $300.00 price objective on shares of SpaceX in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Yorkville Ives assumed coverage on SpaceX in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $225.00 target price on the stock. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have given a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $233.50.

Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on SPCX

Insider Buying and Selling at SpaceX

In other news, COO Gwynne Shotwell sold 342,170 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.57, for a total value of $52,547,046.90. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 2,472,035 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $379,630,414.95. This represents a 12.16% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. SC US Ttgp LTD. purchased a new stake in SpaceX in the second quarter worth about $20,933,621,000. Darsana Capital Partners LP bought a new position in shares of SpaceX during the second quarter valued at approximately $17,335,783,000. K5 Global Advisor LLC purchased a new position in shares of SpaceX during the second quarter valued at approximately $6,587,531,000. State Street Corp purchased a new stake in shares of SpaceX in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,858,329,000. Finally, Dragoneer Investment Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of SpaceX in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,366,880,000.

SpaceX Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 4.99 and a current ratio of 5.12. The company has a market capitalization of $2.15 trillion and a P/E ratio of -1,815.60. The business’s 50-day moving average is $148.92.

About SpaceX

(Get Free Report)

Space Exploration Technologies Corp., commonly known as SpaceX, is a privately held aerospace company founded in 2002 by Elon Musk. The company develops and operates launch vehicles and spacecraft designed to reduce the cost of access to space and support commercial, government and scientific missions.

SpaceX’s principal products and services include the Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rockets, the Dragon spacecraft and the Starlink satellite communications network. Falcon rockets are used to launch satellites, cargo and crew, while Dragon spacecraft support transportation to and from low Earth orbit.