Author: Echo Wang, Milana Vinn and Joey Roulette
NEW YORK (Reuters) – SpaceX (SPAX.PVT) made about $8 billion in profit last year on revenue of $15 billion to $16 billion, two people familiar with the company’s results said, providing new insights into the finances of Elon Musk’s space company, which is expected to go public later this year.
SpaceX’s latest financials, which have not been previously reported, have led some banks to estimate the company could raise more than $50 billion at a valuation of more than $1.5 trillion, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing private conversations.
Reuters reported on Thursday that SpaceX is also in talks with Musk’s artificial intelligence company xAI (XAAI.PVT) about a pre-IPO merger.
SpaceX did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Profit data is profit before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, which is a key indicator of operating performance. People familiar with the matter said that Musk’s satellite Internet system Starlink is the main source of revenue, accounting for about 50% to 80% of total revenue.
Since 2019, SpaceX has rapidly launched 9,500 Starlink satellites, making SpaceX the world’s largest satellite operator with more than 9 million broadband Internet service users. The internet service, along with government contracts related to Starlink and the military-grade satellite network Starshield, has generated significant revenue to help fund the development of the company’s next-generation Starship rocket, which Musk hopes to use to launch more powerful Starlinks into orbit.
The company purchased $19 billion worth of wireless spectrum rights from EchoStar last year, expanding Starlink into the direct-device market, where phones can connect directly to Starlink satellites without the need for a Starlink user terminal.
The satellite and rocket company is planning the world’s largest IPO on June 28, approaching Musk’s 55th birthday, people familiar with the matter said.
Musk expects Starship, which has been test-launched 11 times since 2023, to begin launching payloads into space this year. The billionaire is expected to use Starship to eventually launch space-based artificial intelligence data centers, a risky and emerging pursuit tied to the company’s proposed merger with xAI.
(Reporting by Echo Wang and Milana Vinn in New York and Joey Roulette in Washington; Editing by Dawn Kopecki and Matthew Lewis)
