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SpaceX revenue jumps as Starlink, AI grow
SpaceX reported a sharp increase in quarterly revenue and significantly narrower operating losses in its first earnings report since listing on the stock market, driven by strong growth across its Starlink satellite internet and artificial intelligence businesses. The company posted a loss of 9 cents per share, compared with expectations for a 23-cent loss, while revenue rose to US$7.81 billion, comfortably ahead of forecasts for $6.83 billion. Despite the stronger-than-expected results, SpaceX shares fell 7.4% in after-hours trading after gaining 9.4% during the regular session ahead of the earnings release. Capital expenditure surged to more than $18 billion from $2.83 billion a year earlier. Chief financial officer Bret Johnsen said investment spending was expected to remain at similar levels over the next few quarters. Starlink, which generated more than half of the company's total revenue, recorded a 66% increase in sales, while revenue from SpaceX's AI division jumped around 250%. "We're building AI compute capacity at scale faster than anyone else, we believe, and we're significantly improving our AI models," Elon Musk said during the post-earnings conference call. Operating losses across the AI division n
Space
Blue Origin opens investor cabin at US$130bn valuation
Blue Origin is reportedly preparing to invite outside investors onto its share register for the first time at a price which values it at US$130 billion (A$188 billion), according to The New York Times (NYT) newspaper. The space technology company owned by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is seeking $10 billion in a funding round from outside investors, the NYT reported in its DealBook column. Coatue Management was expected to lead the round with a $4 billion commitment with another $2 billion to be contributed by Bezos, who has financed the company’s growth through sales of his Amazon shares, the newspaper wrote. His Amazon stake is worth more than $250 billion. The report comes amid a surge in investor demand for space companies in the wake of the initial public offer and stockmarket debut in June of Elon Musk’s SpaceX (NASDAQ: SPCX), which has a market capitalisation of $1.5 trillion. The fund raising details reported by the NYT were subsequently confirmed by other media outlets, including Reuters in this article and CNBC in this story. Bezos recently indicated that Blue Origin was considering bringing in external investors now that it had gained enough visibility into its future and financial prospects to begin consi
Space
SpaceX soars 19% in record Nasdaq debut
SpaceX shares surged 19% in their debut trading session on the Nasdaq on Friday (Saturday AEST), propelling the aerospace and satellite communications company to a valuation exceeding US$2 trillion and cementing chief executive Elon Musk's position as the world's first trillionaire. Trading under the ticker SPCX, SpaceX opened at $150 a share after raising $75 billion in what became the largest initial public offering on record. The stock climbed as high as $176.52 during the session before closing at $160.95, attracting intense investor interest. More than 500 million shares changed hands on the first day of trading, approaching the volume recorded during the initial public offering of Facebook in 2012, when approximately 580 million shares were traded. Musk and SpaceX President and Chief Operating Officer Gwynne Shotwell marked the occasion by ringing the opening bell, with Musk participating from Texas while Shotwell attended the ceremony at Nasdaq's headquarters in New York. Speaking on a JPMorgan Chase livestream ahead of the listing, Musk said SpaceX had generated positive cash flow since around 2015. He said the company was entering a "significant growth phase" and was seeking additional capital to support am
Space
SpaceX IPO pricing sets record US$1.77tn valuation
SpaceX has launched the largest initial public offering (IPO) in history, with the pricing announced on Thursday, valuing Elon Musk’s rocket and satellite company at US$1.77 trillion (A$2.5 trillion). The shares are expected to begin trading on the Nasdaq exchange on Friday under the ticker ‘SPCX’ in the wake of the offering, which involved the sale of 555.56 million shares at $135 each to raise a record $75 million. This was disclosed in an update on the SpaceX website in which the company said it had also granted the underwriters of the offer a 30-day option to buy up to an extra 83.3 million shares of its Class A common stock at the IPO price. The IPO, which was almost three times larger than the previous record holder, Saudi Aramco’s $29.4 billion offer in 2019, was oversubscribed by three or four times with more than $250 billion of bids from investors. It means SpaceX will be among the world’s 10 most valuable companies as it enters public markets although it is making losses and its business model is heavily dependent on growth in space infrastructure, satellite broadband and artificial intelligence (AI). If it goes as planned, Musk could become the world’s first trillionaire, cementing his position as the we
Space
Musk’s SpaceX set to blast off for US$1.75tn IPO
SpaceX has lifted the veil on plans for potentially the world’s first initial public offering (IPO) valued at more than US$1 trillion (A$1.39 trillion). In a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on 20 May, the company founded by billionaire Elon Musk in 2002 confirmed reports it was preparing to list on the Nasdaq exchange under the ticker “SPCX” as early as mid-June. The filing did not place a value on the aerospace manufacturer and space transportation company, but media reports have suggested it could be worth up to $1.75 trillion (A$2.4 trillion) in what would be the largest IPO in history. “Our mission is to build the systems and technologies necessary to make life multiplanetary, to understand the true nature of the universe, and to extend the light of consciousness to the stars,” SpaceX said in its filing. The listing could pave the way for more huge IPOs in the coming months, including technology giants OpenAI and Anthropic. SpaceX reported a loss of $2.6 billion from operations on $18.7 billion of revenue last year due to heavy investment. The company, which has extensive contracts with the United States government, confidentially filed for an IPO last month, allowing for a regul

Space
Artemis II breaks record for distance from Earth
The four astronauts aboard NASA’s Artemis II test flight made history by surpassing the record for the farthest distance from Earth. The astronauts set the record at 9:07 am AEST when they were around 406,778km from Earth. “At NASA, we dare to reach higher, explore farther, and achieve the impossible. That’s embodied perfectly by our Artemis II astronauts – Reid, Victor, Christina, and Jeremy. They are charting new frontiers for all humanity,” Dr. Lori Glaze, acting associate administrator for Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington, said. This came after Artemis II lost contact with Earth for around 40 minutes. This mission is also the first time in over half a decade that a human crew has gone to the moon. While the astronauts won’t land on the moon, they will do a loop around it and take never-before-seen photos of the Earth and the moon. This will also inform future Artemis missions as NASA attempts to build its first-ever moon base. The mission comes as the United States ramps up efforts to reassert space leadership amid growing competition from China, which is making progress towards its own moon landing in 2030. NASA aims to have humans set foot on the moon
Space
SpaceX files for IPO ahead of analyst day - sources
SpaceX has reportedly taken another step toward the largest initial public offering (IPO) in history by confidentially filing draft registration documents with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The IPO could value the private American aerospace manufacturer and space transportation company founded in 2002 by Elon Musk at more than US$1.5 trillion (A$2.2 trillion), according to media reports. The company is looking to raise up to $75 billion, which would be more than three times the size of the biggest United States IPO to date, CNBC reported in this story. The filing puts the company on track for a June listing, Bloomberg wrote in this article. SpaceX and Musk, the world’s wealthiest person with a net worth of almost $840 billion, have not formally confirmed the reports, which are based on anonymous sources. The company, established to develop and operate reusable rockets, ‌will host an analyst day on 21 April, including a visit to its "Macrohard" xAI data centre in Memphis, Tennessee, two days later, according to this Reuters story. SpaceX will have to release a public filing at least 15 days before its IPO road show. A confidential filing allows companies to submit their financial statements
Space
NASA to send first crew to the moon in over 50yrs
NASA is preparing to launch its first crew to the Moon in 53 years on its second Artemis mission. The mission will consist of three United States and one Canadian astronaut, who are due to liftoff aboard NASA’s Orion capsule and Space Launch System early Thursday morning for a 10-day test mission swinging around the moon. The journey will also take them further into space than humans have ever gone. This will act as a key test flight in humanity’s border goals as the U.S. races to reassert leadership in space amid growing competition from China, which is making progress toward its own moon landing in 2030. The mission will be the first crewed test flight in the NASA Artemis program and is estimated to have cost at least US$93 billion since 2012. Humans have not set foot on the moon’s surface since 1972, and NASA aims to complete this once again in 2028. So far, the U.S. is the only country in the world to put humans on another celestial body with its six lunar landings of the Apollo program, driven by competition with the former Soviet Union. This also comes as NASA is hoping to stimulate the commercial lunar market in the future. A PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) report from January predicted $127 in revenues
Space
SpaceX may file for IPO this week; space stocks soar
Space stocks surged after reports that Elon Musk’s SpaceX could file for an initial public offering as soon as this week. The IPO could raise more than US$75 billion and would value the company at $1.75 trillion, The Information reported. Shares in Firefly Aerospace and Rocket Lab closed 16% and 10.3% higher respectively. SpaceX was valued at $1.25 trillion in February after it acquired artificial intelligence business xAI, another company run by Musk. “SpaceX has acquired xAI to form the most ambitious, vertically-integrated innovation engine on (and off) Earth,” Musk wrote at the time. SpaceX has been interviewing banks for leading roles in the IPO, Reuters reported earlier in March, including JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, and Morgan Stanley. The company is reportedly targeting a June listing. It generated almost $16 billion in revenue and $7.5 billion in EBITDA last year, per Morningstar estimates. This was largely due to major subscriber growth at its satellite internet segment Starlink. Satellite designer AST SpaceMobile’s shares closed 10.4% higher today, while York Space Systems was up 5.1%. Lunar exploration company Intuitive Machines rose 14.7%, having also been lifted by a $180.4 milli