The New York Times reported on Oct. 20 that SpaceX returned to profit in the third quarter even as it significantly increased AI investment.

According to the report, SpaceX said in its second earnings announcement since listing that third-quarter revenue came to $14.5 billion. That was more than 2.5 times the $5.6 billion a year earlier. Net income was $4.4 billion, or 37 cents a share. In the same period last year, SpaceX posted a net loss of $1.05 billion.

The company said its AI business and satellite internet business led growth. Wall Street analysts expected SpaceX to post third-quarter revenue of $13.0 billion and earnings per share of 16 cents.

Its AI spending, including the Grok chatbot and data centers, also drew attention. SpaceX capital expenditure rose to $19.6 billion in the third quarter, nearly tripling from $6.9 billion a year earlier. The company did not provide an investment outlook, and said AI investment alone rose by $4.6 billion from last year.

Brett Johnson (브렛 존슨), SpaceX's chief financial officer, said, "We are building future infrastructure while maintaining discipline."

SpaceX shares rose more than 2 percent in after-hours trading.

The New York Times said SpaceX's shares could also serve as a gauge for Anthropic, which could list as early as next month. Market doubts are growing over whether data center companies such as CoreWeave and Oracle can handle spending and borrowing. In the meantime, OpenAI is also preparing an initial public offering next year.