SpaceX's first earnings reveal the cost of becoming an AI giant: Chart of the Day

SpaceX ( SPCX ) is becoming an AI giant faster than expected — it is also spending like one.

The company's first quarterly report as a public company showed its AI business growing rapidly and swinging to an adjusted profit. But SpaceX spent nearly $16 billion on AI infrastructure during the quarter — more than six times the segment's revenue.

Space stock fell 10% in early trading Wednesday and was on track for its second-worst daily return since its June IPO.

That advances a shift visible before the IPO. SpaceX entered the public market with a rocket company reputation, but its own filings pointed investors toward AI .

AI revenue more than tripled from the first quarter to $2.6 billion. Adjusted EBITDA swung from a $609 million loss to a $1.1 billion profit.

Adjusted EBITDA strips out depreciation, stock compensation, and several other expenses. It can show whether an operation is covering its immediate costs, but it does not capture the full price of building the infrastructure behind it.

By conventional accounting, SpaceX's AI segment still lost $1.3 billion from operations.

Capital spending on AI jumped to $15.8 billion from $7.7 billion in the first quarter and just $749 million a year earlier. AI accounted for more than 86% of SpaceX's total capital spending during the quarter.