Analysis: SpaceX business shows one pole profitable and two poles loss-making, with cumulative losses reaching $41.3 billion
On the first day of SpaceX's listing, only 4.2% of the total shares were available for public trading. With supply unable to meet demand and subscription enthusiasm running high, a short-term surge in the stock price is not surprising. However, the company's price-to-sales ratio has already exceeded 112 times, far surpassing Tesla's 15 times and chip giant Nvidia's nearly 20 times.
That said, SpaceX's business presents a pattern of "one pole profitable, two poles loss-making." Starlink is undeniably the "cash cow." According to the prospectus, this satellite internet business generated $11.39 billion in revenue last year, accounting for 61% of SpaceX's total revenue. By the end of 2025, it had already served over 10 million users. The company also plans to expand into direct-to-cell services by acquiring spectrum and adding 15,000 new satellites, potentially covering approximately 6 billion mobile phone users worldwide. The rocket launch business, leveraging reusable technology, commands roughly an 80% share of the global commercial rocket launch market, but it still recorded a loss of $657 million last year. Furthermore, if Starship is to achieve crewed missions to Mars, it will require substantial capital investment and continuous technological iteration.
xAI and the future space computing business are seen as a "black hole for burning cash." According to some institutions' estimates, based on the current loss rate, xAI alone could exhaust Starlink's profits within the next four quarters. According to the prospectus, SpaceX has accumulated a total loss of $41.3 billion since its founding in 2002. (CCTV News)
