SpaceX stock pops 6.1% on triple launch, AI cash

SpaceX's Friday stock move came on the back of a compressed launch sequence: three missions in under 13 hours, including a Crew Dragon capsule carrying four astronauts to the International Space Station as Crew-13, the 18th Transporter small-sat mission with 130 payloads, and NROL-97, after which both Falcon Heavy booster segments were landed for reuse. That operational pace appears to have driven the initial pop, though the article notes a second catalyst may also be at work.

That second catalyst is financial. In June, SpaceX inked a deal with Alphabet promising AI computing services, for which SpaceX will be paid $920 million per month over 32 months, per CNBC. The contract kicks into high gear in October and runs through June 2029, adding $29.4 billion. A separate Anthropic contract has that company paying $1.25 billion per month. Together, these AI services now bring SpaceX nearly $2.2 billion a month.

With AI-services revenue exceeding rocket-launch revenue, SpaceX's trajectory is shifting. Elon Musk has promised a $26.5 trillion-a-year AI stock, and while that remains far off, the article says SpaceX is starting to look on track. The outcome hinges on whether those AI contracts scale as expected and whether launch operations continue at this pace.