SpaceX's stock dropped 11% in pre-market trading on Wednesday after the company announced plans for $18.4 billion in capital expenditures for 2026, according to CNBC. The decline came despite the company beating revenue and loss expectations in its first quarterly report as a publicly traded company.
The stock has now lost 49% of its value since peaking on June 16, 2026. The capex plan, which is significantly higher than analysts had forecast, raised concerns about near-term cash flow and margin pressure.
In its Q2 2026 earnings release, SpaceX reported revenue of $8.2 billion, above the $7.9 billion consensus estimate, and a net loss of $0.45 per share, narrower than the expected $0.60 loss. However, the company guided to higher spending on Starship development and Starlink satellite deployment.
Analysts at Morgan Stanley noted that while the capex increase is aggressive, it aligns with SpaceX's long-term strategy to expand Starlink's constellation and accelerate Starship test flights. The stock's decline reflects investor concerns about the timing of returns on these investments.
SpaceX went public in early 2026 after a long-awaited IPO. The company has not yet commented on the stock movement beyond the earnings release.
