SpaceX Stock Jumps 7.2% as Orbital AI Computing Push Meets Fresh NASA Funding

SpaceX closed at EUR 141.20, up 7.2%, as Alphabet and Anthropic AI deals ramp up and analysts see USD 300 price target.

SpaceX shares closed Friday at EUR 141.20, up 7.2% on the day, as a softer US jobs report and retreating rate expectations gave Wall Street a broad lift. Reuters attributed the improved rate sentiment to the market-wide tailwind. For SpaceX, the macro relief landed on top of an unusually dense run of operational news.

The stock's advance reflects a company that has moved well beyond the speculative niche of unpredictable pioneer projects. Operating global data networks and anchoring government space programs is now core infrastructure for the modern economy, and investors respond sharply when macro tailwinds meet operational delivery. Confidence in the long-term scalability of the business model grows with every mission that goes to plan.

A Second Revenue Pillar Switches On

October marks the start of SpaceX's multibillion-dollar data center partnership with Google parent Alphabet. Combined with an existing contract with AI company Anthropic worth USD 1.25 billion per month, the company now draws roughly USD 2.2 billion per month from AI services. Market observers view the pairing of orbital connectivity and AI compute capacity as a key driver of the company's future revenue profile — and as support for its market valuation.

Hardware-side collaborations are adding momentum. Elon Musk publicly flagged close cooperation with semiconductor maker Nvidia, under which SpaceX is co-designing a customized version of Nvidia's VR72 system. The effort targets high-density data center installations, and according to Musk the unit could reach average output of nearly 250 kilowatts.

Three Launches in Under 13 Hours

How much operational load can a single space company carry in one day? SpaceX answered with a sequence of three flights completed in under 13 hours: a crew of four astronauts bound for the International Space Station, the NROL-97 reconnaissance satellite, and a Transporter mission carrying numerous payloads to orbit — among them a prototype satellite for Google's Project Suncatcher.

That last item builds a direct bridge to the dominant trend across the technology industry. Testing dedicated satellites for orbital AI computing points to a deeper technological shift: space is increasingly being developed as an extended data center layer. While leading tech firms on the ground compete for scarce power grids and cooling capacity, they are gradually expanding into orbit. SpaceX supplies the central transport system for that industrial transformation — without reliable cargo capacity, many of these future projects would remain theoretical.

Starship's Setback and the Falcon Backbone

The expansion path also carries significant setbacks. On September 28, during its first orbital flight, the Starship system deployed 26 satellites. An engine problem ended the mission early; on splashdown the vehicle tipped over and caught fire. Such failures dampen short-term expectations, though they are part of the development logic for testing new launch vehicles.

More consequential for investors is that the existing fleet carries day-to-day operations with remarkable reliability. Between the risk-heavy development flights of the new rocket generation, the Falcon family delivers continuous returns. Government agencies and private customers alike rely on that established routine. Spectacular failures on forward-looking mega-projects do not threaten the earnings power of the core business — they demonstrate a willingness to take calculated risks for future technological leaps.

That confidence shows up in hard numbers. NASA has increased its contract for crewed missions by USD 946 million, bringing the total volume of the contract to 17 flights. The next launch for the Space Development Agency is already scheduled for October 5 from Vandenberg.

Analysts Put a Number on the Upside

Growing engagement in the defense sector and close cooperation with government security agencies form the reliable backbone of revenue, cushioning the considerable development costs of future space programs. Private satellite operators and state institutions provide a predictable base load for the launch pads, securing the financial room for bold technological experiments — an industrial shield against short-term swings.

The combination of satellite network and AI infrastructure is drawing keen interest across the industry. Morgan Stanley sees substantial headroom in the new revenue streams and sets a price target of USD 300, pointing to the planned integration of new software solutions into the existing satellite network alongside the Google and Anthropic contracts. At ARK Invest, futurist Brett Winton highlights the leverage of future transport capacity: by the analysis house's calculations, each Starship flight could generate more than USD 700 million in additional annual revenue.

With the major contracts now ramping up, SpaceX faces the task of delivering the promised computing capacity reliably. If the technical integration of Nvidia's systems with cloud customers' requirements succeeds, the company cements a role extending far beyond the classic transport business. Investors are no longer watching individual rocket launches alone — they are watching the build-out of a vast orbital infrastructure network.