Analysts say Space X rocket debris hitting the moon is a fitting metaphor for the stock's plunge
Shares of Elon Musk's SpaceX fell sharply Wednesday as debris from a Falcon 9 rocket weighing 4 tons was expected to hit the moon. Analysts said the lunar impact was a fitting metaphor for SpaceX's stock performance: The company reported stronger-than-expected earnings, but a sharp increase in capital spending unsettled investors. On Jan. 15, 2025, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida. Its primary payload was Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost lunar lander, while Japan-based ispace's Resilience lander was a secondary payload. Reports said part of the SpaceX rocket debris hit the moon Wednesday. Analysts viewed the event as a vivid metaphor for the continued slide in the aerospace company's stock. SpaceX this week released its first quarterly report as a public company, after which its shares plunged Wednesday. Although revenue rose 92%, second-quarter capital spending increased to $18.4 billion, six times its previous level, alarming investors. Most of the spending went toward artificial-intelligence operations, directly triggering a selloff in the stock. SpaceX Real-time quote: Close: $108.27, down $17.06, or 13.61%. Premarket: $111.00, up $2.73, or 2.52%. The selloff coincided with a section of the Falcon 9's two-stage rocket hitting the moon as expected. The component came from the rocket's recoverable first-stage body and separated after a commercial lunar mission in 2025. That mission carried lunar landers from the United States and Japan. Reports said the debris hit the moon early Wednesday. The 4-ton fragment was traveling at more than 5,400 miles per hour and was believed to have struck the lunar surface at 2:35 a.m. Eastern time, although the impact had not been confirmed. Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at trading platform IG, said: "SpaceX rocket debris hitting the moon this morning can be described as a perfect metaphor for the stock's performance so far." The stock closed down 13.6% Wednesday, largely erasing the gain from the day before the earnings release and pushing the shares further below the $135 offering price. The selloff came even though second-quarter results exceeded expectations: Revenue surged to $7.81 billion, above the market consensus of $6.93 billion, while the loss was also smaller than analysts had estimated. Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said: "If you want a tangible metaphor, it is almost too fitting that a rocket fragment hit the moon just hours after SpaceX released its first quarterly report since going public." Could the stock remain under pressure? Starlink, SpaceX's satellite-internet business, remains its main source of revenue. But the company's massive artificial-intelligence capital spending has worried investors and weighed on the stock Wednesday. Mould said: "Many of SpaceX's peers have been criticized by the market for similar issues. The scale of this AI investment was far greater than analysts expected and was the key factor behind the negative market reaction." He added: "Compared with other companies spending heavily to compete in the AI race, one significant weakness for SpaceX is that it still cannot generate substantial cash flow." Mould also said Musk's comments that Starlink could expand into ground-based communications and compete with T-Mobile and other companies had put pressure on traditional telecommunications companies. Beauchamp said Starlink was currently SpaceX's only profitable business and that its "trajectory is clearly very strong." But he added that the company would need to present a more stable and clearly defined path to sustained profitability to revive the stock. Mould said Thursday would be a key test of investor confidence because the lockup period for the first batch of shares was set to expire, potentially releasing more than 900 million shares into the market. "A large number of shares are held by insiders, whose cost basis is well below the $135 offering price. Even with the stock's recent weakness, insiders still have an incentive to sell," he said.
Analysts said the lunar impact was a fitting metaphor for SpaceX's stock performance: The company reported stronger-than-expected earnings, but a sharp increase in capital spending unsettled investors.
On Jan. 15, 2025, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida. Its primary payload was Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost lunar lander, while Japan-based ispace's Resilience lander was a secondary payload.
Reports said part of the SpaceX rocket debris hit the moon Wednesday. Analysts viewed the event as a vivid metaphor for the continued slide in the aerospace company's stock.
SpaceX this week released its first quarterly report as a public company, after which its shares plunged Wednesday. Although revenue rose 92%, second-quarter capital spending increased to $18.4 billion, six times its previous level, alarming investors. Most of the spending went toward artificial-intelligence operations, directly triggering a selloff in the stock.
SpaceX
Real-time quote: Close: $108.27, down $17.06, or 13.61%. Premarket: $111.00, up $2.73, or 2.52%.
The selloff coincided with a section of the Falcon 9's two-stage rocket hitting the moon as expected. The component came from the rocket's recoverable first-stage body and separated after a commercial lunar mission in 2025. That mission carried lunar landers from the United States and Japan. Reports said the debris hit the moon early Wednesday. The 4-ton fragment was traveling at more than 5,400 miles per hour and was believed to have struck the lunar surface at 2:35 a.m. Eastern time, although the impact had not been confirmed.
Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at trading platform IG, said: "SpaceX rocket debris hitting the moon this morning can be described as a perfect metaphor for the stock's performance so far."
The stock closed down 13.6% Wednesday, largely erasing the gain from the day before the earnings release and pushing the shares further below the $135 offering price. The selloff came even though second-quarter results exceeded expectations: Revenue surged to $7.81 billion, above the market consensus of $6.93 billion, while the loss was also smaller than analysts had estimated.
Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said: "If you want a tangible metaphor, it is almost too fitting that a rocket fragment hit the moon just hours after SpaceX released its first quarterly report since going public."
Could the stock remain under pressure?
Starlink, SpaceX's satellite-internet business, remains its main source of revenue. But the company's massive artificial-intelligence capital spending has worried investors and weighed on the stock Wednesday.
Mould said: "Many of SpaceX's peers have been criticized by the market for similar issues. The scale of this AI investment was far greater than analysts expected and was the key factor behind the negative market reaction." He added: "Compared with other companies spending heavily to compete in the AI race, one significant weakness for SpaceX is that it still cannot generate substantial cash flow."
Mould also said Musk's comments that Starlink could expand into ground-based communications and compete with T-Mobile and other companies had put pressure on traditional telecommunications companies.
Beauchamp said Starlink was currently SpaceX's only profitable business and that its "trajectory is clearly very strong." But he added that the company would need to present a more stable and clearly defined path to sustained profitability to revive the stock.
Mould said Thursday would be a key test of investor confidence because the lockup period for the first batch of shares was set to expire, potentially releasing more than 900 million shares into the market. "A large number of shares are held by insiders, whose cost basis is well below the $135 offering price. Even with the stock's recent weakness, insiders still have an incentive to sell," he said.