Stock Market Today, Oct. 21: Space Exploration Technologies Surges on Q3 Earnings Beat

SpaceX (SPCX) jumped 7.80% on October 21, 2026, after a Q3 report showed $14.6 billion in revenue, up 161% year over year, and $4.4 billion in net income. The company has now turned profitable.

AI-related revenue growth of 830% drove the swing to profit, according to the report. That single line item explains the market's reaction: the earnings beat came with a quantified growth engine, not just a top-line surprise.

Management sent mixed signals on the outlook. CEO Elon Musk projected 2027 annual revenue between $500 billion and $1 trillion. The CFO's Q1 2027 guidance was far more conservative, at $33-37 billion. Interpretation: annualizing the top of that quarterly range yields roughly $148 billion, well short of Musk's floor, so the 2027 target depends on steep sequential acceleration that the CFO's numbers do not yet show.

Valuation leaves little cushion. SPCX trades at a price-to-sales ratio of 68, meaning the stock already prices in substantial growth beyond the Q3 figures.