When recently IPO'd Space Exploration Technologies (SPCX +6.42%), or SpaceX, released its first quarterly earnings report, there wasn't much in it that was unexpected.
Revenue grew. Net loss shrank. Capital expenditures in the AI business skyrocketed. Ho hum. But buried in the report were a pair of numbers that made me do a double-take. I had to check to make sure I read them correctly.
These two numbers could actually be a game changer for SpaceX's profitability. Here's what they are and why they're important.
Image source: Getty Images.
Buried on page 5
SpaceX highlighted its biggest, boldest numbers on page 1 of its report, boasting about its $14.1 billion in contracted Cloud Services Agreements sales, and its $6 billion in multi-year government Starshield contracts.
But on page 5 -- literally halfway through the 10-page report -- these two numbers caught my eye: 12.0 and $66.
12.0 is the number of subscribers, in millions, for SpaceX's Starlink satellite broadband and wireless network, which offers communications access to people around the globe who aren't served by traditional cellular towers or internet cable networks.
That's actually a sizable 16.5% jump from the 10.3 million Starlink subscribers that SpaceX reported in the first quarter, and it's double the 6 million Starlink subscribers that SpaceX reported in the second quarter of 2025.
The other number -- $66 -- is where it really gets interesting.
Image source: The Motley Fool.
Holding steady
$66 is the monthly average revenue per user (ARPU) of those 12 million Starlink subscribers. That's unchanged from Q1 ... which is a big surprise.
In Q2 2025, Starlink's monthly ARPU was $85 for its 6 million subscribers. When that shrank to $66 for 10.3 million subscribers in Q1, most analysts assumed that Starlink's ARPU would continue steadily shrinking as it expanded into less profitable markets, likely at a similar rate. Instead, Starlink was able to add 1.7 million net new subscribers without margin shrinkage. That's huge.
Starlink is currently SpaceX's only profitable segment, and it's essentially offsetting all the losses from the rocket launch segment and some of the losses from the AI segment. However, if Starlink can continue to grow its subscriber base while mostly maintaining its current ARPU, the company could become profitable much earlier than most analysts -- including me -- anticipated.
NASDAQ: SPCX
Key Data Points
That said, one quarter doesn't make a trend. It's always a good idea to wait for multiple quarterly reports before buying shares of a recent IPO.
It's possible this quarter is just a blip, and Starlink's ARPU will continue to shrink in the third quarter. Or SpaceX's AI losses might accelerate faster than anticipated. With just one official quarterly report to go on, there's no way to tell.
But if this trend continues in Q3, I might have to rethink my conclusion that SpaceX is wildly overvalued.
