SpaceX Shares Rise Nearly 9% After Earnings and Tesla Merger Talks

SpaceX shares climbed nearly 9% in Wednesday premarket trading after the company posted sharply higher third-quarter revenue and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk disclosed talks about a possible Tesla merger.

Shares had closed Tuesday at $147.79. They reached $159.70 at 7:59 p.m. ET (23:59 UTC), an 8.06% after-hours gain, and stood at $160.52, up 8.61%, at 9:29 a.m. ET (13:29 UTC) Wednesday.

For the quarter ended Sept. 30, SpaceX generated $14.575 billion in revenue, a 161% increase from a year earlier. Net income was $4.404 billion, against a $1.054 billion loss a year ago, and diluted earnings were $0.35 per share.

Its Super Intelligence segment produced $7.560 billion in revenue, up from $813 million a year earlier. Connectivity revenue was $5.248 billion, while quarterly capital spending rose to $19.593 billion from $6.880 billion. SpaceX previously called the Super Intelligence segment Artificial Intelligence.

Musk said committees of independent directors at SpaceX and Tesla were discussing a combination at shareholders’ request. He saw “a lot of merit to combining the companies,” but said no terms had been agreed and a deal was not guaranteed.