SpaceX, Elon Musk’s privately-held spacecraft maker and satellite communications company, turned a profit in the first quarter of 2023 following two years of losses, the Wall Street Journal reported. The report mentioned that the Q1 2023 financial data is preliminary.
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A Look at SpaceX’s Financials
As per SpaceX’s financial documents, the company delivered a profit of $55 million in Q1 2023, on revenue of $1.5 billion. The Q1 profit came in after the company suffered huge but narrowing losses in 2022 and 2021. In 2022, the company generated $5.2 billion in revenue, which helped in reducing the company’s losses to $559 million from $968 million in the previous year.
Expenses increased to $5.2 billion in 2022 from $3.3 billion in the prior year. In particular, research and development expenses increased 11% to $1.3 billion.
Founded in 2002, SpaceX has built a strong satellite-internet business called Starlink. Also, it has emerged as the leading rocket launcher in the U.S. In fact, NASA has become a key client for SpaceX and relies on the company for flying astronauts to and from the International Space Station.
In April, SpaceX’s gigantic rocket Starship exploded soon after its debut flight, as it experienced a rapid unscheduled disassembly before stage separation.
At a recent employee stock sale, SpaceX was valued at about $150 billion. Meanwhile, the market capitalization of Musk’s electric vehicle brainchild, Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA), is almost $695 billion.
Is Tesla a Buy or Sell?
Wall Street is sidelined on Tesla stock, with a Hold consensus rating based on 10 Buys, 13 Holds, and five Sells. The average price target of $253.77 implies nearly 16% upside. Shares have rallied 78% year-to-date.
Why Bitcoin Fell After SpaceX’s Financials Report?
On Friday, Bitcoin (BTC-USD) prices plunged, as the Wall Street Journal‘s report on SpaceX’s financials revealed that the company wrote down the value of Bitcoin it owns by an aggregate amount of $373 million in 2022 and 2021 and has sold its holdings in the cryptocurrency. Bitcoin and the overall crypto market were also impacted by concerns about higher interest rates lasting longer than anticipated.
Meanwhile, Tesla did not buy or sell any Bitcoin in the second quarter of 2023 and held on to its remaining $184 million worth of Bitcoin holdings. The EV maker sold over 30,000 Bitcoins (roughly 75% of its holdings) for $936 million in the second quarter of 2022.
