SpaceX heads into first public earnings with stock at $115 and lock-up, Starship questions looming

SpaceX is set to report its first quarterly earnings as a public company on Tuesday, with investors focused on widening losses, a coming lock-up release and fresh questions about Starship, Starlink and Elon Musk's broader plans for the company. Shares closed Monday at $114.46, down from the $135 IPO price and about half their June peak of $225. Analysts surveyed by FactSet expect a second-quarter net loss of $1.9 billion, or 23 cents a share, for the period ended June. The company is losing money quickly, with first-half net losses expected to top the more than $5 billion it lost in all of last year, though some analysts anticipate a stronger second half that returns SpaceX to profitability. Trading could remain volatile as insider selling restrictions begin to loosen on Thursday. More than 900,000 shares are set to be released for trading in the first tranche, more than doubling the current float, with additional blocks scheduled to become eligible over the following months. Beyond the financials, investors are expected to press Musk on when testing of the Starship rocket will be completed, how Starlink's satellite communications network is developing and whether orbital data centers remain a realistic part of the company's strategy. Speculation about a possible merger with Tesla may also draw questions, although neither company has confirmed any plan and Musk has previously said securities rules limit what he can say. Starship testing remains central after a late-July mission successfully deployed satellites into orbit following an earlier abandoned launch, with future tests potentially including attempts to catch the rocket and booster using giant arms at SpaceX's Starbase site in Texas.