US markets end higher as SpaceX earnings fuel fresh optimism around AI

Major US indexes settled in the positive territory on Wednesday due to gains in SpaceX and other technology stocks.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 0.69% higher at 52,856.09, while the S&P 500 rose 0.58% to 7,757.17. The tech-heavy NASDAQ advanced 1.05% to 26,702.86.

Space Exploration Technologies Corp, or SpaceX, shares skyrocketed 7.79% to $159.31 after the company reported a revenue of $14.58 billion in the third quarter, reflecting an increase of 161% year-on-year. Owner Elon Musk also announced that special committees have been formed to discuss the merger of SpaceX and Tesla.

"I do think there’s a lot of merit to combining the companies, as we are pretty much in the superintelligence singularity, and there is a lot to be gained from cooperating," Musk said in an earnings call.

SpaceX's operating income stood at $2.8 billion, with net income of $4.4 billion. It had reported a net loss of $1.05 billion in the year-ago period.

SpaceX’s chief financial officer, Bret Johnsen, said, "We delivered another strong quarter in Q3. Revenue grew an impressive 161% year-over-year, fuelled by continued momentum in Connectivity and a clear inflection in our Super Intelligence business. The combination of our launch leadership, recurring Starlink revenue, and the significant expansion of our SI infrastructure continues to drive meaningful operating leverage."

Shares of Nvidia climbed 2.54%, while Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) climbed 3.36%. Stocks of Super Micro Computer Inc, Marvell Technology, Micron Technology rose 9.54%, 1.81%, and 1.96%, respectively.

Meta shares closed 0.47% higher. The company released its earnings post-market. It reported a revenue of $64.60 billion, compared to $51.24 billion in the same period of the previous year. Analysts had estimated its revenue at $63.37 billion.

Its earnings per share (EPS) stood at $3.83 versus $1.05 a year earlier.

"We hit major milestones this quarter toward delivering personal superintelligence for everyone - including launching Muse and Muse Wonder, our first frontier model. Our investments are paying off, the core business is strong, and we're seeing velocity across the board," Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in the earnings release.

For the fourth quarter, the company expects the revenue in the range of $73 billion to $76 billion.