WARSAW, July 20, 2026, 13:47 CEST
- The Wall Street Journal has reported that Pentagon discussions involve several billion dollars in data-center capacity.
- In Q1, AI accounted for 76.4% of disclosed segment capital expenditures while contributing 17.4% to revenue.
- The U.S. regular trading session did not open; SpaceX shares declined by 14.7% over the past week.
SpaceX NASDAQ:SPCX is in talks with the U.S. Defense Department on a data-center contract valued at several billion dollars, according to the Wall Street Journal. The project would support military AI model operations. Discussions are ongoing and could collapse. Reuters was unable to confirm the report independently.
Capital returns are the main concern for investors. SpaceX needs higher earnings from its AI investments. Discussions with the Pentagon highlight that point.
SpaceX’s AI division accounted for 76.4% of reported segment capital expenditure in the first quarter, while contributing 17.4% to consolidated revenue, according to calculations based on filings.
| Period | AI revenue share | AI share of segment capex | Capex-revenue gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 17.1% | 61.4% | 44.2 percentage points |
| Q1 2026 | 17.4% | 76.4% | 59.0 percentage points |
Calculations are based on SpaceX filings and may vary marginally because of rounding.
AI capital expenditure totaled $7.723 billion during the March quarter. The unit posted $818 million in revenue, with an operating loss amounting to $2.469 billion.
SpaceX has entered into two major third-party computing agreements. Anthropic committed to monthly payments of $1.25 billion until May 2029. Alphabet NASDAQ:GOOGL, via Google, has agreed to make monthly payments of $920 million starting in October.
The deals involve roughly 435,000 Nvidia NASDAQ:NVDA GPUs along with related hardware. Initial estimate: the total stated charges, on an annual basis, amount to $26.04 billion. This figure is 39.4% greater than SpaceX’s projected 2025 group revenue.
The number does not represent company guidance. Each of the contracts filed includes a 90-day termination option following initial terms. In May, Chief Executive Elon Musk stated: “The short term was our request, not Anthropic’s.” SEC
A Pentagon agreement may boost usage rates at current facilities, introducing a federal client in addition to the signed private sector deals.
Rivalry is underway. Amazon NASDAQ:AMZN has committed as much as $50 billion to expand U.S. government AI capabilities. According to the Journal, SpaceX employees talked about offering prices lower than CoreWeave NASDAQ:CRWV.
SpaceX shares ended Friday at $123.99, down 14.7% over the past week and 8.2% below their $135 IPO price.
U.S. markets were yet to open at the dateline, with premarket trading active. SpaceX has set Thursday as the target for its upcoming Starship test following last week’s aborted attempt.
Risks: Pentagon discussions may end without agreement. Details on pricing, contract length, and committed capacity have not been revealed. Google could reduce charges or withdraw if the September GPU deadline is not met, following the grace period.
The numbers establish the threshold. SpaceX requires stable cash flow from assets accounting for the majority of segment capital expenditures disclosed.
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