SpaceX is shifting toward AI, but its Connectivity division (Starlink) is currently the only one of its three businesses making money, with $13.9 billion in trailing revenue and a $5.3 billion operating profit. Launch cadence may fall from 165 orbital missions in 2025 to as few as 140 in 2026, and lower again in 2027 as Falcon 9 and Crew Dragon are retired, with Starship, carrying about six times Falcon 9's payload, expected to fill the gap. Starship is also the only rocket large enough to carry full-size Starlink V3 satellites, each adding 1 Tbps and 10 times the bandwidth of V2. The article calculates that this could push Connectivity revenue toward nearly $140 billion a year. SpaceX has also spent $8 billion on cellular spectrum licenses and wants Starlink to become a major U.S. mobile carrier rivaling Verizon, AT&T and Comcast.
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