Where we heard itCNBC, Oct. 19, 2026, the day before SpaceX reported third-quarter results. Speaker: CNBC anchor Morgan Brennan.
Starlink generates billions for SpaceX and funds everything from rockets to AI, but a brewing dispute over throttled service in Ukraine threatens to put that profit engine under a microscope just as earnings arrive.
CNBC’s Morgan Brennan said before the report that the most important number in SpaceXSPCX third-quarter results would come from Starlink. “The stock is up about 19% over the last three months, but one of the key numbers to watch in those results will be the performance of its Starlink satellite unit. This is its cash generating, big profit engine that’s enabling everything else, including the AI infrastructure build out.” Starlink is SpaceX’s satellite internet service. It delivers broadband from a constellation of low-orbit satellites to homes, airlines, ships and governments.
The third-quarter numbers, released after the close on October 20, support her view. Connectivity revenue came in at $5.2 billion, up 69% year over year, and the segment generated $2.4 billion in operating income. The SI segment (formerly AI) earned $431 million in operating income after a $1.3 billion loss in the second quarter, and total quarterly capital spending reached about $19.6 billion. Starlink consumer subscribers rose to 13.6 million from 7.2 million a year earlier, according to the company’s earnings release filed with the SEC.
SpaceX Shares Slid as the Controversy Spread
Shares closed at $147.79 on Oct. 20, the last close before the results hit the market. The stock gained 19.2% from its July 17 close, which lines up with Brennan’s about three-month figure. Over the five trading days through Oct. 20, shares fell 5.6% while the Ukraine dispute played out.
Ukraine Dispute Puts Starlink’s Military Arm in Focus
Brennan described the dispute: “That division, though, has been a source of controversy in recent days, tied to the war in Ukraine after Ukraine’s president accused both the Trump administration [and] Elon Musk of throttling service, with Musk publicly saying Starshield, that is, the military grade is controlled by the US government.”
Starshield is the military-grade version of the network, built for government and national security customers. SpaceX said in its second-quarter release that it had been awarded more than $6 billion in multi-year U.S. government contracts for Starshield.
Starlink’s third quarter at a glance
Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, said: “Of course, the message came from government. I don’t know from whom, what cabinet and etc. And I think it doesn’t work either way, but I don’t know really. But we think it’s not my opinion. It’s opinion of our generals, of our government. And of course, my opinion the same that it was the message from American government, government to limit the speed and technically SpaceX did it.” He said himself that he does not know who gave the order.
Denials and Conflicting Accounts Keep Piling Up
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said: “President Trump and Secretary Rubio have categorically said that no one in the Trump administration did that.”
Other outlets have reported different versions of events:
- UPI reported that Zelensky said Kyiv has “evidence” that the Starlink systems it uses were being limited.
- CNBC reported that Bessent warned Zelensky to “be very careful” about claims the U.S. is limiting Starlink.
- Yahoo Finance reported that neither Trump nor Musk wants to own the decision.
- The Kyiv Independent, citing a Telegraph report, said Musk suggested Trump restrict Ukraine’s Starlink service.
- The New York Post reported that Ukraine’s Starshield access is being restored and that it wasn’t Trump who ordered it throttled.
These accounts contradict one another, and who ordered the slowdown is still in dispute. On the second-quarter call, management made no comments about Starlink service in Ukraine.
What Investors Will Keep Watching After the Third-Quarter Report
- Starlink growth: The third quarter brought about 1.6 million new consumer subscribers, and consumer ARPU rose to $69 per month from $66.
- Enterprise and government momentum: That revenue line rose 91% to $2.127 billion, and management has said it could eventually exceed the consumer business.
- Government orders: Any explanation of who controls Starshield service decisions, and how SpaceX handles instructions from government customers.
- International policy: Starlink operated in 167 markets as of June 30, so its service policies abroad shape both regulatory standing and expansion.
- Dual-use exposure: Starlink serves civilians and militaries over the same network, which brings both contract opportunity and political scrutiny.
Starlink is both the profit engine Brennan describes and the business at the center of the Ukraine dispute. Investors will want SpaceX to keep addressing both.
Brennan sees Starlink as the cash engine that pays for SpaceX’s rockets and its AI build-out, and the third-quarter report backed that up: the unit earned about 85% of the company’s operating income. The risk is political. The Ukraine dispute puts a spotlight on who controls Starshield, and the same network serves both civilians and militaries.