SpaceX Stock Surges 16% on Argus Upgrade and $20.8 Billion AI Cloud Contracts

SpaceX shares climbed 15.8% to $133.11 on Friday, August 8, 2026, pushing the company's market capitalization to approximately $1.75 trillion. The session was the largest single-day gain for SPCX since the stock listed on NASDAQ in June 2026. The move capped a week in which SpaceX advanced roughly 23%, driven by an analyst upgrade, a blowout second-quarter earnings report, and disclosure of major new AI cloud infrastructure contracts.

Argus upgrades to Buy, sets $160 target

Argus Research analyst Steven Silver raised his rating on SpaceX to Buy from Hold on Thursday, August 7, and set a price target of $160 per share - implying roughly 20% additional upside from Friday's close. Silver wrote that the firm is "encouraged" by the rapid payback on SpaceX's AI investments and told clients that investors should not "bet against" CEO Elon Musk, according to CNBC. The upgrade was the first from Argus since SpaceX's June 2026 Nasdaq debut and catalyzed a sector-wide rally that lifted Rocket Lab (RKLB) and Intuitive Machines (LUNR) alongside SPCX.

Q2 earnings: revenue up 92%, loss narrowed sharply

SpaceX reported second-quarter 2026 results on August 4. Revenue reached $7.81 billion, a 91.9% increase from $4.1 billion a year earlier, beating the $6.93 billion analyst consensus, according to CNBC. The net loss narrowed to $541 million from $1 billion in the year-ago period. Earnings per share came in at a loss of $0.09, compared with the $0.26 loss Wall Street had expected.

Two segments drove the beat. The Connectivity segment, anchored by Starlink, generated $4.3 billion in revenue and added 1.7 million net subscribers in the quarter. The AI segment delivered $2.6 billion in revenue, up 247% year over year, as SpaceX expanded its AI cloud offerings to enterprise customers.

Capital expenditures reached $18.4 billion for the quarter, up more than sixfold from a year earlier, with $15.8 billion directed toward AI infrastructure. CFO Bret Johnsen told analysts on the August 5 earnings call that SpaceX is "getting less than a one-year payback" on its AI compute spending. The company projects an annualized revenue run rate of $100 billion by the end of 2026 and has moved its internal $1 trillion revenue target forward to 2030 from 2031.

$20.8 billion AI cloud contracts and lockup relief

SpaceX disclosed AI cloud infrastructure contracts valued at up to $20.8 billion, providing concrete near-term revenue visibility for a capital program that has drawn scrutiny for its scale. The contracts help answer investor questions about the return timeline on the company's aggressive AI spending.

Separately, a lockup covering 911.5 million insider shares worth roughly $100 billion at current prices expired on August 6 without significant selling pressure, according to Bloomberg. The market's ability to absorb that overhang appeared to reassure investors, with the stock steady on Thursday before accelerating sharply on Friday following the Argus upgrade.

What it means for SPCX investors

Friday's close of $133.11 leaves SPCX just below the Argus $160 price target. The stock has recovered sharply from its one-month trough and is now trading at a market cap comparable to the largest companies in the S&P 500.

Key items to watch in coming sessions: the pace of further analyst rating changes following the Argus move, any incremental disclosure on the $20.8 billion AI contract pipeline, and Starlink subscriber growth in Q3 2026. SpaceX has not provided formal quarterly earnings guidance.

For a full overview of SpaceX stock price, valuation history, and how to buy SPCX, see the SpaceX IPO Watch hub on StartupHub.ai, updated daily.

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Not investment advice.