SpaceX Posts First Profitable Quarter With Revenue Up 161 Percent as Tesla Merger Review Begins

SpaceX reported its first profitable quarter with revenue surging 161 percent year over year, sending its shares up more than 7 percent in premarket trading on Wednesday and giving the broader Nasdaq a lift. Both the SpaceX and Tesla boards separately established independent special committees to review a proposed merger between the two companies, adding to the session's speculative momentum. Elon Musk's net worth crossed $1 trillion on the back of the earnings surge. Tesla is scheduled to report its own quarterly results later in the day, with Meta's earnings also on deck after the closing bell.

Super Micro Computer amplified the AI infrastructure rally by raising its preliminary first-quarter revenue forecast to a range of $18.5 billion to $19.5 billion, citing robust AI hardware demand, and its shares surged more than 12 percent in premarket action. The guidance lift rippled across the sector, with Dell Technologies and Hewlett Packard Enterprise each rising roughly 5 percent, Credo Technology Group gaining nearly 5 percent, and the VanEck Semiconductor ETF advancing 1.1 percent. NVIDIA extended its own gains after announcing new enterprise AI cloud partnerships with Alphabet and Merck, and separately it was reported that Chinese tech firms placed more than $35 billion in orders for export-compliant NVIDIA RTX PRO 5500 GPUs.

Netflix fell approximately 6 percent in extended and premarket trading after cutting its full-year advertising revenue projection to $2.7 billion, below prior market expectations, while also disappointing on its overall revenue and profit outlook. Intuitive Surgical slid more than 7 percent despite beating quarterly earnings due to a $450 million litigation charge. General Motors tumbled 6.8 percent even after topping profit estimates, as its full-year 2026 profit midpoint came in below consensus and its announced $20 billion buyback plan failed to offset the guidance shortfall.

On the earnings beat side, RTX posted a 33 percent surge in third-quarter adjusted EPS and lifted its full-year revenue guidance to a range of $97 billion to $97.5 billion. Equifax surged 11.3 percent on stronger-than-expected third-quarter results, and 3M reported adjusted EPS of $2.50 for the third quarter against a Wall Street forecast of $2.40. Northrop Grumman posted quarterly EPS of $7.89 and projected 5 to 7 percent revenue growth in 2027. Boeing shares advanced after the Federal Aviation Administration granted commercial service certification for the 737 MAX 10.

Salesforce agreed to acquire Braze in an all-cash deal at $47.50 per share, sending Braze shares up more than 51 percent. Apple was downgraded from Buy to Hold at Loop Capital with a $330 price target, citing softer iPhone demand. Microsoft disclosed plans for a handheld Xbox console launching in 2027, to be followed by a next-generation home console line in 2028.

In India, the BSE Sensex fell 143.21 points, or 0.19 percent, to close at 73,709.69, while the Nifty 50 dropped 77.60 points, or 0.34 percent, to 22,811.35, pressured by Brent crude rising 1.31 percent to $110.15 per barrel. Declining stocks on the NSE outnumbered advancers by nearly five to one. IT was the sole major sectoral gainer, with Infosys up 2.94 percent, Tech Mahindra up 2.54 percent, and TCS up 1.97 percent. The Jio Platforms IPO of approximately $3.2 billion was fully subscribed within two hours of opening.