Intel vs SpaceX: Revenue, Profit and Business Model
Intel reported $52.9B of revenue in FY2025 and a net loss of $267M. SpaceX reported $18.7B of revenue in FY2025 and a net loss of $4.9B.
Latest financial snapshot
Financial summary
Intel
Intel's revenue peaked at $79.0 billion in 2021 and fell to $53.1 billion in 2024, when it posted an $18.8 billion net loss driven by restructuring and impairments. FY2025 revenue was $52.9 billion with a much smaller $267 million net loss, and the year ended with $37.4 billion in cash and short-term investments. Q2 2026 revenue rose 25% to $16.1 billion with a 41.8% non-GAAP gross margin and $0.42 non-GAAP EPS. GAAP net loss for the quarter was $11.0 billion, almost all from a $12.5 billion non-cash mark-to-market charge on shares escrowed for the U.S. Department of Commerce. Intel guided Q3 2026 revenue to $15.8-16.8 billion.
SpaceX
SpaceX revenue grew from $10.387 billion in 2023 to $14.015 billion in 2024 and $18.674 billion in 2025, but heavy Starship, Starlink, and AI spending produced a $4.937 billion FY2025 net loss. In Q2 2026, its first quarter reported as a public company, revenue was $7.8 billion (up 92%), adjusted EBITDA was $3.5 billion, net loss was $541 million, and backlog was $47.5 billion. The IPO raised $85.7 billion and a $25 billion bond sale added more liquidity. In late September 2026 the stock traded near $145, for a market capitalization around $1.9 trillion.
Revenue and profit by year
Intel
| Year | Revenue | Net income | Margin | Growth | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | $52.9B | -$267M | -0.5% | -0.5% | Source |
| FY2024 | $53.1B | -$18.8B | -35.3% | -2.1% | Source |
| FY2023 | $54.2B | $1.7B | 3.1% | -14.0% | Source |
| FY2022 | $63.1B | $8B | 12.7% | -20.2% | Source |
| FY2021 | $79B | $19.9B | 25.1% | +1.5% | Source |
| FY2020 | $77.9B | $20.9B | 26.8% | +8.2% | Source |
| FY2019 | $72B | $21B | 29.2% | +1.6% | Source |
| FY2018 | $70.8B | $21.1B | 29.7% | +12.9% | Source |
| FY2017 | $62.8B | $9.6B | 15.3% | +5.7% | Source |
| FY2016 | $59.4B | $10.3B | 17.4% | — | Source |
SpaceX
| Year | Revenue | Net income | Margin | Growth | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | $18.7B | -$4.9B | -26.4% | +33.2% | Source |
| FY2024 | $14B | $18M | 0.1% | +34.9% | Source |
| FY2023 | $10.4B | -$4.6B | -44.6% | — | Source |
Where the revenue comes from
Intel
- Client Computing and Physical AI Group~55%
Core and Core Ultra PC processors, chipsets, and edge platforms; $8.9B in Q2 2026, up 13% year over year.
- Data Center and AI~39%
Xeon server CPUs, AI accelerators, and data-center platforms; $6.3B in Q2 2026, up 59% year over year.
- Intel Foundry (external)small
Wafer manufacturing and advanced packaging for outside customers; most foundry revenue is internal sales to Intel Products and eliminates in consolidation.
- Mobileye and Other~6%
Mobileye ADAS chips and other businesses.
SpaceX
- Launch services
Not formally reported
Commercial, civil, and national-security launches priced by rocket, payload, orbit, and service type.
- Starlink consumer broadband
Not formally reported
Monthly subscriptions and terminals for residential and mobile broadband.
- Enterprise and government connectivity
Not formally reported
Starlink enterprise, aviation, maritime, backup connectivity, Starshield, and government services.
- AI infrastructure
Not formally reported
Compute and cloud services from SpaceX's AI segment, formed through the xAI combination; $2.6B revenue in Q2 2026.
Business model and strategy
Intel
How it makes money
Intel is an integrated device manufacturer (IDM): it designs chips and runs its own fabs in Oregon, Arizona, New Mexico, Ireland, and Israel. Since 2024 it reports two halves. Intel Products (client CPUs, Xeon data-center CPUs, AI accelerators) sells to OEMs, hyperscalers, and enterprises. Intel Foundry manufactures wafers and packages for Intel Products and for external customers, competing with TSMC and Samsung.
Growth strategy
Under Lip-Bu Tan, Intel has cut layers and headcount, slowed some fab projects such as Ohio, and tied foundry spending to committed customer demand.
Competitive advantage
Intel's advantages are the installed base of x86 software, deep OEM and enterprise relationships, leading-edge U.S. fabs, and advanced packaging (EMIB, Foveros) that AI chip designers increasingly need. Its role as the main American maker of leading-edge logic chips also brings policy support: the U.S. government became its largest shareholder in August 2025.
SpaceX
How it makes money
SpaceX earns money in three segments. Space sells launches on Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy, plus Dragon cargo and crew missions for NASA, the U.S. government, and commercial customers ($962 million in Q2 2026).
Growth strategy
SpaceX's growth plan has four parts: add Starlink subscribers and raise enterprise, aviation, and mobile revenue; launch higher-capacity Starlink V3 satellites on Starship; expand national-security work through Starshield and launch contracts (over $6 billion in U.S. government awards in Q2 2026); and scale AI compute capacity, which grew from 400 megawatts a year earlier to 1.4 gigawatts at the end of Q2 2026.
Competitive advantage
SpaceX's advantage is reusability combined with vertical integration. It builds its own engines, avionics, rockets, and satellites, and reflies Falcon 9 boosters many times, which lowers its marginal launch cost below rivals that still expend most hardware. Being its own largest launch customer lets it deploy Starlink at a cadence no other operator has matched, and Starlink revenue then funds Starship.
Questions about Intel vs SpaceX
Which company has higher revenue — Intel Corporation or SpaceX?
Intel Corporation reported $52.9B (FY2025), while SpaceX reported $18.7B (FY2025). By last reported revenue, Intel Corporation is the larger business, with SpaceX reporting a smaller revenue base.
What is the market cap of Intel Corporation vs SpaceX?
Intel Corporation's market capitalisation stands at $639.9B, while SpaceX's is $1.92T. SpaceX carries the higher market valuation, reflecting investors' expectations of its future earnings power relative to Intel Corporation.
Which is more financially efficient — Intel Corporation or SpaceX?
Intel Corporation generates $621k / employee in revenue per employee, while SpaceX generates $826k / employee. SpaceX shows higher revenue efficiency per headcount, though this reflects business model differences — capital-light software companies routinely outperform labour-intensive manufacturers on this metric.
How do Intel Corporation and SpaceX make money?
Intel Corporation and SpaceX generate revenue in fundamentally different ways. Intel Corporation: Intel is an integrated device manufacturer (IDM): it designs chips and runs its own fabs in Oregon, Arizona, New Mexico, Ireland, and Israel. SpaceX: SpaceX earns money in three segments.
Which company is valued higher relative to revenue — Intel Corporation or SpaceX?
On a price-to-sales (P/S) basis, Intel Corporation trades at 12.1x P/S and SpaceX at 102.8x P/S. SpaceX commands a higher revenue multiple, typically indicating that investors expect faster growth or higher future margins compared to Intel Corporation. A higher multiple is not inherently better — it may also signal that the stock is priced for perfection.
Is Intel Corporation bigger than SpaceX?
By last reported revenue, Intel Corporation ($52.9B (FY2025)) is the larger company compared to SpaceX ($18.7B (FY2025)). Revenue scale is one dimension of size — market capitalisation, employee count, and geographic reach are also relevant depending on the context.
Figures come from each company's filings and the sources linked beside them. Amounts reported in another currency are shown in US dollars at an approximate rate and marked with ~. Back to the Intel vs SpaceX overview