BREAKING: JPMorgan more than doubles SpaceX price target to $500.
J.P. Morgan raised its December 2027 price target from $240 to $500 following Q3 2026 earnings, maintaining its Overweight rating.
Here’s the full breakdown of the note:
• AI computing capacity: SpaceX ended Q3 with 1.7 GW, expects 2.2 GW by late October and targets 2.5–3.0 GW by year-end. J.P. Morgan models 2.8 GW.
• GPU deployment: SpaceX is adding roughly 200,000 GPUs per month, or approximately 600,000 during Q4, with each drawing around 2 kW.
• Bigger 2027 ambitions: Management expects to add approximately 10 GW of computing capacity next year, reaching around 13 GW by year-end, above earlier expectations of 5–10 GW. J.P. Morgan takes a more conservative view at 10.1 GW.
• Power and cooling: SpaceX targets 20 GW of supporting infrastructure by the end of 2027.
• Rocket engineering meets energy: SpaceX is using its rocket metallurgy and casting capabilities to manufacture gas-turbine blades and vanes in-house, helping bypass industry supply delays of 12–18 months.
• Faster data center construction: The company is pursuing prefabricated computing, power and cooling units, alongside solar and wind projects.
• Starlink keeps growing: Consumer subscribers reached 13.6 million, adding 1.6 million during the quarter. Average monthly revenue per consumer increased approximately 5% to $69.
• Starlink Mobile: An early 2028 launch remains on schedule, supported by the agreement to acquire Grain’s spectrum in the 800 MHz band, alongside EchoStar’s S-band licenses.
• Mobile network strategy: The design expects 85–93% of traffic to use Wi-Fi, supplemented by compact radios at existing subscriber sites that connect through satellites. J.P. Morgan believes conventional cell towers will eventually be needed to compete directly with established carriers.
• Starship’s next milestone: SpaceX plans to attempt tower catches of both Super Heavy and the upper-stage Ship. After three successful booster catches, catching Ship would be a historic first and a critical step toward full vehicle reusability.
• Potential Tesla combination: Special committees at both companies are evaluating a possible business combination. Terafab, Megapack deployments and shared AI engineering provide existing connections.
• Merger hurdles: J.P. Morgan highlights regulatory approval and Tesla shareholder approval as major challenges, particularly given Tesla’s wholly owned manufacturing operations in China and SpaceX’s U.S. defense ties.
• Investment is accelerating: Q4 capital spending guidance increased to $35–$40 billion, compared with J.P. Morgan’s previous $19 billion estimate. The note puts full-year 2026 spending at $87.2 billion and models $294.6 billion for 2027.
• Funding the expansion: Management says it is not considering raising public equity. Funding is expected to come from substantial available borrowing facilities and growing operating cash flow.
• Cash flow outlook: J.P. Morgan forecasts operating cash flow of $38.9 billion in 2026, $213 billion in 2027 and $358 billion in 2028.
• Valuation: The $500 target reflects roughly 20 times J.P. Morgan’s projected 2028 GAAP earnings of $24.41 per share.
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