SpaceX’s first quarterly earnings report as a public company has provided a rare look at X’s advertising business, showing that it remains far smaller than Twitter’s ad operation before Elon Musk acquired the platform in 2022.
X generated $367 million in advertising revenue during the three months ending June 30, 2026. That was slightly higher than the $343 million recorded in the previous quarter but down from $426 million during the same period last year.
Twitter generated $1.08 billion from advertising in the second quarter of 2022, its final comparable quarterly report before Musk completed the takeover. X’s latest figure is therefore only around one-third of its pre-acquisition level.
During Tuesday’s earnings call, SpaceX Chief Financial Officer Bret Johnsen linked the modest quarterly improvement to an overhaul of X’s advertising technology platform. SpaceX previously said rebuilding the platform temporarily affected advertising sales. The advertising business received little further attention during the call.
X’s business model has changed considerably since the takeover. The company now promotes paid subscriptions more aggressively, including its Premium+ plan, which removes advertisements across the platform. However, SpaceX did not separately disclose X’s subscription revenue or daily active user figures in its quarterly results.
Musk also dismissed thousands of employees after acquiring Twitter. X later sued several advertisers and an industry group, accusing them of organising an unlawful advertising boycott. A US judge dismissed that lawsuit in March 2026. Musk had also publicly told advertisers to stay away during a profanity-filled response to concerns about the platform.
X has recently claimed that many major advertisers have returned. Its advertising chief said in January that 97 of the platform’s 100 largest advertisers were back, with some spending more than before Musk’s takeover. However, the latest revenue figures show that any return has not restored the business to its previous size.
Advertising is now a relatively small part of SpaceX’s wider operations. During the quarter, the company generated $4.29 billion from its Starlink-led connectivity segment, $962 million from its space division and $2.56 billion from its AI segment, including $2.19 billion from AI solutions and infrastructure.
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