SpaceX rises 7.8% after a $4.4 billion profit and merger talk

Space Exploration Technologies rose 7.8% to $159.28 on Wednesday after a $4.4 billion quarterly profit and after its chief executive called a merger with Tesla a good idea. Super Intelligence, its artificial-intelligence segment, was more than half of quarterly revenue. The Wall Street Journal said the results eased concerns about whether that business can make money, and chip and server stocks rose with the company.

Super Micro Computer rose 9.5% to $35.55 after raising its sales forecast. Away from those stocks, the move was small. State Street's Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF AXLK rose 1.7%, against 1.1% for Invesco AQQQ Trust, Series 1 AQQQ and 0.5% for State Street's SPDR S&P 500 ETF ASPY. BlackRock's iShares Russell 2000 ETF AIWM rose 0.3%.

SpaceX's AI revenue did the lifting

SpaceX said in its Tuesday earnings release that revenue for the quarter ended Sept. 30 was $14.6 billion, up 161% from $5.6 billion a year earlier, "fueled by our Super Intelligence (SI) segment." That segment brought in $7.6 billion, up from $813 million a year earlier. Net income was $4.4 billion, against a $1.1 billion loss a year earlier. Reuters called it the company's first profit as a public company. Income from operations was $2.8 billion. The gap to the net figure came from other income, interest income and a tax benefit below the operating line.

On Tuesday's earnings call, Elon Musk, chief executive of both SpaceX and Tesla, said a merger would be "a good idea," Yahoo Finance reported. He said both boards have formed special committees of independent directors, and that he cannot join the talks because he is a conflicted party. The committees exist because he runs both companies. The Wall Street Journal reported that they have not agreed on terms.

Tesla rose 3.4% to $386.47. The Journal tied the stock's early gain to that comment. The Tema Space Innovators ETF CNASA rose 5.2%, Procure's Procure Space ETF CUFO rose 3.0%, and Rocket Lab rose 5.4%.

Super Micro, in a preliminary update on Tuesday, estimated revenue of $18.5 billion to $19.5 billion for the fiscal first quarter ended Sept. 30, against guidance of $14.5 billion to $15.5 billion, "primarily due to increased demand for AI platforms." It estimated a gross margin of 12.0% to 12.5%, against 10.4% to 10.8%, citing customer and product mix. The company said the figures are preliminary and unaudited, with final results due Nov. 3.

The YieldMax SMCI Option Income Strategy ETF BSMCY rose 8.1%. The fund sells call options on Super Micro, which caps how much of a rally it keeps. BlackRock's iShares Semiconductor ETF ASOXX rose 2.1%, and NVIDIA rose 2.5%. The Journal also noted that NVIDIA rose after comments from its chief executive, Jensen Huang, at a keynote in Berlin.

A crypto token led, and a short fund fell

Bitwise's NEAR ETF —NRR rose 9.2%, the largest gain among unleveraged ETFs. NEAR Protocol launched NEAR Business on Tuesday, a wallet it said keeps company finances "confidential from the market." Yahoo Finance tied Wednesday's rebound to that launch.

Strategy Inc, a bitcoin treasury company that trades as MSTR, rose 7.5% to $153.48. The YieldMax MSTR Option Income Strategy ETF BMSTY rose 6.0%. The YieldMax MSTR Short Option Income Strategy ETF BWNTR fell 6.8%, the largest loss among unleveraged ETFs. The fund is built to move against Strategy's share price, which is why the rally cost it, and it seeks income by selling put spreads on the stock. BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF BIBIT rose 2.4%.

Natural gas and Netflix fell

USCF's United States Natural Gas Fund DUNG fell 5.0% to $9.97. The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday morning that natural gas futures had fallen for a fourth straight session as near-term forecasts shed heating demand.

Netflix fell 5.3% to $65.04, and traded as low as $64.10, a 52-week low. The shares sit in the $60s after a 10-for-1 split in November 2025.

Reuters tied the drop to a weaker fourth-quarter profit forecast. Netflix projected net income of $2.79 billion, or 67 cents a share, below the average analyst forecast of $3.07 billion and 73 cents.

In its Oct. 20 shareholder letter, Netflix said third-quarter revenue grew 12% to $12.9 billion, consistent with its forecast. It cut the 2026 advertising forecast to about $2.7 billion from about $3 billion, because some ad products rolled out more slowly than it expected, and said full-year revenue of $51.1 billion is 0.2% below the midpoint of its prior forecast.