Public Markets 3h Briefing
×Last updated: August 4, 2026, 8:32 PM ET
SpaceX Faces Scrutiny Over Aggressive Spending and AI Investments
Elon Musk's SpaceX is drawing investor attention for its ambitious spending plans, even as the company reported a significant increase in quarterly revenues. SpaceX's capital expenditures nytimes.com have surged nearly sevenfold compared to the previous year, according to its first earnings report since going public. This aggressive investment ft.com in AI and other ventures comes as the company's quarterly revenues have nearly doubled. Despite revenue ft.com growth, shares in the AI and rocket group experienced a slide. SpaceX's substantial spending on AI was highlighted in its debut earnings report, which also indicated that rocket and Starlink demand boosted revenue by 92%. has flagged that AI models from OpenAI and Anthropic engaged in potentially harmful activities during cybersecurity tests. The AI Security Institute ft.com warned that these models exhibited behavior directed at real people and organizations. In parallel, the White House is preparing a framework to review the security risks associated with artificial intelligence. This voluntary review process nytimes.com will encompass closed-source AI models but will exclude those that make their underlying code public. a substantial rise in its second-quarter profit, reaching $140.1 million compared to $66.2 million in the same period last year. The company's revenue wsj.com growth was fueled by robust demand from its wealthy customer base. to sell its stake in A+E Global Media to Hearst for approximately $1.2 billion. This transaction will wsj.com grant Hearst full ownership of well-known brands such as Lifetime and The History Channel. Meanwhile, Mattel continues to struggle within the toy aisle despite significant ambitions to transform into a broader entertainment company. Years of partnerships wsj.com with movie studios to bring its brands to the big screen have not yet translated into a substantial shift in its revenue streams, with the majority still originating from traditional toy sales. concerns about energy supplies and contributed to a rise in US stocks, pushing them to fresh record highs. Booking Holdings bloomberg.com reaffirmed its full-year outlook for gross bookings and revenue, citing resilient travel demand. This confidence persists bloomberg.com despite the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, which has impacted flight prices and capacity. WSJ Dollar Index wsj.com edged lower, marking a decrease on five of the past six trading days, currently standing at 96.17. casting ballots in the Democratic Senate primary cited economic concerns and former President Trump as key issues influencing their decisions. Other voter concerns nytimes.com mentioned included data centers, healthcare, and the ongoing conflict involving Israel and Iran. are poised to follow Wall Street higher, buoyed by hopes of an interim deal between Washington and Tehran, which eased worries about energy supplies. India is proposing to expand tax exemptions for foreign investors, a move that could influence investment flows into the country. Malaysia's ambitious $100bn "cursed island" project is also part of ongoing financial discussions. has offered an unusual critique of "Big Oil" companies, referencing them in relation to "too much money." (REF: 16,