By Echo Wang, Milana Vinn and Joey Roulette NEW YORK, Jan 30 (Reuters) – SpaceX generated about $8 billion in profit on $15 billion to $16 billion of revenue last year, two people familiar with the company's results said, providing fresh insight into the financial health of Elon Musk’s space company that is expected to go public later this year. SpaceX's most recent financials, which have not been previously reported, led some banks to estimate that the company could raise more than $50 billion at a valuation exceeding $1.5 trillion, said the people, who asked not to be named to discuss private conversations. Reuters reported on Thursday that SpaceX is also in talks with Musk’s artificial intelligence company, xAI, about a merger ahead of the IPO. SpaceX did not immediately return a request for comment. The profit figure was earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, a key measure of operating performance. Musk's satellite-based internet system Starlink is the main revenue driver, accounting for about 50% to 80% of the total, the people said. The rapid launch of 9,500 Starlink satellites since 2019 has made SpaceX the world's largest satellite operator with over 9 million users of the broadband internet service. The internet service, along with government contracts associated with Starlink and military-grade satellite network Starshield, has generated key revenue to help fund development of the company's next-generation Starship rocket that Musk wants to use to loft more powerful Starlinks into orbit. The company bought $19 billion worth of wireless spectrum rights from EchoStar last year as it expands Starlink into the direct-to-device market, in which mobile phones can connect directly with Starlink satellites without the need for a Starlink user terminal. The satellite and rocket company is planning the biggest IPO in the world, close to Musk's 55th birthday on June 28, the people said. Musk expects Starship, which has test-launched 11 times since 2023, to start launching payloads into space this year. The billionaire expects to use Starship to eventually launch space-based AI data centers, a risky and nascent pursuit tied to the company's proposed merger with xAI. (Reporting by Echo Wang and Milana Vinn in New York and Joey Roulette in Washington; Editing by Dawn Kopecki and Matthew Lewis)
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