SpaceX is due to release its second earnings report as a public company after the market closes today. Here's what to look for in its third-quarter performance:

AI Growth: CEO Elon Musk made big promises last quarter about his plans to grow the company's data-center business. SpaceX is fielding billions of dollars in monthly revenue from rivals including Anthropic and Google, who are using its massive data centers to keep their models running. Questions remain about how quickly SpaceX can expand, and how many new customers have signed up for the service.

Capital spending: In the second quarter, SpaceX reported $18.4 billion in capital expenditures, up from $2.8 billion a year earlier. Wall Street expects the spending to continue with the company's data-center expansion, its Terafab chip-manufacturing project and continued work on its new Starship rocket.

Tesla talk: Chatter continues about a potential merger of SpaceX and Tesla, and company observers continue to seek answers in the tea leaves. Last week's demo by the electric-vehicle company fanned the flames when Tesla showed off its new Roadster sports car with SpaceX rocket thrusters attached.

Tesla is scheduled to release its quarterly earnings report Wednesday, one day after SpaceX. But SpaceX scheduled its call just a few days ago, an unconventional move for a public company. "Why did SpaceX schedule its earnings date with just 2 business days notice?" Morgan Stanley analysts asked in a note yesterday. "We do not have a good answer at this time."

Starlink: Last week, Musk and the White House pointed fingers at one another after the Ukrainian military said its use of the service was throttled in its fight against Russia. With the question of responsibility still unresolved, SpaceX executives might shed light on what happened.