October 20, 2026: Musk: Merit in Combining SpaceX-Tesla, Netflix Earnings, More

0:01 News when you want it with Bloomberg News Now. I'm Doug Krisner. SpaceX and Tesla have formed special committees to explore a potential merger. Elon Musk made the disclosure during an earnings call with analysts. He said a merger is not guaranteed, but he thinks it would be a good idea.

0:16 I do think there's a lot of merit to combining the companies as we are pretty much in the superintelligence singularity. And And there's a lot to be gained from cooperating on developing super-intelligent software, chip design, the TeraFab, obviously, robotics, mass to orbit with the star mind constellation. Connectivity. Connectivity.

0:46 So I think it would be a good idea, but it's really up to the special committees of both companies.

0:54 That was Elon Musk speaking on the SpaceX earnings call. Prior to that call, SpaceX blew past Wall Street expectations with its second report as a publicly traded company. Quarterly profit was $ 4. 4 billion, or 35 cents a share. That's more than double estimates. And revenue increased 161% from last year, reflecting growth in the artificial intelligence and satellite internet businesses.

1:21 Shares in SpaceX were up by more than 8% in late U.S. trading. We also heard from Netflix that the company's third quarter earnings beat Wall Street expectations. However, Netflix is forecasting slowing sales growth for a fourth straight quarter. Here is Bloomberg analyst Geeta Raghunathan.

1:38 I think it all again comes down to the burning question, which is engagement. And what we've seen is, you know, engagement has really weakened. The question is, will the content content reset strategy with, you know, getting Peter Rice from Disney and Fox? Will that really help them to kind of get, you know, those buzzy hits? Because ultimately what's going to happen is, you know, when you have engagement weakened like that, it really hurts your pricing power.

2:05 That is Bloomberg analyst Geeta Raghunath, and shares in Netflix are down 5.9% in late U.S.

2:11 Trading.

2:12 United Airlines reported adjusted EPS for the third quarter below the average analyst estimate, and the carrier forecast weaker than expected earnings for the current quarter. Both underscore how soaring jet fuel prices are eating into airline profits despite resilient demand for air travel. Shares in United are down 1.8% in late U.S.

2:32 Trading.

2:34 Much of the equity market churned ahead of those results from SpaceX, Netflix, and United. We had the Dow rising 1%. The S & P was higher by three-tenths of 1%. The Nasdaq composite was essentially flat. And at the same time, oil prices retreated after three major forecasting agencies trimmed their forecast of global oil demand this year. WTI crude oil was down in New York trading by seven-tenths of 1% to 97.82%. Anthropic has completed its draft prospectus for what's expected to be a blockbuster IPO. The Wall Street Journal reports the S-1 filing shows the company is generating revenue at a breakneck pace. However, there's a long list of risks that do remain, and they include a narrower customer

3:20 base as well as uncertain access to much-needed computing power. Anthropic signaled it may spend $ 750 billion in the coming years to obtain more computing capacity, including deals it's still negotiating. This S-1 also shows Anthropic recorded a net loss of more than $ 80 billion in the first half of the year.

3:42 This mostly reflects an accounting adjustment related to financing agreements. Citadel founder Ken Griffin says investors are certainly in the midst of an artificial intelligence bubble.

3:54 So these bubbles, if we're going to use that word, often coincide with these giant technological transformations. The railroads, for example. But what's left in the wake of these bubbles, if we want to use that word, is often game-changing for the world. And the companies that are on the other side of that bubble are the market leaders for.

4:15 Decades to come. That is Ken Griffin speaking earlier to Bloomberg. His remarks come as many companies grapple with how much they will spend on AI and how the technology will transform the economy. And in this same interview, Griffin touched on the American economy. He said Republicans in Congress and President Trump made a mistake by cutting taxes even further last year. Griffin said Republicans have their hands dirty over the tax cuts the last two years, more than spending increases.

4:44 Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was in Norway today, where he held talks with U.S. Envoy Steve Witkoff. The pair discussed intelligent sharing of as well as missile interceptors and Ukraine's access to satellite technology from SpaceX. It was just days ago Zelensky accused the U.S. of restricting both intelligence and satellite support. Zelensky said today's talks were positive.

5:09 Here he is.

5:10 We spoke about sensitive issues like connection, Starlink, about security. interceptors which are very important about intelligence so I mean this we've been very concrete and the conversation was very positive we shared the things which are I mean this which we have to manage and we will manage I'm sure but and we decided that maybe in 48 hours we will have Again, connection.

5:41 At the same time, Zelensky said he is aiming for a trilateral meeting of leaders from the U.S., Ukraine, and Russia to negotiate an end to this conflict. However, President Trump said Zelensky is holding up talks.

5:54 Ukraine has to want to settle this war.

5:56 Zelensky has to want to settle this war. And if he doesn't, I think it's going to be a very bad thing.

6:01 Meantime, Elon Musk reportedly ordered that slowdown of a military-grade version of Starlink that was relied on by Ukraine. The Wall Street Journal reports Musk capped the speeds at which Ukrainian hardware could stay connected to this satellite-based network. That rendered some offensive drones and interceptor drones virtually useless. Boeing has won FAA approval for its 737 MAX 10 jet.

6:28 The timeline for the certification was briefly in doubt after Boeing disclosed a software glitch with the aircraft's navigation system. But an FAA panel determined the issue did not pose a safety risk. The MAX 10 is one of Boeing's most important new jets, offering airlines a solution to replace the out-of-production 757. And that is news when you want it.

6:50 With Bloomberg News Now, I'm Doug Krisner, and this is Bloomberg.