⚠ The Cash It Still ConsumesHigh threat

Starlink is where the profits are turning positive, but it is also a business you can never stop feeding. Low-orbit satellites decay and must be continuously replaced; capacity must be densified as subscribers grow; the next-generation constellation, far more capable and far more expensive, must be built and launched. The connectivity segment's newfound operating profit is real, but it sits atop a permanent, enormous capital cycle — the constellation is a depreciating asset that must be perpetually renewed from orbit. For a company that still loses money overall and now answers to public shareholders, the tension between Starlink's attractive unit economics and its relentless capital appetite is the central financial question, and the moment growth slows before the spending does is the moment the model is truly tested — the group's ~$4.9B annual loss shows the spending is very much still on¹.