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Connect the World

El-Sayed, Stevens Locked in Tight Michigan Democratic Senate Primary; SpaceX Rocket Debris on Collision Course to the Moon; No Confirmation Yet if SpaceX Rocket Debris Crashed into Moon; ADNOC Distribution Profit Jumps 59 Percent to Record $568M in First Half; SpaceX Tops Expectations in First Earnings as a Public Company. Aired 9-9:45a ET

Aired August 05, 2026 - 09:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


[09:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BECKY ANDERSON, CNN HOST, CONNECT THE WORLD: Well officials in Michigan still counting votes in a hugely consequential election race, progressive

candidate Abdul El-Sayed leads over Haley Stevens. That has tightened in the state's Democratic primary for Senate.

The result could define the future of the Democratic Party. It is 09:00 a.m. in Detroit, 02:00 p.m. here in London. I'm Becky Anderson. You're

watching "Connect the World". Also coming up this hour, sources tell CNN that the U.S. military has exhausted nearly 80 percent of its interceptors

for a key missile defense system.

Well, the stock market in New York opens about 30 minutes from now. Futures pointing to a higher open on Wall Street's Wednesday session. Cautious

optimism that a deal on opening the Strait of Hormuz is close. Lower oil prices helping provide a boost for equities.

And more on the prospect of a deal coming up first though we begin with increasing signs of a dwindling weapons supply in the U.S. military in the

midst of the war with Iran. Multiple sources tell CNN that Senior U.S. Commanders are warning their munition stockpile is quote, dangerously low,

with interceptors for a key missile defense system down some 80 percent and around half of U.S. Patriot interceptors depleted since the start of the

war.

Now those shortages apparently contributed to the opinion of President Trump's advisers that there was reason to call off planned operations

against Iran over the past weekend. Well, CNN's Senior National Security Reporter Zachary Cohen following this for us in Washington.

Leila Gharagozlou is covering some glimmers of diplomatic progress. She is here in London reporting on that. And Leila, let's start with you. Donald

Trump has suggested that a potential deal could be imminent with Iran over the Strait of Hormuz. We've also heard similar from the Treasury Secretary

Scott Bessent, and indeed from Marco Rubio, the Secretary of State. What do we know at this point?

LEILA GHARAGOZLOU, CNN PRODUCER: Yeah. So, the Iranians have actually taken quite a different tone over the last couple of days. As you know, President

Trump, throughout this whole conflict, has tended to be more optimistic in his language when it comes to any sort of deal.

We saw this around the MOU as well, and we've seen it over the last couple of days from the White House, where they're essentially saying that a deal

could be happening imminently. The Iranians, on the other hand, have said that this is a bilateral talk that they're having with Oman, and anything

that happens will be between Iran and Oman.

Very specifically, won't be including the U.S. They've also said that if they reopen any of these pathways, they're going to only be for a temporary

amount of time until they figure out a broader solution. Now, Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesperson did say earlier today that this is really

going to be around establishing safe inbound and outbound shipping routes.

And more importantly, protecting both countries, Iran and Oman, sovereign rights and national security interests. As you know, this has been a key

issue for both Iran and the U.S. throughout this war. Who controls the Strait of Hormuz? And Iran has said this is our sovereign right.

So, they're really looking to establish this directly with their neighbor rather than with the U.S. We also heard from another Iranian source quoted

in Iranian state TV saying that the strait may never reopen even with this agreement. So, we're really going to have to see what happens around here.

There's a lot of mixed messaging. The president, again, very optimistically saying today, tomorrow, at some point soon, we could see an agreement. The

Iranians have said, you know, we have to wait and see, the U.S. isn't involved. This is between us and our neighbors, Becky.

ANDERSON: Good to have you, Leila. Thank you. Zachary, let me bring you in at this point. I want you, if you will, just to get us more about your

reporting on the U.S. military stockpile. Just how dire are things at this point.

ZACHARY COHEN, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL SECURITY REPORTER: Yeah, Becky. We're told that Senior U.S. Military Commanders have characterized the munition

stockpile issue as dangerously low. The current levels after months of this war with Iran.

[09:05:00]

And in particular, these high-end air defense systems, things that are predominantly used to shoot down and counter ballistic missile attacks are

really depleted, even more depleted than we previously knew, and that applies to the THAAD missile defense system. This is one of the highest end

U.S. made missile defense systems out there right now.

It's used by multiple Gulf allies as well as other allies around the world, in addition to by the U.S. military. We're told that 80 percent of the U.S.

stockpile of interceptors for the THAAD missile defense system have been burned through during this war with Iran. It's really a staggering number,

particularly when you realize that the U.S. didn't have that many THAAD interceptors in its stockpile to begin with.

Only estimates say that they only had about 450 interceptors before this war started, and it takes years to produce new interceptors. And so that's

really the issue here, is this gap in production time versus how many interceptors are being used on a day-to-day basis by the U.S. and its

allies as they try to counter these Iranian drone and missile attacks.

And another air defense system, the Patriot missile, is at significantly lower levels than it was pre-war. We're told over 50 percent of the U.S.

stockpile of Patriots have been used during the war with Iran. Again, this is another high-end system and one that is relied upon not just by the U.S.

and its Gulf allies, but also by countries like Ukraine as it's facing ballistic missile attacks from Russia.

And this all raises questions not only about the U.S. ability to fight this current war with Iran, but also its ability to deter and fight a future

conflict, potentially with an adversary like China, near peer adversary, where these kinds of high-end systems are going to be necessary in order to

not only protect U.S. forces but also conduct offensive operations.

And on the offensive front, those missile and munition stockpiles are also significantly lower. We're told, particularly when it comes to the

precision missiles, these are standoff weapons that the United States has been using to hit targets in Iran. These are also high-end weapons, and

virtually all of them have been expended during this war with Iran.

That's what we're told compared to the pre-war stockpile. So, all of this really does paint a more dire picture of the U.S. weapons stockpile

situation than we really realized, and it was a pretty bad picture to begin with here. We know that General Dan Caine, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs

of Staff, has raised the issue of the dwindling munition stockpile during recent meetings, where options for escalating the Iran war have been

discussed, including in the lead up to President Donald Trump's threats to escalate just last week.

Obviously, he ended up walking back that threat as a new door potentially for diplomacy opened up. But again, this is going to be an issue going

forward as it takes a long time to produce more of these weapons, and the U.S. has been firing them at a very high clip.

ANDERSON: And that stockpile, of course, has an impact on the defense of Gulf countries who are, of course, squarely in the crosshairs of Iranian

attacks. Zach, thank you. And to that end, and just to sort of round this out, we've been talking about Donald Trump and his administration,

suggesting that a deal on the Strait of Hormuz could be imminent this week.

CNN now reporting that there is a quote, 50/50 chance that the U.S. and Iran will reach a deal on Friday, according to at least one senior Gulf

official familiar with the talks. So, a 50/50 chance. I've heard that before from officials around the region, and that seems to be the position

from the Gulf.

Certainly, from officials that sources that we are speaking to in region. All right, more on that as we get it. In Ukraine, a Russian missile attack

around Kyiv killed at least 17 people and injured dozens more. The attack targeted warehouses of major Ukrainian businesses and appears to be in

response to Ukrainian strikes on wild berries, the Russian equivalent of e- commerce giant Amazon.

Ukraine's air defenses were unable to intercept any of the missiles. The President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says the attack highlights the crucial need

for allies to provide Ukraine with anti-missile defense systems. Clare Sebastian, following developments. She's here in London.

And Clare, President Zelenskyy, pretty blunt in his assessment about what Ukraine needs. What more do we know at this point?

CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, Becky, President Zelenskyy didn't pull any punches. He said in a post on X, that the number of defenses, air

defense missiles supplied to Ukraine has dropped threefold compared to 2025. That's not just over the past few months, but overall, in 2026.

He said, and he claimed that the Ukraine's partners do have the missiles. That this is simply about making political decisions to supply them. And he

also reiterated the point that he wants the licenses to be able to produce things like Patriot interceptor missiles locally in Ukraine.

[09:10:00]

You'll remember that President Trump had promised this verbally and is now sort of walking back a little bit on that decision, a bit vague on the

U.S.'s side whether or not this will happen. So that's where we are in terms of President Zelenskyy. But look, this was a major attack.

You know, several dozen ballistic missiles used, zero of them were shot down. It is the numbers show getting harder for Ukraine to intercept them.

The last two major missile attacks, they managed each time to shoot down just one, and we've just done some calculations for July.

23 percent of ballistic or similar missiles that were launched at Ukraine, they managed to shoot down. When you compare that to other types of

missiles, they managed to shoot down nearly 84 percent of other types of cruise missiles, of missiles, including cruise missiles, of course.

So, you can see that with ballistic missiles in particular, this is where the weakness lies, and this is clearly a weakness that Russia is trying to

exploit. Now, strikingly, this attack last night really seemed to target the sort of businesses, private businesses, and the trappings of everyday

life.

There was some pretty shocking footage from a train station, a suburban train station just outside Kyiv, where eight people were killed. Local

officials saying that there was a train delayed, and so they missed their last train, and that's why they were waiting there and hit by a missile.

Three were killed at a post office sorting center as well. Six people killed at warehouses belonging to Ukraine's -- the operator of Ukraine's

largest supermarket chain. And I think businesses are really struggling at this point in the war. Striking that there was another company that was

affected last night, Epicenter, which is Ukraine's equivalent of IKEA, that said they are now urgently looking to move production abroad.

This is 4.5 years into this war; they've survived this long, and now in order to survive, they say they have to look at moving production abroad.

So, interceptors are critical, of course, at this point. But we also have an adviser to President Zelenskyy saying today that businesses urgently

need to diversify the risk.

And that perhaps the era of big warehouses is over for the moment. This is a case, of course, he says, of survival, Becky.

ANDERSON: Good to have you, Clare. Thank you. Look in the U.S. votes are still being counted in one of the country's most closely watched primary

elections. Progressive candidate Abdul El-Sayed and moderate Congresswoman Haley Stevens remain locked in a tight race for Michigan's Democratic

Senate nomination.

El-Sayed has a slim lead over Stephen, but she still has a chance of making a comeback. Once a winner is decided, he or she will advance to the general

election in November, in what Democrats view as a key race in their fight for control of the U.S. Senate. CNN's Jeff Zeleny is joining us now from

Detroit. Jeff, what do we know at this point?

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF U.S. NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Becky, we do know that this race has even narrowed in the past few hours here at

daybreak here in Detroit, Abdul El-Sayed had a lead of about 19,400 votes out of about 1.5 million votes that were cast.

That is down now to less than 15,000, it's about 14,898, to be specific. But these numbers are changing in real time. So, what it means is this very

nationalized Senate race is going to not be resolved in the time that both sides were hoping. The votes here in Detroit and Wayne County will be

central to all of this.

Well, we caught up just a short time ago with Abdul El-Sayed, who talked about the need for unifying this Democratic Party and looking forward to

November.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ABDUL EL-SAYED, DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATE FOR U.S. SENATE IN MICHIGAN: Look, we all understand the responsibility of beating Mike Rogers and Donald Trump,

and the things that unite us are so much bigger than the things that divide us, and I think we need to start tapping into those things.

And so, for all the folks who might have supported my opponent, this is a big tent. We're doing the work to defeat him, and then also just to get

money out of politics, put money in your pocket, pass Medicare for all.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ZELENY: So, CNN has not projected this race simply because the votes here in Detroit and Wayne County, of course, the largest county in all of

Michigan, need to be counted. So yes, there is still a pathway for Haley Stevens to win this. It's a narrower path. There's no doubt about it.

But they are waiting for these votes to be counted. But Becky, the reason this race, of course, is so significant is because Democrats cannot win a

Senate majority really without holding this seat in Michigan and flipping four Republican seats as well. So that's why this race has been so

nationalized.

More than $60 million was spent largely in outside groups in behalf of Haley Stevens. The most of that spending was from AIPAC. A lot of it was,

of course, the pro-Israel lobbying group. So that has been one of the central issues here. Abdul El-Sayed has said that he believes the U.S.

should stop funding Israel.

So many international themes in this race as well.

[09:15:00]

But for now, at least, old-fashioned vote counting before this race is called, and we can determine a winner, Becky.

ANDERSON: And Jeff, the significance, as you laid it out, so important here as we consider, as an international audience, the result from this Michigan

primary, which has become, of course, one of the Democratic Party's marquees battles this year. And it highlights the ongoing divide between

the party's establishment on the one side and its progressive wing on the other.

This is about sort of big tent politics. We often hear it described when we're talking about the Democratic Party in the U.S. So, this should

correct me if I'm wrong. Give us an indication about what this party might look like going forward. Correct? What its message will be to voters come,

of course, November and the 2028 presidential election.

ZELENY: There's no doubt about it, Becky. You have struck that exactly right, and what it's showing us that these divisions are deeper and closer

than we even assumed. I mean, going into this contest, there was you know analysts on both sides, even both campaigns believe this race would not be

as close.

So, what this shows us is, big picture, the establishment side of the party and the progressive movement in this party are at loggerheads. I mean, look

how close this race is. 14,000 votes out of 1.5 million votes cast. One of them ultimately will become a winner. But what is not likely to happen is a

resolution to the party's direction out of this.

There are deep divisions, a lot of foreign policy divisions inside the Democratic Party, largely around Middle Eastern politics. And right here in

Detroit, of course, the home to the largest Arab population in the U.S. That is front and center in this race. So, I think the lessons that will be

drawn from this may not be as clear cut as we were thinking going into this race.

ANDERSON: Yeah.

ZELENY: But there's no doubt these divisions in the Democratic Party remind me of what we saw a decade ago with the Tea Party inside the Republican

Party at the rise of the Trump era.

ANDERSON: Yeah.

ZELENY: So, look, there will be an outcome of this race. One thing there will likely not be a resolution of these divisions inside the party. Those

will go on.

ANDERSON: Yeah, that analogy so important. I was seeing about exactly the same thing, and it feels like yesterday, but it was a decade ago when we

were looking exactly what you've just described there with the Tea Party and the Republican Party. It's going to be fascinating to watch this.

And you always invaluable for us as we continue to report on the significance and consequence of what is going on there. Thank you, sir. Up

next, we look to the moon, where we think SpaceX rocket debris has made a major impact. What scientists are helping us learn.

Plus, we'll take a look at the other big SpaceX news. It's better than expected earnings, but how are investors reacting to this first snapshot of

the company's finances since the tech giant went public?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:20:00]

ANDERSON: Part of a SpaceX rocket expected to crash and leave a crater in the moon early this morning. Hasn't been any confirmation as of yet, and

there might not be any confirmation for several hours. But let's talk about what's going on here. CNN's Pete Muntean has been following the collision

course.

He joins us now from Washington. So, what do we know about this, at this point. This is Falcon 9, right?

PETE MUNTEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Now, how much to follow right now, Becky? You know, this really emphasizes the vastness of space, and this used

rocket booster from this launch a year and a half ago off a Falcon 9 rocket has been floating in space ever since then.

That is until the moon's gravity took a hold of it, setting the stage for what was supposed to be this crash into the moon's surface that was

supposed to happen early this morning, but right now we're still awaiting official confirmation from NASA and SpaceX. And what we're talking about

here is the second stage or the upper stage from a Falcon 9 rocket.

There it is. That's what it looks like without the fairing off the top. This is the part that is not the part that dramatically lowers back to

Earth to be reused. This part usually falls back to Earth, then burned up in the Earth's atmosphere. Weighs about 8,800 pounds, roughly the weight of

an adult female African elephant, 5,400 miles per hour, seven times the speed of sound, meaning it was going to hit the moon with the power of

three tons of dynamite.

A lot of superlatives there. And then create a crater about the size of a basketball court. But here is the rub this morning here on the East Coast.

Unlike a moon lander or a manned rocket, this is space junk. So, there are no cameras on board, no live data being sent back.

So, this becomes sort of a needle in a haystack now, where people are looking with naked eyeball and telescopes for craters to confirm that it

hit the moon as expected. It was supposed to happen 02:35 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time. The moon, after all, 230,000 miles away, not a small object.

But the real key here is that this is really important for scientists to study this because this data will give them information as NASA prepares to

head back to the moon, set up a moon base there eventually, because NASA wants to know how to best protect those future missions and astronauts on

the moon from space junk like this, which there will be a lot more of with these moon missions coming up.

So, some interesting information to get here, and that is why all eyes are trained on the moon right now to try and figure out where this Falcon 9

upper stage ultimately ended up.

ANDERSON: Amazing stuff. Good to have you, Pete. Always a pleasure. Thank you. Air on "Connect the World". I'm Becky Anderson for you, keeping a keen

eye on oil prices as usual on this show. We're also going to explore the strength of the Gulf oil business. I'll be talking to the Chief Financial

Officer of the UAE's ADNOC distribution. That, is coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:25:00]

ANDERSON: Well, another blowout set of earnings in the oil industry coming a day after we reported Saudi Aramco's 44 percent surge in its second

quarter profit. Today there's further evidence of the strength of the Gulf oil business with earnings from the retail and distribution arm of the

UAE's national oil company.

The publicly listed ADNOC Distribution is taking a bow after delivering record first half results. Net profit soaring 59 percent year on year to

nearly $600 million. Well, I'm joined now by ADNOC Distribution's Chief Financial Officer Ali Siddiqui. He is live from Abu Dhabi.

Good to have you, sir. Thank you for joining us. You're reporting a sharp jump in quarterly profit, despite or in spite of the dynamic regional

situation. The Strait of Hormuz, of course, still largely disrupted. Though we are reporting signs that we may be on the cusp of some sort of

agreement.

Explain what lies behind the strength of these ad knock distribution numbers, sir.

ALI SIDDIQUI, CFO OF ADNOC DISTRIBUTION: Yeah, firstly, many thanks, Becky, for having me here. Absolute pleasure to be here on your program. In terms

of our earnings, Becky, indeed, these are very strong earnings, as you rightly said, but please note that for past 10 quarters, ADNOC distribution

has been on a very strong growth journey.

Underlying business, fundamentally, which is fuels and non-fuels retail, both have been performing very strongly. So, year on year, last year H1

also we had a record profitability. That's an outcome of a very strong strategy, which means focus on both the fuels and the non-fuels retail

business.

So, fuels, despite, Becky, despite all the sort of head winds during the half year, we still managed to grow it at about 2 percent. We of course

operate not only in UAE but also in Saudi Arabia and in Egypt. So, fuels markets quite you know quite strong set of growth despite all the

challenges, and that's a straight outcome of us diversifying our channels.

We are just not reliant on one channel, which is retail fuel, which is gas station. We have a very strongly built, and this was built over the years

of B2B.

ANDERSON: Yeah.

SIDDIQUI: And that's followed by the non-fuel retail business also recording double digit growth, spearheaded by our convenience retailing

business, Becky. Again, post IPO, all non-fuel retail was we started to build it, and we kept setting us ourselves more and more ambitious targets.

So essentially, the strategy is paying off. Yes, there was some advantage of help from the volatility, Becky. But if you still look at the underlying

business, the underlying business, minus the volatility effects on inventors, still grew double digit.

ANDERSON: Yeah. You're a publicly listed subsidiary of the national oil company ADNOC, of course. How has the surge in prices that we've seen since

the war started back at the end of February affected your bottom line?

SIDDIQUI: Yeah. See, my -- fundamentally my margins are regulated, but all my three core markets, starting with the mothership of the United Arab

Emirates, my margins are regulated and fixed. So, high oil price or low oil price, it's usually a function of volume. So, if you have a socio-economic

growth, if you've got macros looking very, very good, if you've got the assets.

And people at the right place, we sell volume and retail, and that should result in profitability. So fundamentally, the price volatility impacts

more the upstream business, which is certainly not my mandate, and the midstream businesses from my side of the business is actually a very stable

set of cash flows.

ANDERSON: Yeah. So --

SIDDIQUI: Of course, there is a component in our business which is a B2B side of the business, which can be opportunistic and pricing can help. But

again, that is not the only driver behind the numbers today.

ANDERSON: You've been actively expanding beyond that home market and Saudi and Egypt, with your recent acquisition of Shell's downstream operations in

South Africa. Of course, you spent more than two decades yourself at Shell before your current role. What does that expansion mean for ADNOC's

ambition in fuel retail?

[09:30:00]

And what's the thinking in the evolving era of electric vehicles?

SIDDIQUI: Yes, see, so the markets which we aim for are hunting grounds, Becky. Are the markets where we believe fuel demand is still robust and is

still there and it's growing. Obviously, EVs also come into the play in the mix. South Africa, we still believe in the fuel demand.

We have bought a platform which is 120-year-old, very, very strong robust platform. The regulatory environment is predictable. It's not very

different from the UAE, where prices change every year, so the kind of every month. So, it's well connected to the international commodity prices.

And the third, there's a good sound EPS growth of about 6 percent. Now remember, my investment screening is very, very tight. I, as a CFO, spend

significant amount of time screening all these opportunities, and many of them don't make through the gate.

South Africa, however, the quality of the asset, the soundness of the regulation, the margin environment, and last but not the least, our

opportunity as we foresee in terms of adding value, especially, Becky, from our experience in the non-fuel retail side here in UAE, which where we have

done very well.

We think we can take all of that, package it together. We're keeping the Shell brand because that has been there for a while. It'll be easier for

the consumers and for the retailers, work key business partners, and then we'll take it from there. But of course, the --

ANDERSON: -- Donald Trump this week slamming U.S. oil majors, suggesting they are quote, making too much money amid the oil price spikes tied, of

course, to the Iran war. He wants to see the price of gas at the U.S. pump, of course, lower. He's got domestic political reasons to chastise Chevron

and ExxonMobil, given the affordability crisis in the U.S.

The price of fuel key, of course, going into the midterms. But this affordability issue also a talker in the UAE and around the region where

I'm normally based and where you are speaking to us from today. What do you make of Trump's comments?

SIDDIQUI: Yes, see. I mean, from essentially running a downstream marketing business like mine, Becky, the key thing is that most of my you know

earning sources are of regulated nature. They are same for all the players. They're fairly transparent. They're sort of well known.

Now the question is affordability for the customers. Now of course, as a mobility retailer, Becky, I would like lower prices because that allows my

consumers to have more and more discretionary mobility. There would be more on roads. Many more of them will come to my station, buy more of my fuel,

of course.

But at the same time, there are realities, and the biggest reality is that the pricing of fuel is commoditized, is connected to the international

markets, which is supply demand driven fundamentally, and all kinds of other risks which get embedded into the price as well.

So, I think what we need to see, Becky, is a holistic picture, whereby I think the core thing is that can the international pricing environment be

such that the volatility is less and essentially the affordability and the prices are at a range where not only investors get their return but the

consumers also get the bank for their buck.

And I think that kind of balance with all kinds of other volatility items in the market tends to be difficult. But once things settle down, we will

see that. In quarter two, Becky, we saw prices going down in UAE as well on the pumps, right? So essentially, moment the core thing for me, moment

international prices go down, the pump prices in UAE will go down, and I would welcome it.

My consumers will have bigger mobility spend, and that's good for my --

ANDERSON: Absolutely. All right, and I'm going to close this out. It's good to have you, Ali. I just want our viewers to be aware, of course, of the

wider stories. The ADNOC as a whole has been sort of expanding its businesses and its energy investments into the U.S. are set to reach 440

billion dollars by 2035, spanning sort of LNG renewables, natural gas, and AI link power infrastructure.

ADNOC, of course, is one of the strategic partners alongside clean energy champion Masdar and the XRG fund in building out those energy systems that

not just the UAE needs, but the U.S. needs, of course, as well. So, it's a really important story. ADNOC, sort of the you know the wider ADNOC story

is a fascinating one to continue to report on.

And it's good to have you to talk today with us on the distribution and retail side of the business. Great to have you, Ali. Thank you. Well,

SpaceX giving investors their first look under the hood after Elon Musk's company released its first ever earnings report.

[09:35:00]

The Space and satellite giant reporting $7.8 billion in revenue from April to June. That was well above forecast, but the stock still dropped after

hours as investors focused on how much cash the company is pouring into its AI ambitions. This is a really good story. CNN Business Senior Reporter

David Goldman across it.

Let's start, David, with the stock. Get us the latest numbers, if you will, now that these markets are open for business and have been for about what

five minutes.

DAVID GOLDMAN, CNN BUSINESS SENIOR REPORTER: It's not great, Becky. I mean, down 12 percent this morning. What is going on? I thought you just said

that SpaceX had 7.8 billion dollars in revenue that was almost double what it did a year ago. I mean, this is the most fundamental thing that

investors are looking at is are you growing?

Yeah, I think so. Well, here's part of the problem: is that it's still losing money. Now, it is less these 541 million dollars from the $4.3

billion that it lost just a quarter ago. That's a much narrower loss, but it's still losing money. But there's still a lot to like about SpaceX's

business.

I mean, fundamentally, this is a rocket company, right? And I mean, they make money from the government. Certainly, they also make money from

consumers increasingly. 66 percent increase in Starlink. Those are those little satellites that beam signal down to Earth so that we can get, you

know, communications in remote or not even remote locations.

This could be one day a Verizon or an AT&T competitor. This could be a cell phone company maybe. This is a big business, actually the only profitable

business that SpaceX had in the past quarter. But here is the thing that I think investors are really focused on is AI.

Now, the business is booming, up 247 percent over the course of the past year. Remember, SpaceX and xAI, Elon Musk's AI company, they merged before

this IPO, so this is certainly helping with those sales numbers. But look how much they needed to spend to make all of those sales.

18.4 billion dollars, we'll put a little exclamation point after that, up from 10 billion dollars in the first quarter, almost double the amount that

they needed to spend on this to make all that money. I mean, Becky, this is exactly what Wall Street is concerned about, is that when are we going to

start seeing the return on this investment?

ANDERSON: 18.4 billion. Wow. That is quite --

GOLDMAN: I'll take a little bit of that. We'll share it together. Yeah.

ANDERSON: Yeah. Exactly.

GOLDMAN: Just a little.

ANDERSON: Look, I think this is a really important story because it just sort of, you know, once again reminds us of the enormity of that capex in

AI at this point. That story is not going to go away. The consequence of that, I think, it's clear, won't -- you know, we won't see the impact of

that for some time.

Whether it's hugely positive or hugely negative for these companies remains to be seen. Always good to have you, David. Thank you.

GOLDMAN: Thank you.

ANDERSON: Football transfer season in full swing. We will tell you where Egypt and Liverpool great Mo Salah received this rousing reception from his

new fans.

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[09:40:00]

ANDERSON: Mo Salah received a hero's welcome in Istanbul ahead of his move to the Turkish club there. Look at these jubilant scenes at the airport.

Salah mobbed by hundreds of fans ahead of his medical check. Now I have teased our viewers. Mr. Patrick Snell, who's joining us now, on exactly

which club he is joining there.

Certainly, a reception worthy of a football icon. Fill us in on the details.

PATRICK SNELL, CNN WORLD SPORT: Trabzonspor, Becky. Trabzonspor of the Turkish Super League. Great tease, by the way. And look at these scenes

here. This is him arriving in Istanbul on Tuesday before taking an onward flight to get to his final destination, where the club is located.

But these fans absolutely, as you said, giving him a hero's welcome. We understand he's putting pen to paper on a two-year deal, which is a good

deal. He's 34 years of age. He still has plenty to offer. I believe at the highest level of the game. That's why I'm a little bit surprised he didn't

decide to do, let's say, an extra year or two, even in Europe, but this is a real coup, in my opinion, for the Turkish Super League.

And there's no question he is going to be a big hit in that league. He's going to make a real impact coming off the World Cup with Egypt. This is

something that you know, Liverpool fans. We're all wondering where is he going to play next? An absolute Liverpool legend, 257 goals for Liverpool,

Becky, in over nine years at the club, almost a decade.

He's absolutely revered on Merseyside. He won two Premier League titles. He won the Champions League as well. He'll be hoping for more silverware now

in Turkey. Back to you.

ANDERSON: You know, I've spent a bit of time with my mate, his wife and his kids.

SNELL: He is your mate, isn't it?

ANDERSON: That's well. I mean, I would say he's my mate, but I mean, I have spent a bit of time with him. And it was really as I think about where he

has decided to sort of land. I'm thinking about the kids and the lifestyle opportunity. It is, of course, a fabulous city, Istanbul, and as a sort of

lifestyle option, and he's very much a family man.

As a lifestyle option, I think for the family as well. I think that makes a lot of sense. I agree with you. I expected that he might do a couple more

years in the top leagues in Europe, but he didn't.

SNELL: Yeah.

ANDERSON: He's decided to go there, and good for him. Best of luck to Mo and his family. More from Patrick after this break.

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