Cathie Wood, head of Ark Investment Management, often adds to her favorite tech stocks when prices swing.
This week, she’s buying SpaceX (SPCX), continuing to build her position after the newly public stock went through a volatile stretch following its first earnings report.
Last year, the flagship Ark Innovation ETF gained 35.49%, far outpacing the S&P 500’s return of 17.88% in the same period. So far this year, Wood’s flagship Ark Innovation ETF (ARKK) is up 10.71% as of August 21, while the S&P 500 surged 12.11%, Yahoo Finance data shows.
Wood gained a reputation after the Ark Innovation ETF delivered a 153% return in 2020. But her style also brings painful losses in bearish markets, as seen in 2022, when the Ark Innovation ETF tumbled more than 60%.
Those swings have weighed on Wood’s long-term gains. As of August 21, her Ark Innovation ETF has delivered a five-year annualized return of -6.23%, while the S&P 500 has an annualized return of 11.56% over the same period, according to data from Morningstar.
Cathie Wood says AI could help sustain high corporate profits
Wood usually focuses on high-tech companies across artificial intelligence, blockchain, biomedical technology, and robotics. She believes these businesses have strong growth potential, though their volatility often causes fluctuations in the Ark’s funds.
Over the decade ended 2025, the Ark Innovation ETF wiped out nearly $5 billion in investor wealth, according to an analysis by Morningstar’s analyst Amy Arnott. That made it the fourth-biggest wealth destroyer among mutual funds and ETFs in the ranking.
Wood remains optimistic about AI, which she sees as a major driver of productivity, economic growth, and corporate profits in the years ahead.
Related: Cathie Wood buys $22.3 million of surging semiconductor stock
In an Aug. 9 post on X, Wood said U.S. corporate profits remain unusually strong, with domestic profits before tax at 13.2% of GDP, a level she said is near multi-decade highs.
Some of that strength came from the massive monetary and fiscal stimulus during the pandemic, but Wood believes another factor is helping sustain margins today: companies are leaning into AI and productivity gains to protect them.
“I think we’re still early in seeing how far that can go,” she said, adding that companies that use AI effectively will “separate themselves from the ones that don’t.”
Wood also found reasons for optimism in the latest U.S. jobs report, despite nonfarm payrolls falling by 23,000.
“It’s not as scary as it looks,” she said, pointing to higher prime-age labor force participation, cooling wages and productivity growth approaching 3%. She also suggested AI may be helping accelerate baby boomer retirements.
Not all investors agree with Wood’s optimism. Over the past 12 months through August 20, the Ark Innovation ETF saw roughly $2.91 billion in net outflows, according to data from ETF research firm VettaFi.
Cathie Wood buys $28.1 million of SpaceX stock
On Aug. 21, Wood’s Ark funds bought a total of 205,031 shares of Space Exploration Technologies Corp (SPCX), also known as SpaceX, according to Ark’s daily trading information.
Based on the latest closing price of $136.97, these stocks were worth about $28.1 million, making it one of Wood’s biggest recent buys.
SpaceX is a space technology company founded in 2002 by Elon Musk, who also leads Tesla (TSLA). The company is best known for its reusable rockets and Starlink satellite internet business, which is currently its only profitable segment.
SpaceX shares jumped 19% on their June 15 market debut. Since then, however, the stock has given back much of those early gains. Now the stock is down about 40% from the post-IPO high of $225.64, trading near the $135 IPO price.
On Aug. 4, SpaceX reported better-than-expected revenue for the second quarter in its first earnings report since its IPO. The company posted revenue of $7.81 billion, up 92% from the prior year and topping the $6.93 billion expected by analysts. Its loss came in at 9 cents per share, narrower than the 26-cent loss expected.
Still, SpaceX shares sank 13.6% on Aug. 5 as a surge in artificial intelligence spending rattled investors. The company’s capital expenditures jumped sixfold to $18.4 billion in the second quarter, above analysts’ expectations. Most of that spending went toward AI.
Investors have been wary of heavy AI spending as they look for signs that companies can generate returns on their multibillion-dollar investments. SpaceX CFO Bret Johnsen sought to ease concerns about the spending, saying on the earnings call that the company has been “efficient” with its capital.
“On the AI compute side, we’re able to deploy capital in such a way that we’re getting less than a one-year payback,” Johnsen said.
Despite a 13% one-day drop on Aug. 5 following earnings, SpaceX shares have since rebounded 22% through Aug. 22.
Wall Street analysts were mixed on SpaceX following the results.
Related: Veteran fund manager rethinks Intel stock target
Piper Sandler lowered its price target to $140 from $156 and kept a Neutral rating, citing higher capital spending and risks around “cancelable” AI cloud contracts, according to The Fly.
JPMorgan, meanwhile, raised its price target to $240 from $225 and kept an Overweight rating. The firm pointed to SpaceX’s “extreme vertical integration” and stronger expectations for its AI business.
Wood was already a SpaceX investor before the company’s IPO. Ark Invest first bought SpaceX shares in late 2023, and it later became the largest holding in the firm’s roughly $1 billion internal venture fund, according to Business Insider.
Wood has long been one of Musk’s biggest supporters. During a CNBC show covered by TheStreet’s Moz Farooque, she said periods of turmoil often bring out Musk’s best work.
“These difficult times, though, spur Elon’s creativity. He is a troubleshooter and a brilliant technologist,” Wood said. She also heavily invests in Tesla stock.
SpaceX is now the third-largest holding in Wood’s Ark Innovation ETF.
Top 10 Holdings in the Ark Innovation ETF by weight as of August 21, 2026:
- Tesla (TSLA) – 9.24%
- Tempus AI (TEM) – 6.36%
- SpaceX (SPCX) – 5.64%
- Circle Internet Group (CRCL) – 5.14%
- CRISPR Therapeutics (CRSP) – 4.91%
- Coinbase Global (COIN) – 4.46%
- Twist Bioscience (TWST) – 3.92%
- Shopify (SHOP) – 3.76%
- Palantir Technologies (PLTR) – 3.42%
- Robinhood Markets (HOOD) – 3.42%
Other than buying SpaceX shares, Wood’s latest trades included buying BWX Technologies (BWXT), Intellia Therapeutics (NTLA), Securitize (SECZ), and Perceptive Capital Solutions (FRNM).
She also trimmed positions in Palantir Technologies (PLTR), Shopify (SHOP), Deere (DE), Roblox (RBLX), 10x Genomics (TXG), and Brera Holdings (SLMT).
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