Latest news with #Rocket Lab
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Rocket Lab's Electron Strengthens Grip on Small Launch Market
Rocket Lab USA, Inc. (RKLB) has emerged as an industry forerunner in the launch and space systems market. In the launch segment, Rocket Lab has built a strong position through its small satellite launch services offered by the Electron rocket, which is currently the second most frequently launched U.S. rocket. The growing demand for Rocket Lab's services involving its Electron rocket is evident from several recent developments. In February 2025, the company secured a major contract from a Japan-based Earth imaging company, iQPS. This agreement covers eight dedicated Electron launches, with six missions scheduled for 2025 and two in 2026, making it one of the largest Electron launch deals to date. In June, RKLB successfully launched its 68th Electron rocket to deploy a single satellite to space for a confidential commercial customer. In the same month, Rocket Lab got selected to launch a dedicated Electron mission for the European Space Agency (ESA) for the first time, to deploy the first pair of satellites for a future navigation constellation for Europe. Rocket Lab will conduct these launches, no earlier than December 2025. With such high-profile contracts in its order book, Rocket Lab's Electron rocket cements its dominance in the small launch market, proving its reliability and scalability as the demand for dedicated, agile satellite deployment grows. Other Stocks to Keep on the Watchlist In the modern era of space exploration, factors such as rapid technological advancements, rising demand for satellite deployment, increasing commercial space activities and growing investment in space infrastructure are driving the expansion of the space launch services market. Apart from RKLB, other industry players like Boeing (BA) and Lockheed Martin (LMT), which already have a well-established presence in the launch services sector, are also positioned to benefit from these growth trends. Their joint venture, the United Launch Alliance (ULA), has been a key U.S. launch provider, successfully delivering more than 150 Atlas and Delta rockets since its formation in 2006. ULA's latest offering, the Vulcan rocket, is an evolution of the Atlas V and Delta IV vehicles. It is designed to provide more affordable and accessible launch options for a variety of missions, further strengthening ULA's competitive standing in the market. RKLB's Price Performance, Valuation and Estimates Shares of RKLB have gained 637.6% in the past year compared with the industry's 43.3% growth. Image Source: Zacks Investment Research The company shares are expensive on a relative basis, with its forward 12-month Price/Sales being 26.45X compared with its industry's average of 10.16X. Image Source: Zacks Investment Research The Zacks Consensus Estimate for RKLB's 2025 loss has improved over the past 60 days. Image Source: Zacks Investment Research RKLB stock currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report The Boeing Company (BA) : Free Stock Analysis Report Lockheed Martin Corporation (LMT) : Free Stock Analysis Report Rocket Lab Corporation (RKLB) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research ( Zacks Investment Research Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Globe and Mail
2 days ago
- Business
- Globe and Mail
Rocket Lab's Electron Strengthens Grip on Small Launch Market
Rocket Lab USA, Inc. ( RKLB ) has emerged as an industry forerunner in the launch and space systems market. In the launch segment, Rocket Lab has built a strong position through its small satellite launch services offered by the Electron rocket, which is currently the second most frequently launched U.S. rocket. The growing demand for Rocket Lab's services involving its Electron rocket is evident from several recent developments. In February 2025, the company secured a major contract from a Japan-based Earth imaging company, iQPS. This agreement covers eight dedicated Electron launches, with six missions scheduled for 2025 and two in 2026, making it one of the largest Electron launch deals to date. In June, RKLB successfully launched its 68th Electron rocket to deploy a single satellite to space for a confidential commercial customer. In the same month, Rocket Lab got selected to launch a dedicated Electron mission for the European Space Agency (ESA) for the first time, to deploy the first pair of satellites for a future navigation constellation for Europe. Rocket Lab will conduct these launches, no earlier than December 2025. With such high-profile contracts in its order book, Rocket Lab's Electron rocket cements its dominance in the small launch market, proving its reliability and scalability as the demand for dedicated, agile satellite deployment grows. Other Stocks to Keep on the Watchlist In the modern era of space exploration, factors such as rapid technological advancements, rising demand for satellite deployment, increasing commercial space activities and growing investment in space infrastructure are driving the expansion of the space launch services market. Apart from RKLB, other industry players like Boeing ( BA ) and Lockheed Martin ( LMT ), which already have a well-established presence in the launch services sector, are also positioned to benefit from these growth trends. Their joint venture, the United Launch Alliance (ULA), has been a key U.S. launch provider, successfully delivering more than 150 Atlas and Delta rockets since its formation in 2006. ULA's latest offering, the Vulcan rocket, is an evolution of the Atlas V and Delta IV vehicles. It is designed to provide more affordable and accessible launch options for a variety of missions, further strengthening ULA's competitive standing in the market. RKLB's Price Performance, Valuation and Estimates Shares of RKLB have gained 637.6% in the past year compared with the industry 's 43.3% growth. The company shares are expensive on a relative basis, with its forward 12-month Price/Sales being 26.45X compared with its industry's average of 10.16X. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for RKLB's 2025 loss has improved over the past 60 days. RKLB stock currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days Just released: Experts distill 7 elite stocks from the current list of 220 Zacks Rank #1 Strong Buys. They deem these tickers "Most Likely for Early Price Pops." Since 1988, the full list has beaten the market more than 2X over with an average gain of +23.5% per year. So be sure to give these hand picked 7 your immediate attention. See them now >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report The Boeing Company (BA): Free Stock Analysis Report Lockheed Martin Corporation (LMT): Free Stock Analysis Report Rocket Lab Corporation (RKLB): Free Stock Analysis Report
Yahoo
07-08-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Rocket Lab eyes big defense opportunities with new acquisition
Rocket Lab is signaling to investors, yet again, that it's more than 'just' a rocket company. Rocket Lab's second-quarter results, which were posted Thursday, show revenues continue to be driven by its space systems business rather than launch. The results also highlighted the company's acquisition strategy and how its purchase of a new optical payloads company will make it more competitive for lucrative government contracts. The company's space systems brought in $97.9 million of the $144.5 million in total revenues for the second quarter. Rocket Labs' total revenue, its highest quarterly revenue in the company's history, jumped 36% from a year ago. The company's net loss widened to $66.4 million. Rocket Lab founder and CEO Peter Beck highlighted the 'busy quarter of M&A activity' as the company gets close to closing its deal to buy Geost, a company that builds optical payloads. Through that acquisition, which will close at $275 million in cash and equity, Rocket Lab is opening a new business unit called Optical Systems to scale electro-optical and infrared sensor manufacturing. Those sensors are used in missile warning, tracking, and space domain awareness. The acquisition is also one part of a larger play from Rocket Lab — spelled out quite explicitly in the company's earnings presentation — to bid for multibillion-dollar DOD initiatives like Golden Dome. Rocket Lab has already won some major defense contracts, including a $515 million, 18-satellite build contract to support the Space Development Agency's constellation of missile-tracking satellites. The company has moved into production on those satellites, following confirmation that they meet the DOD's mission requirements, Rocket Lab said. Down on Earth, Rocket Lab says it's progressing well toward the first launch of its larger Neutron rocket. The rocket's launch complex in Virginia is expected to be complete in the third quarter of this year, with hardware en route and the new rocket engine, called Archimedes, undergoing multiple tests per day. The company is staying vague about the exact launch date, saying only in the presentation that it is pushing an 'all-out effort to get Neutron to the launch pad before the end of 2025.' Rocket Lab ended the quarter with $564 million in cash and cash equivalents and estimates revenues will hit between $145 to $155 million next quarter. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
