Strong revenue growth, first Neutron deal

RocketLab shares rose in trading on Wednesday after the company’s report results for the third quarter and announced its first customer for its upcoming Neutron vehicle.

Shares of Rocket Lab jumped as much as 44% in Wednesday trading, up from its previous Tuesday close at $14.66 a share. The stock has soared over the past three months, nearly tripling during that period.

The space infrastructure company reported Tuesday that third-quarter revenue rose to $104.8 million, up 55% from $67.6 million in the same period a year ago, and above Wall Street’s expectation of $102 million, according to analysts surveyed by LSEG.

Its net loss also rose year-over-year to $51.9 million from $40.6 million, but its loss of 10 cents a share. share came in slightly below analysts’ expectations of a loss of 11 cents per share. stock.

Rocket Lab forecast fourth-quarter revenue of between $125 million and $135 million, which at the midpoint would see the company bring in about $430 million this year.

In addition, the company announced its first launch agreement for its Neutron rocket.

A “confidential commercial satellite constellation operator” signed off on two missions in mid-2026, which Rocket Lab said was at a cost “in line with our goals” for the vehicle. Previously, the company said it was targeting a price point of around $50 million per unit. Neutron launch.

“With continued operational and technical progress at Neutron, our confidence grows that the program is tracking on time (and on budget),” Deutsche analyst Edison Yu, who has a $16 price target and a buy rating on the stock, wrote in a note to investors .

Most of Rocket Lab’s revenue growth in the third quarter came from its Space Systems unit, which builds spacecraft and sells satellite parts. The business brought in $83.9 million of revenue for the quarter, up from $46.3 million a year ago, while its launch unit brought in $21 million, roughly in line with $21.3 million a year earlier.

But the company’s tiny Electron vehicle, which sells for about $8.5 million per mission, has become the world’s third-most frequently launched orbital rocket. It has launched a company record 12 missions so far this year. And Rocket Lab added $55 million worth of new launch contracts to Electron’s Q3 backlog.

The development of the Neutron — as well as the Archimedes engines that power it — remains a key element for investors, with heavy research and development spending driving most of Rocket Lab’s quarterly losses.

Neutron is seen as essential for Rocket Lab to tap into larger markets, including a wider range of US national security launches. The company continues to expect Neutron to debut in mid-2025 and has outlined a number of milestones on the rocket’s path to launch – including assembly and testing of flight hardware, firing of “multiple” Archimedes engines and continuing ongoing work on the launch pad’s infrastructure in Virginia.