Rocket Lab shares fell more than 9% in premarket trading Tuesday after CEO Peter Beck said the chance of launching the Neutron rocket before year-end is rapidly diminishing. The company reported Q2 revenue of $234.07 million, up 62% year over year, with a record backlog of $2.36 billion.
Rocket Lab shares fell 9.4% premarket Tuesday after CEO Peter Beck said the Neutron launch window is rapidly closing.
"We hopefully expect the first launch within the same timeframe," CFO Adam Spice said Monday, though no specific date was announced.
The company reported Q2 revenue of $234.07 million, up 62% year over year and ahead of the $231.35 million consensus. The per-share loss of 8 cents was slightly wider than the 7 cents expected. Rocket Lab signed $437 million in new launch contracts, pushing its record backlog to $2.36 billion, with cash and equivalents at about $2.13 billion.
Neutron, a rival to SpaceX's Falcon 9, is critical to Rocket Lab's plans to compete for commercial satellite, civil-space and U.S. national-security contracts. The company now targets a launch pad arrival in the fourth quarter rather than a launch, raising the possibility the vehicle could debut in 2027.
For Q3, Rocket Lab expects $250 million-$265 million in revenue, well above the $238.53 million consensus estimate, with an adjusted EBITDA loss of $17 million-$23 million.
The stock closed at $80.04 on Monday, down 3.37%, after the earnings report. On a year-to-date basis, RKLB has climbed 5.33%, according to Benzinga Pro data. The shares hit a record high of $150.23 on May 27 before SpaceX's June 12 IPO pulled capital away from smaller space names.
Rocket Lab has invested heavily in developing Neutron, expanding launch infrastructure and preparing for production. The company has secured early customers such as Kepler Communications for planned 2028 satellite launches. Its Electron rocket has launched 92 times, deploying more than 263 satellites for customers including NASA, the U.S. Space Force and the Swedish National Space Agency.
The timeline uncertainty raises questions about Rocket Lab's competitive positioning against SpaceX, which has dominated the commercial launch market. With an enterprise value of $48.6 billion, RKLB trades at roughly 53 times this year's sales, leaving limited room for execution missteps. Analysts expect revenue to grow at a 41% compound annual rate from 2025 to 2028, with adjusted EBITDA turning positive in 2027. Investors will watch for a firm Neutron launch date in the coming months as the next major milestone for the stock.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.
