RKLBRocket Lab Corporation
Industry Space defense Updated 28 Sep 2026 Price 23 Oct 2026
If management hits its targets, one share in 12 months
$52.60 → $55.25
Promises vs. what happened
16 claims · 8 decksEvery target management put in a slide deck, and whether they hit it, missed it, or quietly dropped it.
| Promise | Made in | What happened | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20+ Electron and HASTE launches in '25 | Q4 '24 | 21, a record | Held |
| Q2 '25 revenue $130-140M, margin 30-32% | Q1 '25 | $144.5M, above the top | Held |
| Q4 '25 revenue $170-180M, margin 37-39% | Q3 '25 | $179.7M, inside | Held |
| Q1 '26 revenue $185-200M, margin 34-36% | Q4 '25 | $200.3M and 38.2%, both above | Held |
| Q2 '26 revenue $225-240M | Q1 '26 | $234.1M, inside | Held |
| SDA Tranche 2 leads to more SDA work | Q3 '24 | Tranche 3, $816M, Dec '25 | Held |
| Mynaric acquired | Q1 '25 | closed Q2 '26, about a year on | Held |
| Launch Complex 3 opens in Q2 '25 | Q4 '24 | opened 28 Aug '25, a quarter late | Late |
| Q3 '25 revenue $145-155M, EBITDA -$21-23M | Q2 '25 | revenue at the top; EBITDA -$26.3M | Late |
| Neutron flies in Q4 '26 | Q4 '25 | open — now reads as pad delivery | Open |
| Landing barge in service in 2026 | Q4 '24 | open; no date repeated | Open |
| 2026 beats 21 launches | Q1 '26 | open | Open |
| Q3 '26 revenue $250-265M, margin cut to 29-31% | Q2 '26 | open | Open |
| Iridium bought for recurring revenue | Q2 '26 | open; S-4 filed, 2027 close | Open |
| Profit comes after the Neutron cycle | Q4 '25 | open; adjusted EBITDA -$8.8M in Q2 '26 | Open |
| Neutron flies in 2025 | Q3 '24 | never; the date moved four times | Missed |
What they’re pitching
the headline page, deck by deckThe headline from each quarterly results deck over two years, so you can see what they want you to focus on, and when it changes.
'24Q4
'24Q1
'25Q2
'25Q3
'25Q4
'25Q1
'26Q2
'26
CadenceOff page one Q2 '26
StrategyOff page one Q2 '25
RevenuePage one since Q3 '25
MarginOff page one Q2 '26
NeutronOff page one Q2 '26
DefenseOff page one Q1 '26
BacklogOff page one Q2 '26
DealsNew Q1 '25 · Page one since Q2 '26
on the headline page further in the deck not in the deck▲ onto page one▼ off page one● first mentionTap a mark for the quote.
Electron and HASTE cadence
“Record number of annual launches, with more scheduled for the year.”
Deck Q3 2024 Investor Update · p. 4 ·
Electron and HASTE cadence
“16 Electron launches in 2024.”
Deck Q4 2024 & Full Year Investor Update · p. 7 ·
Electron and HASTE cadence
“EIGHT 100% mission success for Electron in Q1 2025, including a rapid turnaround of three launches in 13 days. Secured new launch contracts for Electron, HASTE, and Neutron.”
Deck Q1 2025 Investor Update · p. 4 ·
Electron and HASTE cadence
“CADENCE 9 36.9% GM Five launches in Q2 and a new First flight hardware on its”
Deck Q2 2025 Investor Update · p. 3 (OCR) ·
Electron and HASTE cadence
“Four launches completed in Q3 On target for 20+ launches 2025 with 100% mission success. by the end of the year.”
Deck Q3 2025 Investor Update · p. 8 (OCR) ·
Electron and HASTE cadence
“New annual record 100% mission success 7 launches in Q4, biggest launch quarter yet”
Deck Q4 2025 Investor Update · p. 4 ·
Electron and HASTE cadence
“CONTRACTS 31 Electron & HASTE missions booked -the most in any quarter, ever.”
Deck Q1 2026 Investor Update · p. 6 (OCR) ·
Electron and HASTE cadence
“$437M+ RECORD NEW LAUNCH CONTRACTS 26 NEW LAUNCHES BOOKED 90+ LAUNCHES IN BACKLOG”
Deck Q2 2026 Investor Update · p. 15 (OCR) ·
End-to-end space company, then space applications
“Delivering as an end- to -end space company”
Deck Q3 2024 Investor Update · p. 4 ·
End-to-end space company, then space applications
“A bold, strategic move toward being a truly end-to-end space company operating our own constellation and delivering services from space.”
Deck Q4 2024 & Full Year Investor Update · p. 23 ·
End-to-end space company, then space applications
“Everything we’re doing feeds into our strategic vision of delivering our own services from space with our own satellite constellation.”
Deck Q1 2025 Investor Update · p. 3 ·
End-to-end space company, then space applications
“Y Constellation build for national security, on time and on budget”
Deck Q2 2025 Investor Update · p. 5 (OCR) ·
End-to-end space company, then space applications
“END-TO-END SPACE TECHNOLOGY”
Deck Q1 2026 Investor Update · p. 3 (OCR) ·
End-to-end space company, then space applications
“ROCKET LAB IS ACQUIRING IRIDIUM”
Deck Q2 2026 Investor Update · p. 5 (OCR) ·
Record revenue
“Q3 delivered Strong growth year -on -year”
Deck Q3 2024 Investor Update · p. 5 ·
Record revenue
“Our BIGGEST REVENUE”
Deck Q4 2024 & Full Year Investor Update · p. 3 ·
Record revenue
“Q1 2025 revenue, one of our highest quarters ever. Up 32%”
Deck Q1 2025 Investor Update · p. 4 ·
Record revenue
“$155m revenue in Q3 2025.”
Deck Q3 2025 Investor Update · p. 3 (OCR) ·
Record revenue
“RECORD ANNUAL REVENUE”
Deck Q4 2025 Investor Update · p. 3 ·
Record revenue
“Revenue in Q12026 up 63.5% YoY vs”
Deck Q1 2026 Investor Update · p. 6 (OCR) ·
Record revenue
“Q2 2026 revenue Across Q2 and post Across Q2 and post Plus more than $800M lridium acquisition announced - our boldest up 62% ($89.6M) YoY quarter.”
Deck Q2 2026 Investor Update · p. 3 (OCR) ·
Record gross margin
“CADENCE 9 36.9% GM Five launches in Q2 and a new First flight hardware on its”
Deck Q2 2025 Investor Update · p. 3 (OCR) ·
Record gross margin
“Q3 2025 GAAP Gross Margin of 37% On track to break annual”
Deck Q3 2025 Investor Update · p. 3 (OCR) ·
Record gross margin
“Margin of 38.2% and Non-GAAP Gross”
Deck Q1 2026 Investor Update · p. 6 (OCR) ·
Neutron development and first-launch date
“Neutron on track for expected first launch in 2025, meeting on-ramp requirements.”
Deck Q3 2024 Investor Update · p. 13 ·
Neutron development and first-launch date
“Debut launch scheduled for second half of 2025.”
Deck Q4 2024 & Full Year Investor Update · p. 11 ·
Neutron development and first-launch date
“Neutron onramped to the Department of Defense’s most competitive launch program for its highest priority missions.”
Deck Q1 2025 Investor Update · p. 4 ·
Neutron development and first-launch date
“All-out effort to get Neutron to the launch pad before the end of 2025, which assumes a greenlight schedule while some risks are yet to be retired.”
Deck Q2 2025 Investor Update · p. 21 (OCR) ·
Neutron development and first-launch date
“Our current plan for Neutron has the rocket arriving at”
Deck Q3 2025 Investor Update · p. 14 (OCR) ·
Neutron development and first-launch date
“Neutron’s first launch is now targeted for Q4 2026.”
Deck Q4 2025 Investor Update · p. 20 ·
Neutron development and first-launch date
“CONTRACT 5 Neutron launches secured. Manifest rapidly filling up through to end of the decade.”
Deck Q1 2026 Investor Update · p. 6 (OCR) ·
Neutron development and first-launch date
“Production of the Stage 1 tank currently aligns with target delivery of Neutron to the launch pad in Q4 2026.”
Deck Q2 2026 Investor Update · p. 21 (OCR) ·
Defense and national security
“Rocket Lab in strong position for upcoming solicitation for 200 satellites under Tranche 3 of the SDA’s program.”
Deck Q3 2024 Investor Update · p. 30 ·
Defense and national security
“Selected by KRATOS to serve on the newly-extended $1.45 billion MACH-TB 2.0 hypersonic test program over a 5-year period.”
Deck Q4 2024 & Full Year Investor Update · p. 9 ·
Defense and national security
“HASTE onramped to compete for multiple defense contracts:”
Deck Q1 2025 Investor Update · p. 8 ·
Defense and national security
“CDR program milestone Active bid underway for SDA confirms our design & Tranche 3 constellation.”
Deck Q2 2025 Investor Update · p. 7 (OCR) ·
Defense and national security
“Agency has declared our components, systems, and Awards for ~54 spacecraft software for 18x T2TL for the SDA’s Tranche 3 spacecraft mission-ready, Tracking Layer have been advancing Rocket Lab to delayed by the US.”
Deck Q3 2025 Investor Update · p. 12 (OCR) ·
Defense and national security
“Awarded $816m prime contract to build missile defense constellation for Space”
Deck Q4 2025 Investor Update · p. 4 ·
Defense and national security
“DEPT OF WAR 20x LAUNCH CONTRACT Largest order yet within MACH-$190m MACH-TB 2.0 order TB program, demonstrating the in Ql cements HASTE as Pentagon's confidence in and U.S. Department of War ROCKET defense & test category reliance on HASTE.”
Deck Q1 2026 Investor Update · p. 9 (OCR) ·
Defense and national security
“$966M FROM”
Deck Q2 2026 Investor Update · p. 17 (OCR) ·
Backlog
“Backlog as of Q3 2024, representing 80% YoY growth.”
Deck Q3 2024 Investor Update · p. 5 ·
Backlog
“Healthy pipeline including multi-launch deals and large”
Deck Q1 2025 Investor Update · p. 26 ·
Backlog
“$1 BILLION Backlog as of Q2 2025.”
Deck Q2 2025 Investor Update · p. 24 (OCR) ·
Backlog
“Q2'25 ENDING BACKLOG: $1.0B Q3'25 ENDING BACKLOG: $1.1B”
Deck Q3 2025 Investor Update · p. 25 (OCR) ·
Backlog
“At end of Q4 2025. A 73% increase from Q4 2024.”
Deck Q4 2025 Investor Update · p. 3 ·
Backlog
“A YoY 108% and 20.2% increase from”
Deck Q1 2026 Investor Update · p. 6 (OCR) ·
Backlog
“Q1'26 ENDING BACKLOG: $2.2B Q2'26 ENDING BACKLOG: $2.36B”
Deck Q2 2026 Investor Update · p. 30 (OCR) ·
Acquisitions
“Working through the process to acquire Mynaric, a leading provider of laser optical communications terminals for air, space, and mobile applications.”
Deck Q1 2025 Investor Update · p. 19 ·
Acquisitions
“Imminent acquisition of Geost adds Payloads to our extensive capabilities.”
Deck Q2 2025 Investor Update · p. 3 (OCR) ·
Acquisitions
“Closed Geost acquisition in August, expanding Mynaric financial restructuring in Germany Exited Q3, 2025 with $1+ billion in liquidity”
Deck Q3 2025 Investor Update · p. 10 (OCR) ·
Acquisitions
“STRATEGIC ACQUISITIONS”
Deck Q4 2025 Investor Update · p. 15 ·
Acquisitions
“In just four months, we've added seven new high-value strategic products and capabilities through acquisitions and internal product aS | | development, deepening the — bench of our vertically integrated technology stack. SILICON”
Deck Q1 2026 Investor Update · p. 15 (OCR) ·
Acquisitions
“Q2 2026 revenue Across Q2 and post Across Q2 and post Plus more than $800M lridium acquisition announced - our boldest up 62% ($89.6M) YoY quarter.”
Deck Q2 2026 Investor Update · p. 3 (OCR) ·
What they keep talking about · 10
The themes that show up deck after deck, and the ones that disappear.
- Cadence
- On the headline slide in six decks of eight. From Q1 '26 the lead is launches booked and launches in backlog — 49, then 70+, then 90+ — rather than launches flown.
- Strategy
- "End-to-end space company" with its own constellation in 2024 and early 2025; by Q2 '26 the plan is to buy Iridium's network and call it space applications.
- Revenue
- A record-revenue tile in every deck except Q2 '25, which led with margin instead. $104.8M a quarter to $234.1M across the eight.
- Margin
- A headline tile from Q2 '25 to Q1 '26, peaking at 38.2% GAAP. Gone from the Q2 '26 headline, whose own guide takes the next quarter down to 29-31% on mix.
- Neutron
- A different first-launch date in five of the eight decks. From Q1 '26 the Neutron slides lead with launches sold rather than a date, and the road-to-launch chart is gone.
- Defense
- In every deck, and the only lane that has only grown: SDA Tranche 3 at $816M, a $190M HASTE block, a $966M Space Force award.
- Backlog
- About $1.0-1.1bn for a year, then $1.85bn, $2.2bn and $2.36bn. The share due within twelve months fell from 58% to 36-46% as the multi-year defence work came in.
- Deals
- One pending deal in Q1 '25 (Mynaric), then Geost, Optical Support, Precision Components, Motiv and now Iridium at an $8.0bn enterprise value.
- New
- Q2 '26: the Iridium acquisition, $437M+ of record new launch bookings, and 90+ launches in backlog.
- Quiet
- The Neutron road-to-launch chart and the in-deck non-GAAP reconciliation both stopped. The margin tile left the headline slide the quarter before the margin was guided down.
Every quarterly report we’ve saved · 8
The press releases and shareholder letters behind this page.
- Q2 2026 release · filed copy 10 Aug 2026
- Q1 2026 release · filed copy 7 May 2026
- Q4 2025 release · 8-K 26 Feb 2026
- Q3 2025 release · filed copy 10 Nov 2025
- Q2 2025 release · filed copy 7 Aug 2025
- Q1 2025 release · 8-K 8 May 2025
- Q4 2024 release · 8-K 27 Feb 2025
- Q3 2024 release · 8-K 12 Nov 2024
Archived as text; the links open the copies filed on EDGAR or the investor-relations site.
What analysts asked them
8 calls · Q3 24 – Q2 26The last eight earnings calls: what analysts kept asking about, which questions got dodged, and how much the CEO did the talking.
Share of questions by topic, call by call. A topic that suddenly dominates is usually the problem. The last row is how much of the answering the CEO did, rather than the CFO or others.
| Share of questions about… | Q3 24 | Q4 24 | Q1 25 | Q2 25 | Q3 25 | Q4 25 | Q1 26 | Q2 26 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Demand & customers | 29% | 21% | 34% | 20% | 28% | 32% | 26% | 50% |
| Growth & sales | 5% | 3% | 2% | 16% | 2% | 21% | 9% | 11% |
| Pricing & margins | 18% | 17% | 15% | 20% | 8% | 11% | 22% | 39% |
| Guidance & outlook | 13% | 14% | 12% | 12% | 15% | 21% | 4% | 28% |
| Capacity & supply | 8% | 7% | 2% | 16% | 2% | 11% | 4% | 22% |
| Capital & financing | 11% | · | 10% | 28% | 2% | 16% | 22% | 33% |
| Competition | 5% | 3% | · | 8% | 2% | · | 4% | 6% |
| Products & technology | 32% | 34% | 29% | 40% | 30% | 32% | 48% | 44% |
| Macro & regulation | 3% | 3% | 10% | · | 5% | 5% | 4% | 6% |
| Other | 39% | 38% | 41% | 20% | 50% | 26% | 13% | 11% |
| Questions | 38 | 29 | 41 | 25 | 40 | 19 | 23 | 18 |
| How much the CEO talked | 53% | 61% | 63% | 42% | 61% | 45% | 48% | 54% |
Who’s in charge, who’s selling
read from the filings · 1 Oct 2026Shareholder votes against the board and pay, plus which executives have been selling their own shares.
Tier 2 · stable
A class of stock, a board seat, and a board that fills its own vacancies
In January 2025 the founder exchanged 50,951,250 common shares for an equal number of Series A Convertible Participating Preferred, held by his family trust. It converts one for one, votes with the common, participates in dividends, carries a $0.0001 liquidation preference and elects one director — him. It converts automatically if he stops being chief executive, and the company needs the preferred holder's consent for certain actions. Around it: three classes of directors on staggered terms, so one stood in 2026; vacancies filled "solely by" the remaining directors; 66 2/3% of the outstanding vote to amend the bylaws. When a director resigned in November 2025 the board shrank itself to seven.
Tier 2 · worsening
Dilution is how this is paid for, and the Iridium ratio gets worse as the price falls
Economic shares went from 589.5M to 639.1M in the half to June 2026, 8.4%, about 17.5% a year, and are up about 37% since 2022. $1,529.6M was raised in the first half and $1,944,369,826 of at-the-market capacity is still live. Every dollar spent was raised: minus $626M of operating cash flow, $399M of capex, $328M of acquisitions and $317M of share-based pay since 2021 against about $3.4bn of equity. The Iridium merger pays $27.00 cash plus 0.24 to 0.40 shares per Iridium share — the maximum at or below $67.50 — on an $8.0bn enterprise value, with a $3.6bn bridge behind it.
Tier 2 · stable
Stockholders were asked twice to give up a vote, and the board got there by merger
The 2025 holding-company reorganisation created a pass-through voting provision giving holders a vote on subsidiary actions. The board asked them to delete it in 2025: more than 99% of votes cast agreed, but only 57.3% of outstanding shares voted and the provision's own 66 2/3% threshold failed. The board then formed a merger subsidiary, signed a merger agreement on 27 March 2026, and put the same outcome to the 2026 meeting as an internal merger needing only a majority. It passed 351.2M to 1.9M.
Tier 2 · stable
$637M sold, nothing bought, and the finance chief's shares pledged
208 sales by 12 insiders totalling $637,385,628 over the year to June 2026, zero purchases, 70.9% of it pre-planned — about 1.5% of market value. The founder sold 881,838 shares on 6 July 2026 at $92.81-97.70, about $84M, five weeks after his trust converted 5,000,000 preferred shares and three months after he cut his salary to $1. The chief financial officer exercised 731,330 options at $1.09 and sold 887,085 shares in January, with plan sales in four more months, and has 622,452 shares pledged to Morgan Stanley Private Bank for a loan with no maturity date.
Tier 3 · worsening
Five Neutron dates, and the last one changed its object
First launch was expected in 2025, then the second half of 2025, then the pad by end-2025, then the launch complex in Q1 '26, then Q4 '26 — and in the Q2 '26 deck and 10-Q the Q4 '26 target reads as delivery to the pad rather than a launch. Over the same stretch the road-to-launch milestone chart left the deck. Launch Complex 3 opened a quarter late. The quarterly guides are the opposite: revenue inside or above range seven times out of seven, adjusted EBITDA beaten five times and missed once.
Where shareholders voted no
At each annual meeting shareholders vote on who sits on the board, what the executives are paid and whether the company may create more shares. These are the votes that drew the most "no"s at the last two meetings: the shares voted against (or withheld) each year, then what share of all votes cast that was. Under each one, what the vote was about and what a no means.
| 2025 | 2026 | Share 2026 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frank (pay chair, Class II)A board seat. Shareholders vote to keep this person on the board, the group that hires, pays and can fire the CEO. A no, or a withheld vote, says they want this director out, often because of the committee they sit on or a decision they signed off. | — | 55.9M withheld | 15.8% |
| Saintil (lead independent, Class I)A board seat. | 54.9M withheld | — | 18.3% in '25 |
| Olson (audit chair, Class I)A board seat. | 26.0M withheld | — | 8.7% in '25 |
| Say on payExecutive pay. Shareholders say whether they accept what the top executives were paid. The vote is advisory: the board can ignore it, but a large no is a public rebuke and boards usually change the pay plan after one. | 58.5M against | 33.5M against | 9.5% |
| Remove the subsidiary voteChanging the company's rulebook. An amendment to the charter, articles or by-laws, the documents that set out shareholders' rights and how the board is run. | failed on 66⅔% | passed as a merger | 0.5% |
Insiders who sold the most stock
Reported sales by executives and directors, biggest first.
| SEC insider data sets and Form 4s, Jul '25-Jun '26 | Sold | Note |
|---|---|---|
| All insiders | $637.4M | 208 sales by 12 people and not one purchase; 70.9% pre-planned |
| Sir Peter Beck | about $84M | 881,838 shares on 6 Jul '26 at $92.81-97.70; still holds 7.5% |
| Adam Spice (CFO) | about $65M | 731,330 options at $1.09, 887,085 shares at $72.15-75.97 on 5 Jan '26 |
| Alex Slusky (director) | 200,000 sh | sold at $115-150 during 2026 |
| Open-market buys | none | by anyone, at any price, in the twelve months read |