Rocket Lab has pushed the debut of its larger Neutron rocket to early 2027 after engineers found air pockets in the carbon fiber of the propellant dome, which could cause explosions during launch. The company must rework the composite, but the defect was caught during testing and no other defects were found, so a commercial debut next year is considered highly likely. Rocket Lab generated $769 million in revenue over the last 12 months, and each Neutron launch could add about $50 million, but free cash flow was negative $371 million over the same period. The article says the stock's outlook depends on Neutron entering service, scaling up launches and reaching positive free cash flow, and concludes the outlook at around $50 per share is unclear.
Summary written by Upside AI from the original article. Read the source for full details.
Read the original on Yahoo Finance ↗
Keywords
Rocket Labspace industryearnings
Open a keyword to see other news on the same topic.
Related news
- Rocket Lab Tumbles on Yet Another Neutron Delay. Time to Bail?
Rocket Lab pushed the first launch of its Neutron rocket into 2027, sending shares down 6.6% to $55.25 after they had fallen as much as 16% early in the session. CEO Peter Beck cited voids in the carbon-composite forward propellant dome, with replacement and testing running through Q1 2027. Meanwhile, second-quarter revenue reached $234.07 million, up 62%, and backlog rose 137% to $2.36 billion, driven by an $816 million Space Development Agency award. Clear Street cut its target to $105 from $129 and TD Cowen cut to $90 from $120, saying the slip pushes growth and profitability out. Free cash flow was -$321.8 million in 2025, and the company raised $1.53 billion through stock sales in the first half of 2026.
- Intuitive Machines Just Dropped 30% in a Month. Is It Time to Sell?
Intuitive Machines (LUNR) stock fell 30% over the past month to $10.67, while the Procure Space ETF (UFO) dropped only 6% and Rocket Lab (RKLB) fell 22%. The article says the key risk is revenue concentrated in a few large government contracts, and the quarterly report showed an operating cash outflow of $59.8 million, a GAAP loss of $0.29 per share and shareholders' equity of negative $290 million. Q2 revenue reached $206.2 million, more than four times the year-earlier figure, backlog rose to $1.76 billion, and national security's share of sales climbed from 3% to 30%, helped by an 18-spacecraft award for the Golden Dome missile defense constellation. The company has not yet guided on free cash flow, and Mission 3 is set to launch in the first quarter of 2027. The article says the 30% decline already reflects much of this concentration risk, but investors should weigh their exposure carefully when adjusting holdings.
- Rocket Lab Just Postponed Its Neutron Launch. Again.
Rocket Lab has postponed the inaugural launch of its reusable Neutron rocket, announced in an after-hours webcast on October 14. The delay stems from air pockets forming between carbon composite layers in the domes at the top and bottom of the first-stage propellant tanks, which weaken structural integrity; the company chose to delay while developing a new manufacturing process. RKLB shares fell 25% that week. CEO Sir Peter Beck said the problem has been solved, but the target is now a 2027 launch without a specific date, and he acknowledged the timeline is "ambitious." The author argues the delay of a few months to a year will have little near-term impact on revenue or profit, since Neutron was always planned to ramp up gradually, and that Rocket Lab will almost certainly earn its first profit next year regardless of a Neutron launch.
- Rocket Lab Just Had Another Setback. Here’s Why I’m Finally Buying the Stock Anyway
Rocket Lab delayed its Neutron rocket for the second time this year after a manufacturing flaw was found in a carbon composite tank dome in the first stage, sending the stock sharply lower to about two-thirds below its May all-time high. The first Neutron launch is now expected in 2027, instead of the fourth quarter of 2026. Q2 revenue reached $234 million, up 62% year over year, and backlog stood at $2.36 billion, while the company agreed to acquire Iridium Communications for about $8 billion including debt. The author says the stock is still not cheap at about 40 times sales and remains loss-making, but he is starting a small position and will add as milestones are reached.
- Why Rocket Lab's Recent Fall Is Overblown
Rocket Lab shares fell more than 25% as of Oct. 16, after a small manufacturing defect pushed the Neutron rocket launch back to 2027 and Space Exploration Technologies' momentum added pressure. The author argues the drop is overblown: the company has a backlog above $2.3 billion, with about 45% expected to convert into revenue within a year. Second-quarter revenue rose 62%, and the third quarter looks set to keep that growth even without Neutron. The space systems segment, which covers components, satellites and spacecraft, remains Rocket Lab's main source of revenue. The author sees the dip as an opportunity, while noting the stock is still a high-risk investment.
- Rocket Lab Delays Neutron Again. Is the Stock in Trouble?
Rocket Lab (RKLB) shares plunged after the company said the Neutron rocket’s launch would slip to next year, one of several delays, and the stock is down close to 40% over six months. The article notes investors may shift toward Space Exploration Technologies Corp, which went public over the summer. Revenue for the quarter ended June 30 rose 62% year over year to $234 million, backlog grew 137% to just under $2.4 billion, and the company is acquiring Iridium Communications. Neutron, which can handle larger payloads than Electron, is seen as key to future profitability. The author argues the delay alone doesn’t justify selling, though the company is not yet profitable and that could take a long time to change.
Related markets
Latest news
- JetBlue posts bigger loss on fuel costs, but CEO says margins improving
JetBlue posted a third-quarter net loss of $257 million, wider than the $143 million loss a year earlier, as its fuel bill rose 61% to $868 million. CEO Joanna Geraghty said resilient demand and strong yields pushed revenue well above initial expectations, a momentum that has carried into the fourth quarter, while average fares rose more than 19% to $245.11. Shares jumped roughly 11% in after-hours trading Monday after falling to a new low, and the carrier ended the quarter with $2.2 billion in liquidity and $8.4 billion in total debt. The Wall Street Journal reported that a group of senior creditors is working with PJT Partners, while CFO Ursula Hurley said the company aims for at least $1 EPS and positive free cash flow in 2028. A judge blocked both the Spirit Airlines acquisition and the American Airlines partnership, and JetBlue now has a partnership with United Airlines.
- Why Google might avoid an earnings 'reckoning' this week
According to D.A. Davidson analyst Gil Luria, Google (GOOG) has several advantages ahead of this week's earnings that Meta (META) lacked after its negative surprises. Google already did some fundraising and signaled a significant increase in capex for next year when it reported Q2, so that concern may be behind it. Co-founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page moved out of California before the 1/1/26 cutoff and may avoid selling shares, letting investors focus on Google Cloud growth driven by Anthropic. Meta posted negative free cash flow for the first time since 2012 amid aggressive AI spending and created a nonvoting Class C stock, effectively a 2-for-1 split, with trading slated for January 2027. Meta shares have faced pressure over fears that Zuckerberg may have to sell shares to pay his Prop 40 tax bill, while Luria says Google ranks second or third in each AI market.
- 1 small-cap stock to target this week and 2 we find risky
The article highlights ANF (market cap $6.61 billion), a specialty retailer selling its own fashion brand to young adults, as a small-cap stock worth noting this week, while ASAN and PIPR are grouped as risky. ASAN (market cap $2.75 billion, priced at $11.83) posted average ARR growth of 9.5% over the last year and a 96.5% net revenue retention rate, which the article links to customer churn from commoditized software and long sales cycles caused by customization for large enterprise clients. It trades at about 3x forward price-to-sales. PIPR (market cap $4.34 billion, $64.58 per share) saw annual revenue growth of 5% over the last five years and EPS growth of 3.3%, which the article notes trailed its revenue gains, and it trades at 13.3x forward P/E.
- Tesla Isn't a Hyperscaler. Why the AI Bears Are Misreading Its $5 Billion Capex Cut.
Tesla lowered its 2026 capital expenditure (capex) forecast from more than 25 billion USD to approximately 20 billion USD, CFO Vaibhav Taneja said on the third-quarter earnings call. The move does not mean Tesla is backing away from AI, as it continues to develop Full Self-Driving, expand its Cybercab robotaxi program, and work on Optimus robots, but it does not need to build data center capacity on the scale of Amazon Web Services or Azure. Third-quarter revenue was 28.05 billion USD, essentially unchanged from a year earlier, while operating margins narrowed from 5.8% to 2.6%. Tesla still generated 1.53 billion USD in free cash flow during the quarter and ended September with more than 45 billion USD in cash and investments. The article argues the cut reflects timing rather than intent, since management expects capital spending to rise in coming years.
- Quantum computing could 'brute force break' most banks' encryption
Algorand CEO William Herkelrath says quantum computing could let brute-force attacks break most banks' current encryption, so every system will need upgrading. He says the threat is on the horizon, with estimates ranging from two to three years or sooner. He notes government mandates in Europe and the United States, and that 2027 CISO budgets already include related line items. Federal agencies have until October 22 to submit upgrade plans, which cover databases, messaging systems and authenticator apps. He hopes the costs will not fall on consumers and says his company is getting more inbound interest than before.
- Is CoreWeave a Screaming Buy Right Now? 3 Reasons the Stock Could Hit $100 Before the End of the Year.
CoreWeave (CRWV) stock fell 41% in less than three weeks as investors grew skeptical of AI infrastructure build-out costs, after its bond yields reached as high as 15% and some anticipated bankruptcy. The article argues the sell-off could be an attractive buying opportunity and gives three reasons the stock could reach $100 by year-end. First, AI compute demand still outstrips supply, with Amazon saying its cloud capacity is nearly sold out through 2027. Second, Nvidia is a major investor, taking a $2 billion stake in January and agreeing to buy up to $6.3 billion in unused capacity through 2032. Third, interest rates have eased from their peak, and third-quarter earnings expected on Nov. 11 could show revenue up 159.4% to $3.54 billion.
Get the briefing on Telegram or Zalo
Join the Upside Telegram channel or Zalo group for the Vietnam stocks and gold briefing at 8:00 and 19:00 (Vietnam time) on trading days, plus a weekly wrap on Saturday morning.