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- Rocket Lab Tumbles 11% as Neutron’s First Flight Moves to 2027; SpaceX and AST SpaceMobile Pull Back
Rocket Lab said the first launch of its Neutron rocket is now expected in 2027, after manufacturing found voids in the carbon composite layers of the propellant dome. CEO Peter Beck said the problem is solved and would reduce margin but not necessarily cause an in-flight failure, while cryogenic and hydrostatic testing will not finish until Q1 2027, later than the earlier target of delivering Neutron to the launch pad before the end of 2026. Rocket Lab shares fell 11% to $52.85 in morning trading, after an 8% drop the previous day to $59.18. SpaceX and AST SpaceMobile each fell about 2%, the UFO ETF slid 2% and the SPY fell 0.3%, which the article reads as a company-specific repricing. Backlog reached $2.36 billion at the end of Q2 2026, up 137% year over year.
- Rocket Lab Drops 6% as Citizens Cuts Target Over Neutron Delay; Planet Labs Slides 5%, SpaceX Slips
Rocket Lab shares fell 6% to $51.97 in afternoon trading after the company said the first launch of its Neutron rocket would slip from the fourth quarter of 2026 into next year. Citizens cut its price target but kept an Outperform rating, saying the delay mainly affects how quickly Rocket Lab can earn revenue from later Neutron launches. Planet Labs fell 5% and SpaceX dropped 2%, while the Procure Space ETF was down 0.9%. Rocket Lab posted Q2 revenue of $234.1 million, up 62% year over year, and a record backlog of $2.36 billion. The timing of its positive free cash flow remains tied to Neutron's first successful test launch, so the delay could push that window further out.
- Rocket Lab's Neutron Won't Launch Until 2027. Is the Stock a Buy 65% Below Its Record?
Rocket Lab now expects its Neutron rocket's first launch in 2027, not the fourth quarter of 2026 as previously targeted. CEO Sir Peter Beck said an inspection found voids in the carbon composite of a newly built forward dome for the first-stage propellant tank, so the company is building a replacement with a reworked process. No new launch date will be set until the first stage passes testing, which is expected within the first quarter of 2027. Meanwhile, second-quarter revenue rose 62% year over year to a record $234 million, with space systems up 94%. However, the company still posted an adjusted EBITDA loss of $8.8 million and negative free cash flow of $110 million in the quarter. The author argues the stock, about 65% below its May record close, still looks too expensive at roughly 35 times sales until Neutron has a launch date.
- 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.
- Rocket Lab Just Booked Its Biggest Contract Ever (Again)
Rocket Lab received an order from Japanese customer Synspective for 20 more Electron launches, announced September 30, bringing Synspective's total to 47 launches and making it Rocket Lab's largest customer. The company calls this its largest-ever Electron deal, excluding the 20 HASTE launches. Rocket Lab did not disclose pricing, but at its most recently advertised price of $8.4 million per launch, the 20 launches would generate about $168 million between 2028 and 2031. The deal pushes the company's backlog beyond 100 missions, or more than $840 million in future revenue. The article notes that Neutron's first launch has been postponed to 2027, and argues Rocket Lab could turn profitable in 2027 thanks to the pending Iridium purchase, with or without Neutron.
- Why Rocket Lab Stock Plummeted as Much as 16% Today
Rocket Lab (RKLB) pushed back the arrival of its Neutron reusable rocket at the launchpad to 2027, from the fourth quarter of 2026 previously, after finding a propellant dome manufacturing issue that the company says it has since resolved. Shares fell as much as 16% and were down 9.8% at 1:48 p.m. ET, after KeyBanc cut its price target to $100 from $135 and Clear Street cut its target to $105 from $129, with both keeping their ratings. Based on the $59.18 close the previous day, the $100 and $105 targets imply upside of 69% and 77%. The article notes Rocket Lab ended the second quarter of 2026 with a record backlog of $2.36 billion, pointing to strong demand for its launch services.
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Saudi Arabia has postponed its major annual investor conference until 2027 as Iran-backed Houthi militants escalate missile and drone attacks on the kingdom. The Future Investment Initiative had been scheduled for Riyadh from October 26 to 29. The decision follows a Houthi attack on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh on October 10, which left at least 12 people dead and more than 300 injured. Organizers said in an email that new dates will be announced soon.
- Russia fires mysterious weapon at Kyiv, shockwaves spread; President Putin appears in rare image, drawing global attention
On the night of 18 Oct, Russia launched a coordinated strike on multiple Ukrainian targets using ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and Geran UAVs, focused on Kyiv. According to TST, around 10 ballistic missiles of the Iskander-M, S-400 or KN-23 types may have been used in the first wave; an above-ground metro station on Kyiv's left bank was reported damaged, disrupting rail and metro services, and videos of blue flashes led observers to suspect a new weapon. In western Ukraine, a 330 kV transformer station near Kovel may have been targeted. Meanwhile, Putin, who rarely appears in military uniform, visited a command post and stressed establishing a “security zone” along the border; blogger Yuri Podolyaka argued Moscow no longer treats these areas as bargaining chips. Front-line correspondent Alexander Kots said the part of Donetsk still controlled by Ukraine is just over 2,700 km².
- Semiconductor Sell-Off: 5 Stocks to Buy on the Dip
The article attributes the semiconductor selloff to investor doubts about the durability of AI infrastructure spending, even as cloud companies report strong demand for AI chips. It highlights five stocks: Nvidia (forward P/E just above 13.5 on fiscal 2028 estimates), Broadcom (custom AI chips, with that revenue expected to quadruple to $230 billion over two years; forward P/E of 11), AMD (riding inference and agentic AI demand), Cerebras Systems (high risk-reward; the company claims 30 times the inference speed of GPUs) and TSMC (forward P/E of 18 on 2027 estimates).
- Tom Lee’s Bitmine Adds $30 Million in Ethereum as Buying Nears Its Finish Line
Bitmine bought another 12,535 ETH (about $30 million), lifting its holdings to 6,041,481 ETH, or 4.9% of supply and 99% of its 5% target. Chairman Tom Lee blamed the crypto selloff on a broad risk-off shift, including AI funding and safety worries, U.S.-Iran tensions, midterm jitters and rising bond yields, and called the dip a historically attractive risk-reward entry. Total holdings reached $15.1 billion as of Oct. 18, including 215 Bitcoin, $582 million in cash and marketable securities, and other investments. About 84% of its ETH (5,067,309 tokens) is staked via its MAVAN platform, with projected annualized revenue of roughly $309 million. The position is currently underwater on paper because much of it was bought at higher prices.
- Opinion: The Most Important Number in Taiwan Semiconductor's Earnings Report Was 68%
The author argues the most important figure in TSMC's Q3 report is 68%, the share of revenue from high-performance computing (HPC), which grew 22% from the prior quarter. Revenue reached $46.72 billion, up 41.2% year over year, net income rose 68.7%, and gross margin hit 66.4%. Processes at 7nm and below made up 79% of wafer revenue, with 3nm at 33% and 2nm at 8%. TSMC guided Q4 revenue to $52.3–54.3 billion and expects roughly 44% full-year growth in U.S. dollars. The author remains bullish, saying ongoing demand for advanced AI chips should keep profits rising.
- Why Meta's Q3 earnings could be a little hard to interpret
Meta is reporting its third-quarter earnings after the market closes Wednesday, and Yahoo Finance's Brian Sozzi says the report will be hard to interpret. Recent good news on Meta's AI products, including new models and an AI agent, may not appear directly in the results but will likely be discussed on the earnings call. The key uncertainty is how investors will react if Meta raises its capex outlook again: it could be seen as fueling those products, or as overspending on offerings not yet reflected in financials. Sozzi expects the market to give Meta the benefit of the doubt on higher capex, as long as the increase does not shock investors.
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