RKLB
Rocket Lab
Electron generating revenue today, Neutron carrying the upside and the execution risk.
Portfolio weight
3.44%
As of August 20, 2026
Electron and launch cadence
Electron is the operating business. It launches regularly and generates revenue, which distinguishes Rocket Lab from most companies with comparable ambitions. Launch cadence is the metric that matters. Each launch is revenue, and a rising rate is the evidence that manufacturing and operations are working.
Neutron is where the upside is, and the risk
Neutron is the larger vehicle in development and carries most of the potential value. It is also the main risk. Development is progressing, but new launch vehicles are historically late and expensive, and a first flight is a binary event. Neutron matters enough to the upside case that schedule slippage or a materially more expensive development path would change the economics of the position.
The recent selloff appeared larger than the underlying developments justified, which was the entry argument. The upside is substantial, but execution risk remains real, and I keep it relatively small precisely because the outcome remains high-risk.
Backlog, revenue growth and the path to profitability
Backlog gives some visibility into future revenue, spanning launch contracts and the space-systems business that manufactures satellite components and spacecraft. That second segment is the less-discussed half of the company and currently the larger revenue contributor.
The company is not profitable, and revenue growth is being funded by investment in Neutron. Gross margin trend and cash burn matter more here than revenue growth on its own. Growth that consumes more capital than it returns is not yet a business model.
Reported financials
Financial data through Q2 2026
Revenue
SEC XBRL
Financial data through Q2 2026 · SEC XBRL: RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax. Q4 derived as the fiscal-year total less the other three quarters, since XBRL has no standalone Q4 duration.
Revenue growth (YoY)
SEC XBRL
Financial data through Q2 2026 · Year-over-year change, same quarter prior year, from SEC-reported figures.
Gross margin
SEC XBRL
Financial data through Q2 2026 · Computed from SEC-reported grossProfit ÷ revenue.
Relative valuation
Valuation updated August 2026
Forward P/E
Not applicable. Not yet profitable.
Direct peers
used in the average
Similar enough that comparing multiples is meaningful.
FIREFLY
Firefly Aerospace
84% similar
fwd P/E pending
PL
Planet Labs
58% similar
fwd P/E pending
Strategic competitors
never averaged
Competing for the same customers or budget, but too different financially for their multiple to say much about this holding.
LMT
Lockheed Martin
67% similar
fwd P/E pending
Excluded from peer average: too diversified for a clean multiple comparison
Selected by weighted similarity across business model, revenue model, products, end markets, customer type, capital intensity, growth, margins and geography. Direct peers score ≥55% and sit within 2 diversification steps; only they feed the peer average.
