Daily newsletter · Tue 10 Nov 2026
Rocket Lab's order book grew by half in three months
Rocket Lab, which still flies its small Electron rocket out of Māhia, finished September with an order book of US$3.6 billion. That is 52% bigger than three months earlier. Revenue was a record US$267.8 million for the quarter, up 73% on a year ago.
Neutron is where the money went. The company signed more than US$515 million of contracts for the bigger rocket during the quarter, 16 missions in all, before it has flown once. The base price on several of them is US$70 million.
The loss got bigger too. Rocket Lab lost US$79.7 million in the quarter, or 12 US cents a share, against the 7 cents analysts expected. Operating cash flow was positive, at US$7.2 million.
Shares rose about 11% during Monday's session, before any of this was public, then gave back about 7% after hours. December-quarter revenue is guided to between US$270 million and US$290 million.
Neutron has not flown and will not before 2027, and its debut has already slipped once. Our read is that US$4.4 billion of cash against an US$80 million quarterly loss buys Sir Peter Beck plenty of time to get it off the pad.
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All stories →- Wednesday 21 October SpaceX's revenue rose 161%, and most of it came from AI rather than rockets
- Friday 16 October Rocket Lab pushed its Neutron rocket back to 2027, and its shares fell 6.64%
General information and commentary only, not financial advice. It does not take account of your objectives, financial situation or needs, and reflects the author's own reading of public information at the time of writing, which may be wrong. Sharespective, its people and its clients may hold positions in the companies covered. Do your own research and talk to a licensed adviser.