Rocket Lab USA, Inc. · RKLB · FY2026 Q2 · Calendar Q3 2026

Rocket Lab: Demand Is Strong, Execution Risks Remain Central

Rocket Lab's demand backdrop and backlog support a constructive growth case, but the next phase depends on executing Neutron, integrating Iridium, and controlling capital intensity.

Reported After market closeNASDAQIndustrials $37.38B market cap
100quality score

Earnings scorecard

Reported versus consensus
Reported EPS $-0.08 Consensus $-0.06
EPS surprise -37.2% Reported versus consensus
Reported revenue $234.1M Consensus $231.6M
Revenue surprise +1.1% Reported versus consensus

Market reaction

event-close to next-session close
Stock move -0.0% Event window
SPY move -0.3% Same window
Abnormal move +0.3% Stock minus SPY
Volume 1.5× Versus trailing sessions
Subsequent drift -21.2% Up to 20 sessions
RKLBSPY benchmark

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Transcript intelligence

What changed

The current analysis adds the pending Iridium acquisition, GHOST deployable launch pads, a first GEO satellite contract, and the Flatellite spacecraft to the prior-quarter growth plan.

Guidance delta

Guidance sentiment was maintained in the supplied analysis; no new numerical guidance change was identified.

Key takeaways

  • The supplied analysis describes record Q2 revenue and a $2.36 billion backlog as evidence of demand across launch and Space Systems.
  • Neutron is targeted for first flight in Q4 2026, while GHOST pads and the pending Iridium acquisition broaden the growth plan.
  • The main investor test is whether Rocket Lab can scale launches while managing integration, capital intensity, and cash burn.

Management priorities

  • Advance Neutron toward its targeted Q4 2026 first flight and build launch cadence
  • Expand GHOST deployable launch capability and Rocket Lab Germany
  • Broaden satellite-component production and integrate the pending Iridium transaction

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Earnings History

Estimate Beat Miss Match
RKLB EPS earnings history estimate and actual scatter chart 8 reported fiscal quarters and 3 future estimate-only quarters. Q4 '23 estimate $-0.09 Q4 '23 actual $-0.10, match Q1 '24 estimate $-0.11 Q1 '24 actual $-0.09, beat Q2 '24 estimate $-0.10 Q2 '24 actual $-0.08, beat Q2 '25 estimate $-0.10 Q2 '25 actual $-0.10, match Q3 '25 estimate $-0.10 Q3 '25 actual $0.01, beat Q4 '25 estimate $-0.10 Q4 '25 actual $-0.09, match Q1 '26 estimate $-0.07 Q1 '26 actual $-0.02, beat Q2 '26 estimate $-0.06 Q2 '26 actual $-0.08, miss Q3 '26 estimate $-0.05 Q4 '26 estimate $-0.04 Q1 '27 estimate $-0.03

Analyst Consensus ?

ConsensusBuy21 ratings
Bullish1676.2%
Neutral419.0%
Bearish14.8%

Analyst 52W Price Targets

$69.89Current
$4.5Low
$78.85Average
$135High

Latest persisted target per named analyst; persisted current price from FN2's market snapshot as of Sep 21, 2026. Not an FN2 forecast.

Firm-level rating actions

FMP grade actions identify the grading firm, not a named analyst.

FirmRatingPrior ratingActionDate
B of A Securities Buy BuyMaintainAug 31, 2026
Citizens Market Outperform Market OutperformMaintainAug 11, 2026
Cantor Fitzgerald Overweight OverweightMaintainAug 11, 2026
KGI Securities Outperform NeutralUpgradeJul 27, 2026
Roth Capital Buy BuyMaintainJun 30, 2026
Needham Buy BuyMaintainJun 30, 2026
Craig-Hallum Buy BuyMaintainJun 30, 2026
Keybanc Overweight Sector WeightUpgradeJun 15, 2026
Deutsche Bank Buy BuyMaintainMay 12, 2026
BTIG Hold HoldMaintainMay 12, 2026
TD Cowen Buy BuyMaintainMay 8, 2026
Stifel Buy BuyMaintainApr 20, 2026
Goldman Sachs Neutral NeutralMaintainJan 20, 2026
Morgan Stanley Overweight Equal WeightUpgradeJan 16, 2026
Citigroup Buy BuyMaintainJul 14, 2025
Wells Fargo Equal Weight Equal WeightMaintainApr 8, 2025
Citizens Capital Markets Market Perform Market PerformMaintainMar 14, 2025
Roth MKM Buy BuyMaintainJun 18, 2024
Credit Suisse Underperform UnderperformMaintainOct 12, 2022
Cowen & Co. Outperform Market PerformUpgradeAug 31, 2022
Canaccord Genuity Buy BuyMaintainSep 9, 2021
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Named analyst price targets

Upside is calculated against the persisted current price $69.89. FMP does not supply a rating on these named-analyst rows.

FirmAnalyst52W targetPrice when postedUpsideDate
Raymond JamesBrian Gesuale$80$61.96 +14.5%Sep 11, 2026
Berenberg BankAnalyst unavailable$83$62.54 +18.8%Sep 2, 2026
Cantor FitzgeraldAndres Sheppard$122$78.85 +74.6%Aug 11, 2026
Roth CapitalAnalyst unavailable$110$80.04 +57.4%Aug 11, 2026
KGI SecuritiesAnalyst unavailable$107$63.91 +53.1%Jul 27, 2026
Piper SandlerAlexander Potter$83$76.2 +18.8%Jul 15, 2026
Roth CapitalSuji Desilva$130$98.01 +86.0%Jun 29, 2026
Craig-HallumJeff Van Rhee$120$98.1 +71.7%Jun 29, 2026
KeyBancMichael Leshock$135$102.39 +93.2%Jun 15, 2026
KGI SecuritiesAnalyst unavailable$105$105.05 +50.2%Jun 11, 2026
Stifel NicolausErik Rasmussen$132$114.7 +88.9%Jun 4, 2026
Deutsche BankAnalyst unavailable$120$116.16 +71.7%May 12, 2026
Craig-HallumAnalyst unavailable$98$78.58 +40.2%May 8, 2026
Stifel NicolausAnalyst unavailable$105$87.75 +50.2%Apr 20, 2026
Roth CapitalAnalyst unavailable$100$82.93 +43.1%Apr 17, 2026
Cantor FitzgeraldAndres Sheppard$85$68.37 +21.6%Mar 13, 2026
Goldman SachsAnthony Valentini$69$96.3 -1.3%Jan 20, 2026
Morgan StanleyKristine Liwag$105$90.76 +50.2%Jan 16, 2026
NeedhamRyan Koontz$90$77.55 +28.8%Dec 23, 2025
Stifel NicolausAnalyst unavailable$85$70.52 +21.6%Dec 22, 2025
NeedhamRyan Koontz$63$54.98 -9.9%Nov 12, 2025
Roth CapitalSuji Desilva$75$51.9 +7.3%Nov 11, 2025
Stifel NicolausErik Rasmussen$75$51.9 +7.3%Nov 11, 2025
KeyBancAnalyst unavailable$75$67 +7.3%Oct 17, 2025
Robert W. BairdPeter Arment$83$69.27 +18.8%Oct 15, 2025
Cantor FitzgeraldAndres Sheppard$35$42.34 -49.9%Jul 14, 2025
Stifel NicolausErik Rasmussen$31$27.95 -55.6%Jan 8, 2025
KeyBancMike Leschock$12$10.91 -82.8%Oct 23, 2024
KeyBancMike Leschock$11$8.69 -84.3%Sep 27, 2024
Morgan StanleyKristine Liwag$6$5.65 -91.4%Jul 15, 2024
Goldman SachsNoah Poponak$4.5$4.56 -93.6%Jun 11, 2024
Stifel NicolausErik Rasmussen$9$3.76 -87.1%May 7, 2024
CitigroupJason Gursky$6$4.66 -91.4%Feb 12, 2024
KeyBancMichael Leshock$8$4.92 -88.6%Jan 17, 2024
Stifel NicolausErik Rasmussen$10$4.3 -85.7%Sep 27, 2023
Deutsche BankAnalyst unavailable$12$5.36 -82.8%Nov 14, 2022
Morgan StanleyAnalyst unavailable$10$5.63 -85.7%Nov 11, 2022
Cowen & Co.Sam Boughedda$8$5.52 -88.6%Aug 31, 2022
Stifel NicolausAnalyst unavailable$15$5.99 -78.5%Aug 17, 2022
Deutsche BankAnalyst unavailable$15$6.94 -78.5%Aug 15, 2022
Wells FargoMatthew Akers$5$4.2 -92.8%Jun 21, 2022
Deutsche BankAnalyst unavailable$14$5.66 -80.0%May 17, 2022
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Company context

Snapshot as of publication

Headquartered in Long Beach, California, Rocket Lab USA, Inc. is a prominent aerospace firm established in 2006. This company delivers a comprehensive suite of space-related services and hardware, primarily catering to the space and defense industries. Their operations encompass orbital launch capabilities, advanced spacecraft engineering and construction, production of various spacecraft components, and sophisticated on-orbit management services, including full constellation management. Rocket Lab is known for developing and producing a range of launch vehicles, from small to medium-class rockets.…

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Sources

  1. Earnings call transcript and parsed analysis · 2026-08-11T14:16:25.741538+00:00
  2. FN2 earnings calendar · 2026-09-15T01:23:15.305287+00:00
  3. Polygon adjusted daily market bars · 2026-09-21T20:20:49.924236+00:00
  4. Financial Modeling Prep analyst price-target consensus and quote snapshot · 2026-09-21T20:20:49.921293+00:00

Methodology

Reported and consensus figures come from FN2's earnings event records. Market reaction and volume are calculated from daily adjusted bars around the event; abnormal move subtracts the SPY move over the same window.

Analyst target low, average, and high values are derived at request time from each named analyst's latest persisted FMP target. The current-price marker comes from FN2's persisted market snapshot. They are sell-side estimates, not an FN2 valuation or recommendation.

Transcript intelligence is a structured synthesis of the current and prior earnings-call analyses. Missing values stay missing and are never estimated.

By FN2 Research · Updated . For educational purposes only; not investment advice.