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Rocket Lab shares fall as Neutron launch timing uncertainty grows
Second-quarter revenue rose 62% to a record $234 million, but Rocket Lab guided Q3 GAAP gross margin to 29% to 31% and said the pre-year-end launch window is narrowing.
Rocket Lab (RKLB) shares declined in Tuesday trading after sliding about 7% in Monday’s extended session, even as the company reported a record second-quarter revenue result. According to Yahoo Finance, revenue climbed 62% to $234 million and topped Wall Street expectations, but investors focused on what the update signaled for the timing and economics of its Neutron rocket program.
Rocket Lab previously targeted Neutron’s inaugural flight for the fourth quarter of 2026, and management’s current disclosure is to deliver the medium-lift rocket to the launch pad during the quarter. CEO Peter Beck acknowledged the window for a launch before year-end was narrowing, while the company forecast third-quarter GAAP gross margin of 29% to 31%, below an LSEG-compiled 37.6% analyst estimate.
The update also showed the extent to which Rocket Lab’s near-term results still depend on launch services versus its broader space business. For the quarter, Space Systems generated $189.5 million, or 81% of total revenue, rising 38.6% sequentially, while Launch Services contributed $44.6 million.
Rocket Lab ended June with a record $2.36 billion backlog, up 137% year over year, with Space Systems accounting for 60% of the total. The company forecast third-quarter revenue of $250 million to $265 million, said it signed more than $1 billion of new contracts across the second quarter and the period, and suggested that the contracted Space Systems base can provide visibility even before Neutron begins flying.