RocketLab jumps, putting it on pace for another all-time high, after new launch deal
Retail favorite Rocket Lab jumped, putting it on track for another record high, after announcing a deal to provide two new launches for the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency from its New Zealand launch complex.
The launches, one in December and one in 2026, will demonstrate new satellite technologies developed by Japanese, university, and research institutions.
Shares of Rocket Lab, which has never turned an annual profit and isn’t predicted to until 2027, have been on a remarkable trajectory, rising more than 150% this year and nearly 600% over the last 12 months.
The run-up implies growing expectations for Rocket Lab’s current focus: getting its larger Neutron rocket — a potential competitor to SpaceX’s dominant Falcon-9 — launched by the end of the year.
If successful, company leaders say, Neutron — which can put larger satellite constellations into orbit — should position Rocket Lab well in the growing business of selling services like consumer broadband from networks of satellites rather than terrestrial towers. Other services-from-space stocks like Planet Labs and AST SpaceMobile have also posted giant gains this year.
Shares of Rocket Lab, which has never turned an annual profit and isn’t predicted to until 2027, have been on a remarkable trajectory, rising more than 150% this year and nearly 600% over the last 12 months.
The run-up implies growing expectations for Rocket Lab’s current focus: getting its larger Neutron rocket — a potential competitor to SpaceX’s dominant Falcon-9 — launched by the end of the year.
If successful, company leaders say, Neutron — which can put larger satellite constellations into orbit — should position Rocket Lab well in the growing business of selling services like consumer broadband from networks of satellites rather than terrestrial towers. Other services-from-space stocks like Planet Labs and AST SpaceMobile have also posted giant gains this year.
