Rocket Lab Hits Record $234M Revenue in Q2 2026

Rocket Lab Hits Record $234M Revenue in Q2 2026

Quick Reads

• Rocket Lab posted its best-ever quarterly revenue at $234 million, up 62% from a year ago, and grew its contract backlog to a record $2.36 billion.

• The company’s loss per share came in wider than analysts expected, and despite the strong numbers, investors sold off the stock, sending shares down nearly 10% after hours.

• Rocket Lab also closed acquisitions of Mynaric and Motiv, launched a German subsidiary, and struck a deal to buy satellite operator Iridium Communications, expected to close in mid-2027.

Rocket Lab posted record second-quarter 2026 revenue of $234 million, up 62% year-over-year and $34 million above the prior quarter’s record, beating Wall Street’s $232 million estimate. The Nasdaq-listed space company (RKLB) reported the results on 10 August, closing out a quarter founder and CEO Sir Peter Beck called “fantastic,” citing surging demand across launch services and spacecraft manufacturing that pushed the company past its own prior guidance.

Product revenue reached $181.3 million and service revenue hit $52.7 million, pushing gross profit to $84.6 million from $46.4 million a year earlier. GAAP gross margin came in at 36.1%, above guidance of 33% to 35%, while non-GAAP gross margin hit 41.5%, also topping guidance. Net loss narrowed to $49.3 million, or $0.08 per share, from $66.4 million a year earlier, though it missed analyst expectations of a $0.06 loss.

Backlog swelled to a record $2.36 billion, up 137% year-over-year, split roughly 40% Launch Services and 60% Space Systems. Rocket Lab said it signed more than $1 billion in new contracts during the quarter and after its close, including $437 million in Electron, HASTE, and Neutron bookings and $581 million in Space Systems deals.

The Quarter also Brought Major Structural Moves

Rocket Lab closed its acquisitions of Mynaric and Motiv, launched Rocket Lab Germany to pursue sovereign European manufacturing, and announced an agreement to acquire Iridium Communications, expected to close in mid-2027 and add a 66-satellite network plus over $870 million in annual revenue.

Despite the record numbers, shares fell 3.37% to close at $80.04, then dropped a further 6.8% in after-hours trading to $74.60, as investors weighed the wider-than-expected loss and softer margin guidance against strong growth. For Q3 2026, Rocket Lab guides revenue of $250 million to $265 million, with an adjusted EBITDA loss of $17 million to $23 million.