Rocket Lab posts record revenue and $3.57 billion backlog

Rocket Lab reported record third-quarter revenue of $268 million, up 73 percent year on year, and a record backlog of $3.57 billion, even as its net loss widened to $79.7 million.

Why it matters: The quarter pairs the company's fastest growth with a deeper loss and a first Neutron launch now targeted no earlier than 2027, while about $1 billion of new launch contracts signed in the quarter alone underwrites the Pentagon-backed expansion the site covered earlier on Monday.

Data as of Rocket Lab Form 8-K filed with the SEC on November 9, 2026 (accession 0001819994-26-000073), read in full from the filings lane copy in this run; every figure is from the filing itself. MarketWatch's report of November 9, 2026 was read in part via the estate browser route (the remainder is paywalled) and is cited only for the analyst forecast comparison. Developing item.

Rocket Lab’s third-quarter revenue of $267.8 million beat the $257 million analyst forecast cited by MarketWatch and rose 73 percent from a year earlier, while the net loss widened to $79.7 million, or 12 cents a share, from $18.3 million a year earlier, including a $27.3 million loss on extinguishing debt. The backlog reached $3.57 billion at September 30, up 52 percent in one quarter, after about $1 billion of new launch contracts took the launch backlog to a record 117 missions, including more than $515 million of Neutron contracts across 16 missions at a base price lifted to $70 million.

The company guided fourth-quarter revenue to between $270 million and $290 million with an adjusted EBITDA loss of $14 million to $20 million, reported positive GAAP operating cash flow of $7.2 million, and said Neutron’s first launch is now targeted for no earlier than 2027. Its pending acquisition of Iridium Communications is fully funded through a completed at-the-market equity offering, and Iridium shareholders have approved the deal.

Rocket Lab posts record revenue and $3.57 billion backlog

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