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RKRKLB

Rocket Lab USA, Inc.

$RKLB·$48B·Aerospace & Defense·Industrials
$63.92-0.7%YTD+5.5%1Y+29.6%
Mentions · last 7 days
2026-08-22: 236 posts2026-08-23: 292 posts3,474-1%
Price updated 10h ago·X counts updated 8d ago
RKRKLB
$RKLBRocket Lab USA, Inc.
$63.92-0.73%3.5k posts-1%
AI analysisFundamentalsVoices on X
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AI verdict & sentimentAI analysisGenerated by AI from underlying data

Top X posts

Today's AI verdict on what's driving $RKLB, plus how loud the X conversation is and which way it's leaning.

AI analysis

TickerTalks’ read on the fundamentals and what’s driving the move.

Driven by hypeSelling offAI verdict · as of 2026-08-31

Falling on heavy selling — points lower unless it turns around.

The 'other' space name, priced like a growth story but breaking down while it swallows Iridium and stacks a $2B ATM — three moving parts, none of them helping.

Rocket Lab is a launch-services and space-systems company (Electron rocket, Photon satellites, the Neutron medium-lift program) that has become the retail-favored SpaceX-adjacent name. It's spent the summer under pressure as an Iridium acquisition, a fresh multi-billion ATM, and an insider selling cluster all landed at once.

  • The core business really is growing: Q1 revenue was up 64% year-over-year to $200M and the backlog sits at $2.36B, so the operating engine is executing — that's why the T12M return is still up 34% even after the recent drawdown.
  • The financing setup works against the tape: a new $1.94B at-the-market equity distribution program signed Aug 13 (replacing a partly-used $3B ATM) means roughly 3% of the float sits as rolling supply overhang, and the Iridium deal itself needs equity or debt to close — the funding cost is real, not hypothetical.
  • The insider signal in late August was a cluster: seven officers sold roughly $8M combined over two days (Aug 26-28), including Chief Operating Officer Frank Klein's $2.4M sale and CFO Adam Spice's $674K — clusters at that density right after a 54% one-year run are what 'trim into strength' looks like.
  • The Iridium acquisition is transformational but binary: SpaceX has already flagged the deal to the FCC, which isn't blocking on its own but adds regulatory-review timeline uncertainty exactly when the equity is trading below its 200-day moving average.

The path if the run resumes is a clean Iridium close plus Neutron's Hungry-Hippo pre-flight testing converting into a first flight in 2027 — then the stock re-rates on the 'diversified space company' pitch the bulls run with. The risk is more months of ATM drip and integration risk with the tape already at 24% of the 52-week range; that's when the breaking-down trajectory extends into a real drawdown.

Differs from X sentimentThe bull X frame — $2.36B backlog, 62% growth, Neutron progress, Iridium acquisition — describes the growth story that earned the 34% one-year return, but skips what's actually moving the tape right now: seven officers selling in a two-day cluster Aug 26-28 and a $1.94B ATM signed the same week is a heavier sell-side signal than most of the loyalist takes acknowledge.

What to watch: The Iridium deal close timeline (SpaceX's FCC flag adds review uncertainty) and Neutron's first flight window — a clean close plus a firm launch date restarts the story; a delay plus continued ATM issuance extends the current drawdown.

On the calendar: 2026-11-09 — Q3 2026 earnings

X sentiment

What the X crowd is saying right now — descriptive, summarised from the day’s posts.

Bullish sentiment196 posts analyzed · as of 2026-08-30

Loyalist optimism runs high even with the stock down roughly 55% from its highs, anchored to a $2.36B backlog, 62% revenue growth, the pending Iridium acquisition, and progress on Neutron's Hungry Hippo pre-flight testing. Peter Beck's long-term framing is heavily quoted, and multiple posters describe adding shares in the $60s. The main friction comes from Jim Cramer calling the stock too speculative and worries about Iridium-linked dilution.

Read the AI verdict + X sentiment for $RKLB

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  • Next dated catalyst when there is one (earnings, deal closing, activist clock)
  • X crowd read with bullish/bearish call + post volume
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What it does

Plain-English summary of the business — what they sell and how they make money.

Provides small satellite launch (Electron rocket) and spacecraft manufacturing, with Neutron medium-lift rocket in development.

Industry overviewAI analysisGenerated by AI from underlying data

Where Aerospace & Defense sits in its cycle right now — and what that implies for $RKLB.

Aerospace & Defense · Industrials

Defense budget tailwinds — NATO spending commitments and Pentagon procurement acceleration — support backlogs at prime contractors. Commercial space is a separate driver: launch cadence and satellite constellations are pulling RKLB and LUNR on their own momentum, independent of traditional defense spending.

What this means for $RKLB

Partial — upstream oil & gas exposure ties to commodity price cycle; Headquartered in Long Beach, California, Rocket Lab USA, Inc.

Top industry ETF

$ITAiShares U.S. Aerospace & Defense ETF
+16.3%YTD
+15.0%1Y

Fundamentals & catalyst

Profitability, valuation, and the next earnings event — at a glance, with rule-of-thumb signals.

Key ratios

P/E
-365.0How much investors are paying per dollar of profit the company actually earned in the last 12 months. Lower means the stock looks cheaper relative to earnings.~15–25 is typical for the S&P 500; high-growth names trade 30+; hyper-growth or speculative can be 100+ or negative.
ROIC
-8.1%What percentage return the business earns on every dollar of capital (equity + debt) deployed in operations. The cleanest measure of business quality.Above ~15% is high-quality; consistently above 25% suggests a real moat. Below the company's cost of capital is value-destroying.
Op margin
-33.2%Operating profit (after sales, marketing, R&D, and overhead but before interest and taxes) as a percentage of revenue. The clearest view of how well the underlying business is run.Mature business above 20% is healthy; software businesses can run 30%+; commodity / retail businesses operate in single digits.
FCF yield
-0.5%Free cash flow (operating cash flow minus capex) divided by the company's market cap. The cash-on-cash return you'd get owning the whole business at today's price.Above ~5% is attractive; below ~2% means you're paying up for growth. Capital-light businesses (software) run higher than capital-heavy ones (utilities).
P/S
93.8Same idea as P/E but per dollar of revenue. Useful for companies that aren't profitable yet, where P/E is meaningless.Under ~2 is cheap; software / SaaS often runs 8–15; well above 20 implies the market is pricing in very high future growth.
ROE
-12.3%Net income as a percentage of shareholders' equity. Similar to ROIC but counts only the equity side.Above 20% is strong, but can be inflated by leverage — a heavily indebted company can show high ROE with weak underlying ROIC.
Gross margin
36.6%Revenue minus the direct cost of producing what was sold, as a percentage of revenue. The first read on whether the product is structurally profitable.Software / SaaS is typically 70%+; consumer goods 30–50%; commodity / hardware businesses can be under 20%.
D/E
0.1Total debt divided by shareholders' equity. Measures how much the business runs on borrowed money versus owner capital.Under 1 is conservative; 1–2 is typical for mature businesses; over 2 is leveraged and more sensitive to interest rates.

Past earnings

QuarterReportedActualEstimateSurprise
Q2 2026Aug 10, 2026$-0.08$-0.06-37.2%
Q1 2026May 7, 2026$-0.02$-0.07+70.2%
Q4 2025Feb 26, 2026$-0.09$-0.10+8.9%
Q3 2025Nov 10, 2025$0.01$-0.10+110.1%
Next earningsMon, Nov 9·consensus EPS $-0.02

Quarterly trend

QuarterRevenueYoYGrossOpEPSFCF
Q1 FY26$200.3M+63.5%38.2%-27.9%$-0.07$-77.4M
Q4 FY25$179.7M+35.7%38.0%-28.4%$-0.09$-114.2M
Q3 FY25$155.1M+48.0%37.0%-38.0%$-0.03$-69.4M
Q2 FY25$144.5M+36.0%32.1%-41.3%$-0.13$-55.3M

Forward consensus

5-year forecast · up to 13 analysts
FYRevenueRangeEPSRangeAnalysts
FY26$917.6M$907.4M – $924.1M-$0.19-$0.23 – -$0.1413
FY27$1.3B$1.2B – $1.4B-$0.00-$0.00 – $0.0013
FY28$1.8B$1.6B – $1.9B$0.31$0.14 – $0.739
FY29$2.1B$1.9B – $2.3B$0.57$0.51 – $0.634
FY30$2.6B$2.4B – $2.8B$0.92$0.82 – $1.014

Setup & momentum

Volume, range, and moving-average position — the technical setup driving short-term moves.

Right now

Vol vs 30dToday's traded share volume divided by the average over the prior 30 trading days. ≥3× signals unusual interest; below 1× is quiet.0.8×Today's traded share volume divided by the average over the prior 30 trading days. ≥3× signals unusual interest; below 1× is quiet.
52w rangeWhere the latest close sits between the 52-week low (0%) and high (100%). Above 80% is extended; below 30% is basing or in a downtrend.23%Where the latest close sits between the 52-week low (0%) and high (100%). Above 80% is extended; below 30% is basing or in a downtrend.
vs 50d MALatest close vs the 50-day simple moving average. Positive = short-term trend is up.-17.1%Latest close vs the 50-day simple moving average. Positive = short-term trend is up.
vs 200d MALatest close vs the 200-day simple moving average. Positive = long-term trend is up.-19.2%Latest close vs the 200-day simple moving average. Positive = long-term trend is up.

Float & profile

FloatHigh float · 539.1M shFree-float shares — the slice of issued stock actually available to trade. Lower buckets squeeze harder on a catalyst.Traded today2.8% of floatToday's volume as a percent of the free float. Above 5% on a single day is unusually high turnover for the available share count.β2.635-year weekly beta vs the S&P 500. Above 1.5 means the stock typically moves more than the index; below 0.8 moves less.FilingActive offeringA shelf registration (S-3 / S-3ASR / S-1) or prospectus supplement (424B*) was filed in the last 90 days — the company is registered to (or actively) issuing new shares. Dilution risk.

Insider activity

Recent open-market buys and sells by officers and directors — flagged when multiple insiders cluster.

Recent transactions

SellAug 27Frank KleinChief Operations Officer35.6K sh$2.4MSellAug 27Arjun KampaniSVP & General Counsel6.0K sh$402KSellAug 24Adam C. SpiceCFO9.7K sh$674KSellAug 24Agostino RicupatiVP Corp Controller & CAO669 sh$47KSellAug 24Frank KleinChief Operations Officer45.7K sh$3.2MSellAug 24Arjun KampaniSVP & General Counsel7.8K sh$540KSellAug 24Clevenger Marvin BradfordPresident15.1K sh$1.0MSellJul 8Peter BeckCEO991.0K sh$82.1MSellJul 7Peter BeckCEO1.3M sh$110.3MSellJul 6Peter BeckCEO986.2K sh$94.0M
1–10 of 23
+ 16 other (9 awards · 6 gifts · 1 conversion) in window

See when $RKLB insiders are putting their own money in

  • Real-time open-market buys and sells from Form 4 filings
  • Cluster-buy detection when multiple insiders pile in at once
  • 30 / 60 / 180-day windows so you can spot building conviction
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SEC filings

Material 8-K, 13D, S-3, and 424B5 events from the last 180 days — the filings that actually move the price.

Recent material filings

8-KPress release / Reg FDAug 138-K — Item 7.01: Press release / Reg FD · Item 8.01: Other event
AI summary

Rocket Lab Corporation entered into a new equity distribution agreement on August 13, 2026 with Deutsche Bank Securities and Wells Fargo Securities as sales agents and announced progress on its proposed acquisition of Iridium Communications Inc. The new ATM covers the remaining ~$1.944B unsold capacity from the prior $3.0B program (of which $1.056B was sold), with the prior agreement terminated. Both announcements are furnished under Items 7.01 and 8.01. This paired ATM refresh and Iridium deal-progress update reflects active capital management as RKLB pursues the transformative Iridium acquisition.

424B5Prospectus supplement (offering)Aug 13424B5
AI summary

Rocket Lab Corporation filed a 424B5 prospectus supplement for an at-the-market equity distribution program of up to $1,944,369,826 in common stock, replacing the prior $3B ATM (of which $1,055,630,173 was sold). The program uses Deutsche Bank Securities and Wells Fargo Securities as sales agents and includes forward sale agreement structures with Deutsche Bank AG and Wells Fargo Bank NA as forward purchasers, allowing RKLB to lock in price exposure without immediate share issuance. One of the largest active ATM programs in the space sector; the forward structure provides meaningful capital-raise optionality alongside the ongoing Iridium acquisition.

8-KMaterial agreementJun 298-K — Item 1.01: Material agreement · Item 7.01: Press release / Reg FD
AI summary

Rocket Lab entered an Agreement and Plan of Merger with Iridium Communications on June 28, 2026; Iridium will become an indirect wholly-owned RKLB subsidiary via a two-step merger (Merger Sub I into Iridium, then Iridium into Merger Sub II). Full deal terms and consideration are cut off in the excerpt. Transformative proposed acquisition of Iridium by Rocket Lab; Iridium's LEO satellite network would complement Rocket Lab's launch capabilities.

3New insider — initial holdingsJun 53
AI summary

A new insider filed a Form 3 with the SEC, disclosing initial beneficial ownership of RKLB securities. This filing is required under Section 16(a) of the Securities Exchange Act within 10 days of becoming a reporting person (officer, director, or 10%+ holder). The filing reports 4 shares of common stock. Form 3 filings establish a baseline ownership record for subsequent Form 4 (changes) and Form 5 (annual) filings, providing transparency into insider positions at RKLB.

8-KOfficer or director changeJun 58-K — Item 5.02: Officer or director change
AI summary

RKLB (RKLB) filed an 8-K under Item 5.02 disclosing a change in its executive leadership or board composition. The filing reports both a departure and an appointment in Chief Financial Officer. Individuals named in the filing include Its Charter, Other Jurisdiction. Leadership changes at the C-suite and board level are material events requiring 8-K disclosure within four business days, as they can affect company strategy, investor confidence, and operational continuity.

8-KShareholder voteMay 218-K — Item 5.07: Shareholder vote
AI summary

Rocket Lab Corporation (RKLB) filed an 8-K on May 20, 2026 disclosing annual shareholder meeting vote results (Item 5.07). Rocket Lab is a Long Beach, California-based space launch and satellite technology company listed on Nasdaq. Annual meeting results are routine governance disclosures.

424B5Prospectus supplement (offering)May 20424B5
AI summary

Rocket Lab Corporation (RKLB) filed a 424B5 prospectus supplement on May 20, 2026, establishing an at-the-market (ATM) equity offering program of up to $3 billion of common stock through 15 sales agents including BofA Securities, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and Deutsche Bank. The ATM also includes forward sale provisions allowing for capital-efficient forward equity offerings. This is a very large ATM program for a space technology company; while shares need not all be sold at once, the $3B ceiling signals significant potential future dilution as Rocket Lab executes its growth strategy.

8-KUnregistered equity saleApr 148-K — Item 3.02: Unregistered equity sale · Item 7.01: Press release / Reg FD · Item 8.01: Other event
AI summary

RKLB filed an 8-K Item 7.01 (Reg FD) disclosure dated 2026-04-14. Reg FD disclosures make material information simultaneously available to all investors; content may include guidance updates, strategic plans, or preliminary results.

+ 31 other (7 425s · 4 routine 8-Ks · 3 proxys · 2 10-Qs) in window

Recent news

Latest headlines from major outlets, sourced and timestamped — context for whatever just moved.

Cathie Wood's SpaceX Bet Grows as Rocket Lab Stock Flashes a Death Crossbenzinga.com·16h agoA Rocket Lab President Sells Over 15,000 Shares After a 54% One-Year Returnfool.com·2d agoRocket Lab COO Frank Klein Sells 35,558 Shares for $2.4 Millionfool.com·2d agoRocket Lab Just Sold Its First Full Neutron Flight to Kepler Communications. Here's What That Means in Its Competition With SpaceX.fool.com·3d agoRocket Lab Falls 6% as SpaceX Flags Iridium Deal to the FCC, Intuitive Machines Slides 5%247wallst.com·4d ago

In themes

Explore the broader themes this ticker is being talked about under.

Space EconomyDefense & Drones

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Voices on X · top 15 · last 7 days

TickerTalks is a research tool, not financial advice. We surface social-attention data; we do not make stock recommendations. Past attention is not predictive of future price movements.

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