Rocket Lab shares surged 34.3% today to an all-time high of US$105.55.
The lift-off followed the Kiwi-American firm’s record quarterly result and bullish forecast, filed Thursday (Friday NZT), thanks to huge new US military contracts and forward bookings for its coming Neutron rocket, part-fabricated at an title="https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/rocket-lab-barges-giant-neutron-hungry-hippo-nose-cone-out-of-warkworth/UVMTQQ423JDMDJO6OZ5M2QCWKI/">ex-SailGP plant at Warkworth.
“I’m thrilled to confirm that Rocket Lab has been selected to enable one of the nation’s top national security priorities, the Space Based Intercepter programme under Golden Dome,” founder and chief executive Sir Peter Beck said on a call with analysts, referring to President Donald Trump’s US$3.2b ($5.4b) plan to build a missile defence system for the United States.
Today’s jump added US$16.5 billion ($27.7b) to Rocket Lab’s market value, and boosted its Southland-raised founder and chief executive’s estimated fortune by close to $3b.
Forbes’ real-time net worth tracker now puts Beck’s wealth, which is largely tied to his minority stake in Rocket Lab, at US$5.1b ($9.1b).
The leap is also good news for a small army of Kiwis who own shares in Beck’s firm. Sharesies has put the number at 32,000 via its platform alone.
It’s also good news for local start-ups. Beck has backed a swathe of founders, including his early-stage investments in Halter, Partly, Foundry Lab, Astrix Astronautics and HeartLab.
But Rocket Lab’s new contracts haven’t been welcomed in all quarters. The Green Party’s space spokesman, Teanau Tuiono, told 1News, “Their relationship with the US military is problematic. What concerns me is the entanglement with the US and, particularly with the Trump administration.”
Rocket Lab says all its launches from Mahia are compliant with NZ laws and international treaties.
Yesterday, Rocket Lab reported first-quarter 2026 revenue that rose 63% over the first quarter of 2025 to US$201.3 million ($339m) – ahead of its guidance and the analyst consensus of US$180.0m.
It forecast another record - revenue between US$225m and US$240m - for the second quarter.
The Kiwi-founded, California-headquartered firm also revealed that its backlog of orders had more than doubled over this time last year to a record US$2.2b after signing 36 launch deals in the quarter, including its largest-ever contract. Analysts had been expecting $2b.
The company made a net loss for the three months to March 31 of US$45m versus its US$60.6m net loss for the year-ago quarter.
Rocket Lab has long forecast that it won’t get into the black until its Neutron rocket enters service (the larger rocket will cost customers US$55m to US$60m per launch, compared to Electron’s US$7.5m to US$8m).
The firm finished the quarter with US$1.5b in cash and equivalents from the year-ago US$828.6m, after a US$1.1b equity raise that closed last month.
Its forward contract book has been swelled by several huge deals with the US military, including a US$816m “prime contract to build a missile defence constellation for the Space Development Agency” (part of Space Force, the newest wing of the US Armed Forces) that stands as Rocket Lab’s largest space systems contract.
The only fly in the ointment is that several of the forward contracts involve Rocket Lab’s Neutron rocket, its much larger successor to today’s Electron.
The company said today “Neutron’s first launch is now targeted for Q4 2026”, confirming the latest delay.
The giant rocket was initially slated to launch from Rocket Lab’s new Launch Complex 3 in Virginia by the end of 2024.
The date later slipped to the end of 2025, followed by a target of the first quarter of this year.
Results today included updates on multiple Neutron components, including testing of the “hungry hippo” fairing (nose cone) that arrived in Virginia after a journey by barge then ship from an ex-SailGP fabrication plant in Warkworth, north of Auckland.
The brighter news was that customers seemed unfazed by the delays.
Rocket Lab said today that it had signed its largest launch deal yet, which involved five Neutron and three Electron rockets.
The customer and dollar value were not named, but Rocket Lab said it was larger than its previous record contract, which ran to US$190m.
Rocket Lab also said today that it had won a US$30m sub-contract with California defence contractor Anduril Industries.
The deal involves three launches of Rocket Lab’s Haste vehicle, a modified version of the Electron that does not take a payload into orbit but rather immediately deposits it in another part of the globe after travelling at a hypersonic speed, or faster than Mach 5 (6174km/h).
The idea is that goods could be deployed to a conflict zone half a world away at a rapid clip.
“The partnership brings together two defence industry leaders to advance one of the Department of War’s most critical technology areas: scaled hypersonics that deliver Mach 5 and beyond capabilities for future defence missions,” Rocket Lab said.
Founder and chief executive Sir Peter Beck said, “Together, Rocket Lab and Anduril are bridging the gap between hypersonic research and operational deployment as fast as possible to ensure US armed forces maintain a decisive technological advantage.”
In a related development, Rocket Lab said that, in partnership with Ratheon, it had been selected to demonstrate advanced capabilities for Space Force’s Space-Based Interceptor programme.
“The programme is an important step in strengthening national missile defence capabilities,” it said.
It falls under US President Donald Trump’s “Golden Dome” missile defence initiative.
The US Space Systems Command says it has awarded US$3.2b worth of Golden Dome contracts to 20 companies, including Lockheed Martin, Anduril, SpaceX, Northrop and Raytheon, with the aim that “with the commitment and collaboration of these industry partners, the Space Force will demonstrate an initial capability in 2028″.
Rocket Lab also said today that it had signed a deal to acquire Motive Space Systems, a California company specialising in space robotics with “Mars-proven heritage” and 50 tech staff and engineers.
The company says the purchase, for an undisclosed sum, will bolster its chances of winning a possible Nasa contract to return rock samples from Mars, which would be a multibillion-dollar opportunity if the project were ultimately greenlit.
In November, a rocket launched by Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin set two Rocket Lab-designed and made satellites on their way to Mars. They are scheduled to arrive in September 2027, when they will study the planet’s atmosphere from orbit.
Beck in the first quarter also cut his Rocket Lab salary from US$800,000 to the statutory minimum of US$1 and declined stock options that would have been worth around US$22.5m.
Beck said the money would be spent hiring engineers for Neutron.
Forbes’ real-time net worth tracker puts the Southland-raised founder’s wealth, which is largely tied to his minority stake in Rocket Lab, at US$3.9b ($6.5b).
On the final day of the quarter, Rocket Lab solar panels were used to power Nasa’s Artemis II mission, which sent astronauts around the moon for the first time in 50 years.
All the systems on the Orion capsule holding the astronauts were powered by four Rocket Lab solar arrays.
Rocket Lab bought New Mexico satellite solar panel maker SolAero for US$80m in 2022.
Chris Keall is an Auckland-based member of the Herald’s business team. He joined the Herald in 2018 and is the technology editor and a senior business writer.