Rocket Lab Announces Third Quarter 2026 Financial Results: Posts Record Revenue, $1.2 Billion or 52% Sequential Quarterly Backlog Growth, Positive GAAP Operating Cash Flow, and Guides to Record Revenue and Gross Margin Expansion in Q4 2026
Key Highlights
- ➤Q3 revenue $268 million, up 73% year-on-year
- ➤Backlog $3.6 billion, up 52% sequentially
- ➤New launch contracts approximately $1 billion; total backlog reaches 117 launches
- ➤Neutron backlog reaches 16 missions after securing over $515 million in contracts
- ➤Q4 revenue guided to $270 million-$290 million, with GAAP gross margin 34%-36%
Expert Statements
Sir Peter Beck, Founder and CEO of Rocket Lab
“Q3 2026 was a defining quarter for Rocket Lab. We delivered a record $268 million in revenue ($34 million higher than Q2 2026) alongside a record backlog which has grown to $3.57 billion. Nearly $1 billion of that backlog comes from new launch contracts, signed in Q3 2026 alone, as well as $470 million signed for Space Systems. Our end-to-end space strategy is delivering exactly as designed: the world's most critical and ambitious missions increasingly rely on Rocket Lab for launch, spacecraft, and components, sometimes all on a single mission, and every part of our business is growing as a result.”
LONG BEACH, Calif., Nov. 09, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Rocket Lab Corporation (Nasdaq: RKLB), a global leader in launch services and space systems, today shared the financial results for fiscal third quarter ended September 30, 2026.
Rocket Lab founder and CEO, Sir Peter Beck, says: “Q3 2026 was a defining quarter for Rocket Lab. We delivered a record $268 million in revenue ($34 million higher than Q2 2026) alongside a record backlog which has grown to $3.57 billion. Nearly $1 billion of that backlog comes from new launch contracts, signed in Q3 2026 alone, as well as $470 million signed for Space Systems. Our end-to-end space strategy is delivering exactly as designed: the world's most critical and ambitious missions increasingly rely on Rocket Lab for launch, spacecraft, and components, sometimes all on a single mission, and every part of our business is growing as a result.”
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