Rocket Lab USA reported record second-quarter 2026 revenue of $234.1 million on Monday, up 62% from a year earlier and slightly ahead of Wall Street's $232 million consensus estimate. Despite the top-line beat, shares fell sharply after the report, closing the regular session down 3.37% at $80.04 before sliding another 6.8% in after-hours trading to $74.60, a combined decline of nearly 10% from the prior close.
The selloff centered on the bottom line. Rocket Lab posted an adjusted loss of 8 cents per share, wider than the 6-cent loss analysts had expected, even as the company's net loss narrowed to $49.3 million from $66.4 million in the same quarter last year. Product revenue nearly doubled to $181.3 million from $92.7 million, while service revenue rose more modestly to $52.7 million.
Beneath the earnings miss, several operational metrics pointed to accelerating momentum. Rocket Lab closed the quarter with a record backlog of $2.36 billion, up 137% year-over-year, and said it has signed more than $1 billion in new contracts across its launch and spacecraft businesses during the quarter and in the weeks since. Gross profit rose to $84.6 million from $46.4 million a year earlier, and adjusted EBITDA loss improved to $8.8 million from a much wider $11.8 million loss in the first quarter, coming in well ahead of the company's own guidance.
The quarter also included significant corporate activity. Rocket Lab closed its acquisitions of satellite optical communications maker Mynaric and space robotics firm Motiv Space Systems, both completed earlier this year. The company also disclosed in June a roughly $8 billion cash-and-stock deal to acquire Iridium Communications, a transaction that would give Rocket Lab control of Iridium's 66-satellite low-Earth orbit network and its more than 2.55 million subscribers. The deal, expected to close in mid-2027, is widely seen as a move to position Rocket Lab as a more direct competitor to SpaceX's Starlink satellite communications business.
On the government contracting side, Rocket Lab disclosed a $397 million Space Force contract to build, launch, and operate satellites for a missile-tracking program, along with a separate $266 million multi-launch Space Force contract covering up to 18 suborbital missions supporting missile defense, with the first launch targeted before the end of 2026.
Looking ahead, Rocket Lab guided third-quarter revenue to a range of $250 million to $265 million, which would mark another record quarter if achieved. Management also provided an update on its Neutron medium-lift reusable rocket program, with Stage 1 tank production targeting delivery to the launch pad in the fourth quarter of 2026.
The mixed reaction from investors reflects an ongoing tension in how Wall Street values Rocket Lab: as a fast-growing space infrastructure company still burning significant cash on its path to profitability. Non-GAAP free cash flow was negative $110.1 million for the quarter, wider than the negative $77.4 million in the first quarter, driven partly by Neutron development costs, inventory investments, and fees tied to the pending Iridium transaction. The company's expanding share count, including roughly 41 million preferred shares tied to recent deals, has also raised dilution concerns among some existing shareholders even as the underlying business continues to scale.