Rocket Lab Announces 3rd Quarter 2024 Financial Results, Posts 55% Year-on-Year Growth & Guides To Record Revenue In Q4

LONG BEACH, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Rocket Lab USA, Inc. (Nasdaq: RKLB) (“Rocket Lab”, “the Company”, “we,” “us,” or “our”), a global leader in launch services and space systems, today shared the financial results for fiscal third quarter, ended September 30, 2024.

Rocket Lab founder and CEO, Sir Peter Beck, said: “In the third quarter 2024 we once again executed against our end-to-end space strategy with successes and key achievements reached across small and medium launch, as well as space systems. Revenue grew 55% year-on-year to $105 million and we continue to see strong demand growth with our backlog at $1.05 billion. Significant achievements for the quarter included signing a launch service agreement for multiple launches on Neutron with a confidential commercial satellite constellation customer; successfully launching twelve Electron launches year-to-date, making 2024 a record year for launches with more still to come; signing $55 million in new Electron launches, further cementing Electron’s position as a global launch leader; and being selected by NASA to complete a study contract for a proposal to retrieve samples from Mars and return them to Earth as part of a world-first mission. We expect to close out the year strongly with more Electron launches scheduled in November and December, alongside continued progress across Neutron and space systems, that is behind our guidance for a record $125-$135 million revenue quarter in Q4.”

Business Highlights for the Third Quarter 2024, plus updates since September 30, 2024.

Electron:

• Achieved a new annual launch record of 12 Electron launches to date, with more scheduled across November and December 2024. Electron is the world’s third most-frequently launched rocket annually by vehicle type and remains the United States’ second most-frequently launched rocket annually.
• Signed several new Electron launch contracts in Q3 2024 with a total value of $55m, demonstrating an increased average selling price of $8.4m and showcasing a 67% pricing increase since the rocket’s debut launch.
• Successful Electron launches for three separate commercial satellite constellation operators in Q3, including two missions launched within just eight days. In addition to these, Electron’s most recent mission, launched in the fourth quarter on November 5th, 2024, included an expedited turnaround of just 10 weeks between contract signing and launch.

Neutron:

• Signed a launch service agreement for multiple launches on Neutron with a confidential commercial satellite constellation operator that signifies the beginning of a productive collaboration that could see Neutron deploy the entire constellation.
• Announced a federal defense contract that supports Neutron and the development of its Archimedes engine with the U.S. Air Force’s Research Laboratory.
• Doubled engine testing cadence for Archimedes over the quarter at Rocket Lab’s engine test site in Mississippi, alongside strong production execution at the Company’s Engine Development Complex in California which included multiple engines manufactured, assembled, and shipped for engine testing.
• Significant progress made across Neutron’s structures and infrastructure, including the completion of construction on the rocket’s Assembly, Integration, and Test (A.I.T.) facility in Virginia.
• Well-positioned to on-ramp to the U.S. Space Force’s National Security Space Launch (NSSL) Lane 1 program, which began accepting proposals in November 2024 to on-ramp new launch providers to an indefinite delivery indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contract valued at $5.6 billion over a five-year period.

Space Systems:

• Completed production and delivery of two spacecraft on time and on budget for NASA’s ESCAPADE mission to Mars.
• Selected by NASA to complete a study contract for a proposal to retrieve samples from Mars and return them to Earth, a first-of-its-kind mission.
• Completed two new spacecraft for Varda Space Industries to conduct the 2nd and 3rd missions to return in-space manufacturing capsules to Earth.
• Executed on schedule against the Company’s $515 million prime contract with the Space Development Agency to build 18 spacecraft for its Tranche 2 Transport Layer program.

Fourth Quarter 2024 Guidance

For the fourth quarter of 2024, Rocket Lab expects:

• Revenue between $125 million and $135 million.
• GAAP Gross Margins between 26% and 28%.
• Non-GAAP Gross Margins between 32% and 34%.
• GAAP Operating Expenses between $84 million and $86 million.
• Non-GAAP Operating Expenses between $75 million and $77 million.
• Expected Interest Expense (Income), net $1.5 million.
• Adjusted EBITDA loss of $27 million and $29 million.
• Basic Shares Outstanding of 501 million.

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