Rocket Lab's Electron Strengthens Grip on Small Launch Market

Rocket Lab USA, Inc. (RKLB) has emerged as an industry forerunner in the launch and space systems market. In the launch segment, Rocket Lab has built a strong position through its small satellite launch services offered by the Electron rocket, which is currently the second most frequently launched U.S. rocket.

The growing demand for Rocket Lab’s services involving its Electron rocket is evident from several recent developments. In February 2025, the company secured a major contract from a Japan-based Earth imaging company, iQPS. This agreement covers eight dedicated Electron launches, with six missions scheduled for 2025 and two in 2026, making it one of the largest Electron launch deals to date. In June, RKLB successfully launched its 68th Electron rocket to deploy a single satellite to space for a confidential commercial customer.

In the same month, Rocket Lab got selected to launch a dedicated Electron mission for the European Space Agency (ESA) for the first time, to deploy the first pair of satellites for a future navigation constellation for Europe. Rocket Lab will conduct these launches, no earlier than December 2025.

With such high-profile contracts in its order book, Rocket Lab’s Electron rocket cements its dominance in the small launch market, proving its reliability and scalability as the demand for dedicated, agile satellite deployment grows.

Other Stocks to Keep on the Watchlist

In the modern era of space exploration, factors such as rapid technological advancements, rising demand for satellite deployment, increasing commercial space activities and growing investment in space infrastructure are driving the expansion of the space launch services market.

Apart from RKLB, other industry players like Boeing (BA) and Lockheed Martin (LMT), which already have a well-established presence in the launch services sector, are also positioned to benefit from these growth trends. Their joint venture, the United Launch Alliance (ULA), has been a key U.S. launch provider, successfully delivering more than 150 Atlas and Delta rockets since its formation in 2006.

ULA’s latest offering, the Vulcan rocket, is an evolution of the Atlas V and Delta IV vehicles. It is designed to provide more affordable and accessible launch options for a variety of missions, further strengthening ULA’s competitive standing in the market.

RKLB’s Price Performance, Valuation and Estimates

Shares of RKLB have gained 637.6% in the past year compared with the industry’s 43.3% growth.

The company shares are expensive on a relative basis, with its forward 12-month Price/Sales being 26.45X compared with its industry’s average of 10.16X.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for RKLB’s 2025 loss has improved over the past 60 days.

RKLB stock currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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